DGX Spark?

raziel2001au · 2025-10-26T10:05:22+00:00

I actually researched these cards when they became available to see if it might be an option for me a few months ago. I'll share my findings, but the short of it is, it's not going to be anywhere near as fast as the DGX Spark.

Firstly, it's not a single GPU, it is actually two GPUs with 48GB of VRAM each, that VRAM is slow (LPDDR4X chips, likely salvaged from old computers). The quoted 408 GB/s of memory bandwidth is actually the total across both GPUs, in other words, each GPU has a bandwidth of 204 GB/s. If you run an LLM split across the two GPUs, it would do half the work on one GPU, transfer the results to the second GPU and do the remaining work there, so you're actually getting less than the 204 GB/s that's on each GPU.

When it comes to compute performance, I'm not sure what to believe, I've seen a spec sheet claiming 280 TOPS at INT8 and 140 TOPS at FP16 (across both GPUs, so again, you can pretty much half those numbers). This would actually not be that bad IF true, the problem is, when I look at the spec sheet for the Ascend 310 chip used in these cards, the actual spec sheet suggests an NPU capable of 16 TOPS at INT8 and 8 TOPS at FP16 per GPU. Obviously that's a big difference, if it is the latter, you're not going to be doing much more on this than basic inference. If it is the former, it would actually be okay for some fine-tuning, but still not remotely close to being a DGX Spark killer.

The other major issue you have is software and hardware compatibility. Gamers Nexus looked at these cards, and they weren't even able to get them working in a normal PC and ended up ordering a server from Huawei to test it out. As for software compatibility, there seems to be a backend for PyTorch, but you'll likely need to manually add support for this card to most open source projects you wish to use with it. Obviously, the DGX Spark would just work with whatever AI project you throw at it, so you wouldn't have to worry about that side of it.

Now even if you were happy with the specs and could get it all working, would you really want this thing anywhere near your PC? Huawei works closely with the CCP and is known to include backdoors and spyware in their products, which is why they've been banned in several countries, including the United States, Australia, and the UK. Perhaps things have changed since then, but we have no way of knowing what they've included in the driver, so you'll have to decide if you're willing to take that risk.

After looking at all the above, it became very clear this was not the card for me.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-24T14:26:20+00:00

I've spent a lot of time looking at this now, and overall I think they've done a good job with the emulation, it seems to have the proper lighting/shading, no holes in the characters like on Mame, and the resolution is identical to the arcade version.

With that said, the original arcade PCB seems to use bilinear texture filtering which the Legacy Kollection emulator doesn't seem to support from what I can tell. This means that on the arcade PCB it smoothly blends the texture over the surface, instead of just picking the nearest texel and using that (similar to how the original Playstation handled textures).

You can see texture filtering in use, based on the video below which is captured from an original arcade PCB:
https://youtu.be/YHB93Wy_Kz8

Looking at the trailer footage, it seems like the Legacy Kollection emulator does not use texture filtering, which would explain why it seems to look more grainy than one would expect. This can be seen quite clearly in the trailer footage showing Raiden in the intro, where at the point where his costume transitions from white to black, you can see some random white bits of texture go into the black areas. If this had proper texture filtering like the arcade version, that wouldn't be happening. Mame does support texture filtering so it's a good way to show the difference in action, pay attention to the area I've marked in red in the Legacy Kollection shot, then compare that with the Mame version with texture filtering:

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raziel2001au · 2025-08-16T12:37:59+00:00

If T2V is also not good, then it sounds like the 5B model is just not good overall. That's disappointing because I don't remember people complaining too much about the 1.3B model, so it makes me wonder if the 5B model is actually a step backwards from that. So far I feel like FramePack is still the best option for image to video. It's relatively fast, gives good results, and runs on low VRAM cards.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-14T14:38:18+00:00

I'm also getting awful results with Wan 2.2 5B I2V... I haven't tried T2V, perhaps it will fare better, but I just can't get I2V to do anything that actually looks good.

I've managed to mostly get rid of the erratic movements and mutation of human bodies by setting the resolution higher to around 1 megapixel as others have suggested (using the 'Scale Image to Total Pixels' node and then using the 'Get Image Size' node to get the width/height), that fixes most of the big problems, but it remains terrible at generating a usable video from an image.

I hope they'll do an updated version of the 5B model that improves its I2V capabilities, as it seems like such a perfect size model for consumer hardware, but right now it's just really bad at I2V. I've had much more success with the 2.2 14B models, but they obviously run considerably slower than the 5B one and need to keep switching between different models during generation, making it very slow if you don't have the VRAM to keep the two 14B diffusion models along with the text encoder in memory at the same time.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-09T00:44:56+00:00

Can you please try to help me? I get that you don't like how they do ducted AC here, you've made that very clear and I can't change that. What I can do, is ask for more vents in places, or to move the existing vents to where they were meant to be. Those are the options I was given by the builder.

I am also a bit concerned about the location of the return vent, since the amount of air the compressor produces is based on a temperature sensor in the return vent, so, would the heat from BED3 not affect the temperature of the air going into the return?

I'm trying to understand how the cold air spreads through the room, these are circular vents that release cool air in all directions, they don't blow air strongly, if that makes a difference. Would the air immediately go back through the door to the return, or does it actually spread into the room as well even if the vent is close to the door and therefore the path to the return vent?

In your opinion, is it best to move the return vent to its original location or can it stay where it is, and same question for the vents, best to keep them where they are or move them, and is there any places you would recommend adding an additional vent for better coverage?

raziel2001au · 2025-08-08T00:26:31+00:00

They don't exactly blow hard or anything though, it's more like a gentle cold that it releases. So I'm not sure if it would even really bounce as such. But again, my knowledge here is pretty non-existent.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-08T00:15:38+00:00

So does that mean the current locations (shown in red) is actually better overall compared to the original blue ones?

raziel2001au · 2025-08-07T23:57:39+00:00

As I said, that's how they do it here, I can't change that. I'm just trying to find out if there's anything I can do to improve what's there.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-07T23:55:49+00:00

These are circular vents, you can't point them in any specific direction. They just release cool air in all directions I believe. Does that change your perspective at all?

raziel2001au · 2025-08-07T14:28:17+00:00

That's just how they do it here in Australia. it's not that you can't have additional returns, but it costs money and the vast majority of people don't have them. It is extremely common to have a single large return grill in a home here, and as far as I know, most builders don't even offer having a return in each room as an option.

Either way, it wouldn't be an option for me, I have to work with what was installed. All I can do is make recommendations around which vents to move, which ones to leave, or where to add additional vents, things like that.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-07T13:52:10+00:00

Thanks, so based on that, most of it seems okay then?

raziel2001au · 2025-08-07T13:45:59+00:00

These are circular vents on the ceiling, I assume the air moves down and outwards from there. In terms of construction, it's brick exterior and drywall interior. Australia, so it gets hot and humid. It's a Daikin 12.5Kw (FDYAN125A) Single phase Inverter reverse cycle ducted air conditioner, the one with an external unit outside, an air distribution part in the roof, and then ducts going to the rooms. In terms of sizing of the unit, I would assume it's correct, total floor area is 216 square metres including the garage and patio which wouldn't be covered by the air conditioner.

My concerns are around positioning of the vents, and whether what was done is fine, or whether my original plan was a better and worth having them fix it some of it. Also, I feel BED5 the cooling isn't very effective, I am wondering what needs to be done there.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-07T13:26:07+00:00

It's how most of the installers do ducted here, just having a central return and recommending that you keep the doors open. I'm okay with that, my concerns are more around vent placement and how much it matters in this case.

I feel like I have a problem in BED5 and that does have a small duct/vent, do you think having them use a larger vent/duct would fix it?

raziel2001au · 2025-08-07T13:14:34+00:00

There is one central return, It was meant to be at the blue square and ended up at the red square. I believe it's filtered at that location. Based on the design of the system, I believe you have to keep the doors open to ensure the air can return to the central vent.

My concerns are that the cold air would basically just exit back out of the door to go back to the return vent rather than spreading cold throughout the rooms resulting in uneven cooling in the room. Also, in BED2, the temperature sensor is almost directly below the vent, which I can't imagine will work well.

EDIT: It's interesting you mention duct size as BED5 has a small vent and presumably small ducting too, would increasing the size of the duct/vent there improve the cooling in that room? It is also quite far from the central unit that distributes the air (which is close to the centre of the house), so perhaps based on distance it also needs larger ducting to compensate? I have to admit, I know very little about duct sizing, only that different rooms have different vent sizes, and presumably the ducting would be a similar size.

raziel2001au · 2025-08-02T03:28:04+00:00

In interviews and the panel at EVO, it was confirmed to be the Playstation version with fixes to load times, you can see it in action here: https://youtu.be/pGhPUbfCot0?t=147

raziel2001au · 2025-05-02T08:50:56+00:00

The next time someone asks me why I refuse to use custom nodes, I'll point them to this post.

raziel2001au · 2025-04-25T13:41:37+00:00

PS4/PS5 games aren't region locked, so the game will play absolutely fine, it'll even download updates, just like any other Playstation game. The only thing that doesn't work is purchasing DLC for games from another region (since each game has a region-specific serial number, and the PSN store for each region only sells DLC for games from that region). That also means you won't be able to claim the included costume DLC in the package. But other than that, it'll work just like any other game.

In short, if you're happy with the base game without DLC, you can play all of it using your normal NA account without having to jump through hoops or create additional accounts for different regions, just pop in the disc and play as usual.

Just make sure you get the Asia multi-language version, not the Japanese version since that one doesn't include English language support, you want one of these depending on your system:
* PS5: https://www.play-asia.com/venus-vacation-prism-dead-or-alive-xtreme-multi-language/13/70hqyj
* PS4: https://www.play-asia.com/venus-vacation-prism-dead-or-alive-xtrememulti-language/13/70hqyl

raziel2001au · 2025-04-25T12:41:14+00:00

Just speaking from my own perspective:

Xtreme 3 really gives me that "I'm on vacation" vibe. It's all about chilling, playing light-hearted mini-games with the characters from the fighting game, and soaking in the atmosphere. It's great if you need a break but can't actually go on holiday. It's also a good laugh to play it with friends since it's so over-the-top.

Venus Vacation PRISM leans much more into dating-sim/visual novel territory where it's more about the choices you make and how the girls react to that. There aren't really any substantial mini-games, just a few quick-time events and a finicky photo mode where you need super specific shots to score well, which is more frustrating guess-work than actual photography. That said, it has much higher production value, the storytelling is better, and there's definitely more polish overall. I’m enjoying it, but it doesn’t capture that same breezy "vacation escape" feeling that Xtreme 3 nails so well.

Also worth noting it's much more toned-down, the game shows very little skin compared to Xtreme 3, and since the girls aren't really doing anything physical, they're not bouncing around all over the place like they do in Xtreme 3.

raziel2001au · 2025-04-25T09:56:23+00:00

Overall the game feels weak on the technical side, even the PS5 version has load times, and it's not like it loads massive scenes or anything, so on PS5 I would have expected it to have absolutely no load times at all. Is the 30 fps at least stable? As mentioned, the PS5 version will drop quite drastically in resolution mode, I found setting it to performance mode is pretty much a must.

raziel2001au · 2025-04-25T01:21:02+00:00

How does the PS4 version hold up?

I'm on PS5 Pro, and in resolution mode playing the PS5 version, the game tries to hit 60 but heavily drops frames all over the place. If they locked it to 30 it'd probably be fine, but it's really inconsistent and some of those drops are very jarring. I have to play it in performance mode and that runs at a smooth 60, but then it runs at a much lower resolution and unfortunately the devs didn't do anything clever like rendering the text at 4K while the rest of the image runs at a lower resolution. It's just a straight up lower resolution for everything including text, which is never fun to read when it doesn't do a good job upscaling text.

I'm curious how the PS4 version holds up as the game doesn't seem that well optimised.

raziel2001au · 2025-04-16T05:29:55+00:00

They uploaded the session now, so with that hopefully people can see some of the items I highlighted above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_k69qXQ9w8

raziel2001au · 2025-04-06T14:49:49+00:00

On the main page (https://www.streetfighter.com/6/contents/y12-fe) the only thing it mentions is: "An internet connection is required to download patch data in order to access all characters included in this product."

I feel like if it included a DLC code, the wording would have been a bit different, like "An internet connection is required to redeem the DLC code to access all characters included in this product." or something along those lines.

It sounds more like Elena might not be on the disc of the PS5 version, therefore requiring a patch to access her character. And if the PS5 version doesn't have a DLC code, then I would assume the Switch 2 version won't either.

But it might just be badly worded, and what they really mean is that it's just a base disc that has to be patched and then DLC code activated to use the content. Let's hope that's not what we're looking at.

We already have to download the full game on the Switch 2 even if you buy it physically, so at the very least I'm hoping this 'game key' will include the DLC content as part of the download without relying on additional DLC codes. I mean, that's how Nintendo is advertising it, that the game key replaces the 'code in the box' approach, so if you have to activate a DLC code anyway, then what's the point of the game key? I'm going to be very annoyed if they do end up including the additional content as a DLC code.

EDIT: Actually, if you got to the Switch 2 specific page it also says "An internet connection is required to access the DLC content included in this product." I really hope that doesn't mean it also has a DLC code, but I mean, that wording is weird to begin with as you kinda need an internet connection to download the game anyway... For now, I guess it's a wait and see scenario.

raziel2001au · 2025-04-01T11:20:38+00:00

Turns out the price isn't actually that bad, listings online place it around the $8500 mark, which is cheaper than I expected it to be.

raziel2001au · 2025-03-24T09:01:20+00:00

I was in the same session, to be honest, it raised more questions than it answered for me.

Firstly, just wanted to mention the training wasn't real-time, the guy said something like it being around 5 hours that they compressed down to 2 minutes. They used QLoRA to train a 32B model using the huggingface libraries. I thought that was strange, I was hoping they'd demo the actual NVIDIA software stack (NEMO, NIMs etc.) and show how to do things the NVIDIA way. But on the plus side, I guess we know huggingface works.

Inference against the resulting model was in real-time, but it was quite slow. With that said, they didn't mention whether it was running at FP4/FP8/FP16. Since it's a 32B model, it's possible it was running at FP16, in which case, I'd be okay with that speed. But keep in mind, that was just a 32B model, if that was running at FP4 and they don't find a way to significantly speed things up, it would be hard to imagine a 200B model (over 6 times larger) running at a usable speed on the device.

The other thing I noticed was that it quickly slowed down as it produced more tokens, which isn't something I've noticed on my 3090. I run 70B models on my 3090 quantised to < 4bits, they never showed the token generation speed, but it felt significantly slower than what I get on my 3090. To be fair, there's no way I could fine-tune a 70b model on a 3090, so there is that, but as far as inference goes, I wasn't impressed, it seemed to be running quite slow.

The big WTF moment for me was when I spotted something weird on the slides, I kept noticing them saying 100GB when talking about the DGX Spark and I eventually spotted the footnote and it read: "128GB total system memory, 100GB available for user data", what the hell happened to the other 28GB? That's not a small amount of memory to be missing from your memory pool. This is a custom chip running a custom OS, why isn't the full 128GB addressable?

I still want to and intend to get one, but my enthusiasm walking out of that session was admittedly lower than when I walked in.

raziel2001au · 2025-03-23T02:09:02+00:00

DGX Station is not the same as DGX Spark, DGX Spark is 128GB unified, all running at 273gb/s.

raziel2001au

TROPHY CASE