Engadget RSS Feed-NVIDIA nerfed its RTX 4090 graphics card for Chinese buyers thanks to US export rules
December 29, 2023 2 min 322 words
这则报道揭示了NVIDIA在中国市场推出GeForce RTX 4090D显卡，以遵循美国出口规定。尽管此举是出于遵守法规的目的，但在维持符合规定的同时，显卡性能下降了5％。这凸显了贸易规定对科技公司的挑战，不仅需要在全球市场保持竞争力，还要遵循国际法规。美国出口限制为中国带来挑战，推动公司为中国市场开发专用硬件，从而保持业务连续性。这也反映了国际科技产业面临的政治和商业复杂性。在全球化时代，科技公司需要灵活应对各国法规，确保其产品在全球范围内的合法流通。
NVIDIA is set to release a low-powered version of the GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US export rules, as reported by The Verge. The RTX 4090D already has a product page on the company’s Chinese website and it boasts fewer CUDA cores than its similarly-named cousin. It also features a lower power draw of 425W instead of 450W.
Most of the other specs remain the same between the two versions, but the fewer CUDA cores and decreased power draw force a five percent reduction in speed when gaming and using creative applications, according to Reuters. Even with the performance dip, NVIDIA still says the 4090D is a "quantum leap in performance, efficiency and artificial intelligence-driven graphics.”
This is all due to US export restrictions on high-end computer chips shipped to China and Russia, in an attempt to curb both nations from developing technology that could be used in applications like weapons making and surveillance. These rules were announced back in 2022 but officially put into place this year, leaving manufacturers like NVIDIA scrambling to find a solution that met the needs of both Chinese consumers and US regulators.
We knew that the company was going to make new chips specifically for the massive Chinese market, as the restrictions prevented it from selling the original RTX 4090 and a bevy of AI-related GPUs. NVIDIA says the updated GPU “has been designed to fully comply with US government export controls” and added that it “extensively engaged with the US government” throughout development of the chip.
The RTX 4090D will be available throughout China at some point in January, at a price of ￥12,999 or around $1,836 USD. This should help lessen demand for powerful graphics cards in the country, as the aforementioned restrictions have reportedly led to the repurposing of factories to focus on AI accelerators instead of the banned RTX 4090.