DGX Spark costs $4,800 — and hardware prices are only going higher

The DGX Spark was recently raised to around $4,800. That sounds like a lot, and it is — everyone's in a different financial situation. But the broader thesis is that we are heading into a prolonged hardware bottleneck. The AI build-out is happening at scale, and memory costs are skyrocketing across the board — even a Nintendo Switch memory card now runs about $100. Hardware is getting more expensive, not cheaper. Getting into local models and owning your own hardware is a good idea both for practical functionality and for education and learning. If you can find room in your budget, it's viewed as a solid long-term investment.