# Nvidia RTX Spark encrypted firmware slows inference speed to 35% on Linux

- HackerByte page: <https://hackerbyte.net/en/stories/nvidia-s-encrypted-firmware-for-rtx-spark-gpus-significantly-reduces-ai-inferenc-50362905>
- Original source: <https://www.mindstudio.ai/blog/linux-nvidia-rtx-spark-laptop>
- Hacker News discussion: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50362905>
- Submitted to Hacker News: 2026-11-04T08:46:29.000Z

Nvidia's encrypted firmware for RTX Spark GPUs significantly reduces AI inference speed on Linux systems.

## AI-generated summary

Nvidia RTX Spark laptops, like the MSI Prestige N16 Flip AI Plus, suffer from a significant performance drop when running Linux due to encrypted power management firmware. While Linux installations can achieve GPU acceleration, the GPU clock speed is severely limited to around 780 MHz when plugged in, compared to over 2 GHz on Windows. This throttles inference speeds drastically, making native Linux performance a fraction of what is achievable on Windows or through WSL.

## Key points

- Nvidia RTX Spark laptops experience a drastic performance reduction on Linux when plugged into power.
- The slowdown is caused by encrypted firmware that limits GPU clock speed to \~780 MHz on Linux, versus \~2.2 GHz on Windows.
- Native Linux inference speeds on a 120B parameter model dropped from 65.4 tokens/sec on Windows to 13.9 tokens/sec on Linux.
- WSL \(Windows Subsystem for Linux\) offers a practical workaround by leveraging Windows drivers, maintaining full GPU boost.
- A true fix requires Nvidia to provide equivalent power management logic in its Linux driver.