NVIDIA DGX Spark vs. AMD Strix for Local AI: A 3-Day Cost-Performance Benchmark
A practical comparison of two 128GB local AI hardware options reveals that while NVIDIA wins on raw speed, AMD offers significantly better cost-per-token value, with performance heavily dependent on the chosen software driver.
Practical Summary
This benchmark compares the NVIDIA DGX Spark ($4,699) and a Framework-based AMD Strix system ($3,449) for running large language models locally. Key findings are that NVIDIA is faster, but AMD provides better tokens-per-dollar, especially at lower hardware price points. Performance on AMD hardware varies dramatically between the official ROCm driver and the community Vulkan driver, requiring testing for specific workloads.
Why It Matters
For businesses and developers running local AI inference, choosing between these hardware tiers directly impacts operational cost and capability. This analysis provides concrete pricing and performance data to inform purchasing decisions, showing that the optimal choice depends on whether the priority is raw speed or cost efficiency, and that driver selection on AMD hardware is a critical, non-obvious factor.
Step 1: Understand the Core Hardware and Price Comparison
The benchmark pits a $4,699 NVIDIA DGX Spark (128GB) against a $3,449 Framework-based system using an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 'Strix' chip (also 128GB). The cheapest pre-built 128GB Strix boxes start around $1,800. This significant price difference is the starting point for the cost analysis.
Step 2: Evaluate Raw Speed vs. Cost-Per-Token
In direct benchmarks using llama.cpp, the NVIDIA Spark was about 2x faster at prompt processing and ~10% faster at token generation. However, when calculating cost efficiency (tokens per dollar), the picture flips. The Spark yields ~12.5 tokens per $1,000, while the Framework Strix yields ~15.5. The cheapest Strix box delivers ~27.3 tokens per $1,000—more than double the Spark's value. The choice depends on your workload's sensitivity to latency versus operating cost.
Step 3: Recognize the Critical Role of Software Drivers on AMD
A major, non-intuitive finding is that on this specific Strix hardware, the open-source Vulkan driver outperformed AMD's official ROCm driver by 17% for single-stream token generation. However, community reports indicate this can flip for other configurations: ROCm may win on discrete AMD cards or for parallel/batched workloads. This means driver choice is a mandatory tuning step for AMD hardware.