[News] NVIDIA to Launch China-Specific RTX 5090 D with 29% AI Performance Cut to Meet U.S. Export Rules

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According to a report from Commercial Times, NVIDIA unveiled the RTX 50 series graphics cards at CES on January 7, including the RTX 5090 D, which was specifically designed for the Chinese market to comply with U.S. export control regulations. The report, citing Chinese media outlet ithome, notes that the RTX 5090 D is scheduled for release on January 30.

Compared to the RTX 5090, the RTX 5090 D shows no differences in gaming performance. The key distinction lies in its AI performance, which has been reduced from 3,352 TOPS to 2,375 TOPS—a reduction of approximately 29.15%, as highlighted in the report.

Regarding pricing, the RTX 5090 is listed at USD 1,999 in the U.S., whereas the China-specific RTX 5090 D starts at RMB 16,499 (approximately USD 2,250), according to information from NVIDIA’s Chinese website cited in the report.

As indicated in the report, in October 2022, the U.S. imposed restrictions on China’s access to NVIDIA’s high-performance GPUs. This compelled NVIDIA to introduce reduced-performance versions specifically designed for the Chinese market, such as the A800 and H800.

In October 2023, the U.S. further escalated restrictions, rendering the A800, H800, and even the gaming-focused RTX 4090 unavailable for export to China.

However, as noted in the report, NVIDIA continues to release new China-specific models after that, including the H20, RTX 4090 D, and RTX 5090 D, showing the company’s strong commitment to the Chinese market.

Notably, as highlighted in a report by Tom’s Hardware, NVIDIA’s HGX H20 GPUs, specifically tailored for the Chinese market, have reportedly achieved surprisingly strong sales performance in China, despite having diminished performance compared to the H100.

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(Photo credit: NVIDIA)