NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090D was supposed to be a clever workaround – a GPU specially created to comply with U.S. export regulations while still delivering advanced gaming performance to Chinese consumers.

But recent reports suggest that even this modified version may not make it to market.

NVIDIA RTX 5090D: A China-Specific Solution

The RTX 5090D was designed specifically for the Chinese market in response to the U.S. government's increasingly strict export rules. These rules target high-performance chips like the NVIDIA H100 and H20, and AMD's MI300 series, banning them from being sold in China if they exceed certain memory and I/O bandwidth thresholds.

To get around these limits, NVIDIA modified the RTX 5090D to lower its AI throughput while keeping specs that matter to gamers intact – such as core count, memory size, and clock speeds. That may not have been sufficient, however.

The Bandwidth Problem

Intended to limit China's ability to develop advanced AI systems, U.S. export regulations on chips impose strict caps on memory and I/O bandwidth: 1,400 GB/s and 1,100 GB/s, respectively – or a combined total over 1,700 GB/s.

If the RTX 5090D exceeds any of these thresholds, it could still be restricted, despite being designed with reduced AI capabilities and not typically suited for large-scale enterprise workloads. The problem is, it very well might fall into the restricted category based on total bandwidth.

NVIDIA appears to be taking preemptive action – asking add-in board (AIB) partners to halt shipments and prep work, and even putting a pause on related orders by cooling module manufacturers.

So far, there's been no official statement from NVIDIA. But after getting burned when the RTX 4090 was unexpectedly swept up in a prior wave of export controls, NVIDIA is reportedly acting early this time with this "precautionary" move amid ongoing regulatory uncertainty between the U.S. and China.

What This Means for the Market

Whether this sales halt is temporary or permanent remains to be seen, but the wider implications are potentially far-reaching. The RTX 5090D was the only flagship-class Blackwell GPU intended for Chinese gamers. If it's taken off the table, that leaves a gap in the market – and an opportunity for rivals like AMD, which is reportedly preparing a China-exclusive gaming GPU.

Furthermore, these ongoing developments reflect a growing reality: that geopolitical decisions are impacting GPU availability worldwide.

While Chinese consumers lose access to another high-end option, global suppliers are keeping a close eye on what happens next. Constraints in one region can ripple across the supply chain, affecting availability, pricing, and competitive positioning elsewhere, as well.

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