How We Test AI PCs: Benchmarking Local AI as It Moves From the Data Center to Your Desk

PCMag has published a new testing methodology for AI PCs, covering Nvidia RTX Spark laptops, DGX Spark desktops, and other AI-ready systems ranging from everyday laptops with NPUs to development boxes. The methodology arrives roughly two years after the first "Copilot+ PCs" shipped with early neural processing units (NPUs), as local AI workloads move from the data center to the desktop.

Take a look inside our new testing methodology for Nvidia RTX Spark laptops, DGX Spark desktops, and other AI-ready systems, from everyday laptops with NPUs to robust dev boxes. When the first so-called "AI PCs" launched a couple of years ago, they were mostly mainstream laptops whose processors were outfitted with the early instances of neural processing units NPUs . Branded as "Copilot+ PCs," they offered …