The graphics card market in China is facing a significant disruption as reports indicate Nvidia's high-end GeForce RTX 5090D—a China-exclusive variant of the flagship RTX 5090—is being completely banned in the country due to tightening US export restrictions. This development leaves Chinese gamers and professionals without access to Nvidia's top-tier GPU offerings, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape in one of the world's largest tech markets.
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| The powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090D graphics card, now banned in China, is depicted against a backdrop that symbolizes the fierce competition in the gaming industry |
US Export Restrictions Intensify
The ban on the RTX 5090D stems from updated US export control rules that restrict the sale of high-performance computing hardware to China. According to multiple reports, these restrictions specifically target GPUs that offer memory bandwidth of 1400 GB/s or higher and I/O bandwidth equal to or greater than 1100 GB/s, with a combined limit of 1700 GB/s. The RTX 5090D, despite being designed specifically for the Chinese market with reduced AI capabilities, still exceeds these thresholds with its current specifications.
Immediate Market Impact
The restrictions have reportedly taken effect in the second quarter of 2025, meaning the ban is already active. Nvidia has allegedly instructed its board partners to halt preparations for the RTX 5090D and has canceled pending orders for the GB202 Blackwell GPU chips that power these cards. Chinese distributors had already begun limiting sales in anticipation of these restrictions, but the complete cessation of supply means any remaining stock will likely disappear from shelves within days or weeks.
No Clear Alternative for Chinese Consumers
What makes this situation particularly challenging for Chinese consumers is the lack of a replacement option. The RTX 5090D was Nvidia's solution to provide Chinese customers with a high-end graphics card while complying with previous export restrictions. With this model now banned, Chinese residents will need to settle for lower-tier options like the RTX 5080, which uses the different GB203 GPU and offers reduced performance compared to the flagship model.
Financial Implications for Nvidia
This ban could have significant financial consequences for Nvidia. Similar restrictions on the company's H20 AI chips were previously estimated to potentially cost the company as much as USD $5.5 billion in a single quarter. The RTX 5090D ban could compound these losses, especially given Nvidia's strong position in China's high-end graphics card market. Without a clear alternative to offer Chinese customers, Nvidia risks losing market share to competitors like AMD, which may not face the same level of restrictions.
Broader Context of US-China Tech Tensions
The RTX 5090D ban is part of a larger pattern of increasing restrictions on advanced technology exports to China. The US government has been progressively tightening controls on semiconductor technology, AI accelerators, and high-performance computing hardware to limit China's access to cutting-edge technology. This latest development suggests that gaming GPUs, which have substantial crossover capabilities with AI and high-performance computing, are increasingly being caught in these restrictions.
Technical Specifications Under Scrutiny
The RTX 5090D was designed to be nearly identical to the standard RTX 5090 in core specifications, featuring the same GB202 Blackwell GPU, memory configuration, and power limits. The key difference was hardware-level limits on AI inference performance to comply with previous export regulations. However, the updated restrictions appear to focus on raw bandwidth capabilities rather than specific AI performance metrics, making it impossible for Nvidia to offer the card without significant redesigns that would compromise its performance.
Future Outlook
Industry analysts suggest Nvidia may need to develop entirely new GPU variants with substantially reduced specifications to serve the Chinese market. Reports of a potential Super refresh with modified VRAM configurations could be one approach to creating products that comply with the export restrictions while still offering acceptable performance. However, any such solutions would likely represent a significant step down from the flagship performance that Chinese consumers previously had access to through the RTX 5090D.