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Due to stringent export regulations, Chinese gamers are likely to face restrictions in accessing Nvidia’s top-tier graphics card. Nevertheless, Nvidia might have uncovered a workaround to retain its flagship GPU. Recent leaks indicate that the RTX 5090D will mirror the hardware specifications of the global version, with the solution hinging on firmware modifications.
To clarify, the “D” in RTX 5090D signifies “Dragon.” This designation pertains to GPUs produced by Nvidia to navigate the U.S. export restrictions on China, which limit the distribution of high-performance graphics cards. The RTX 4090D was introduced as a response to the original RTX 4090 exceeding the performance limits imposed by these regulations.
Initially, Nvidia took a straightforward approach by offering the RTX 4090D as a scaled-back variant of the RTX 4090, featuring fewer CUDA cores and reduced power consumption. As noted by sources in the tech community, overclocking was discouraged (though users eventually found ways around this). However, with the RTX 5090 rumored to be considerably more potent than its predecessor, this strategy may not have been feasible.
This leads us to the fresh leak concerning the RTX 5090D. As always, keep in mind that these are unverified claims, and the specifics could change by the time the RTX 50-series is officially released.
According to a leaker from the Chiphell forums, the RTX 5090 and RTX 5090D will essentially share the same specifications. Both will utilize the GB202 GPU without any hardware alterations, but Nvidia plans to throttle the AI capabilities of these cards to comply with the regulations.
It remains to be seen how Nvidia intends to implement firmware tweaks to ensure that the RTX 5090D is less effective for AI tasks. One potential method could involve restricting Tensor core performance, which would also impact DLSS 3 functionalities. This could diminish its value for gamers compared to the RTX 4090D, which, while being a trimmed-down version, retains complete DLSS 3 performance. Another approach could involve lowering the card’s standard power limit.
This situation recalls the lite hash rate (LHR) editions of the RTX 30-series, where Nvidia sought to limit their appeal to cryptocurrency miners by introducing BIOS restrictions, despite the underlying hardware being unchanged. Enthusiasts quickly figured out ways to bypass these limitations; it remains uncertain whether the same will happen with the RTX 5090D.
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