GoKawiilTom's Hardware Premium roundup: DGX Spark vs Mac Studio, AMD's MEXT halves DRAM needs
Tom's Hardware Premium's latest weekly digest benchmarks Nvidia's DGX Spark against Apple's Mac Studio for local AI workloads, and details AMD's new MEXT memory engine, which uses a transformer model and flash storage to deliver 99% of server performance on half the DRAM. AMD is currently running MEXT on 145 servers and plans to scale that to 2,000 next year. The issue also covers Jensen Huang's recent step-down from Nvidia's CEO role and an interview with Cognichip's Chief Product Officer about its AI chip-design tools.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The DGX Spark vs Mac Studio comparison reflects growing enthusiast demand for local AI hardware as an alternative to cloud compute, where pricing and performance tradeoffs matter for buyers. AMD's MEXT could ease a persistent industry bottleneck—DRAM scarcity driven by AI buildout—by letting servers do more with less memory, though its real-world impact will depend on how the planned expansion to 2,000 servers performs. Huang's departure from Nvidia's top post, given the company's pivot from gaming GPUs to AI infrastructure, could have broad implications for the direction of the AI hardware ecosystem that the roundup suggests but does not fully detail.
- Nvidia's DGX Spark and Apple's Mac Studio were benchmarked head-to-head for running local AI models.
- AMD's MEXT memory engine reportedly delivers 99% of server performance using half the DRAM, already deployed on 145 servers with plans to reach 2,000 next year.
- The coverage follows Nvidia founder Jensen Huang's step-down as CEO, a shift the roundup frames as significant for the AI hardware industry.
Apple Mac Studio (M-series) — If you're exploring local AI workloads like the article discusses, the Mac Studio is a compelling unified-memory alternative to dedicated AI boxes like the DGX Spark. Its high memory bandwidth and capacity make it well-suited for running large models locally without relying on cloud compute.
See Apple Mac Studio (M-series) on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: tomshardware.com — Sayem Ahmed, 2026-11-14
Published there as: “This week in Tom's Hardware Premium: November 14, 2026 — Mac Studio versus DGX Spark, AMD's MEXT cuts DRAM requirements in half, and the Huang saga reaches critical mass”
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