Nvidia's Blackwell Gaming GPUs Converted to Blower-Style for AI Data Centers in China

Nvidia's Blackwell gaming GPUs go through blower-style transformation to fuel AI data centers -- RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5060 Ti blower GPUs up for purchase in China

Blower-style GPUs have mostly exited the mainstream due to how thermally inefficient they were in conventional setups. However, they still hold an important place in the server segment where clusters of GPUs are stacked next to each other in an open-air environment. China has been leading the wave for these for a while, and now Videocardz has spotted even more SKUs recently added to the collection. In specific, we're talking about Nvidia's Blackwell family, or the RTX 50-series, where gaming variants of the flagship RTX 5090 have been stripped apart and retrofitted inside blower-style shrouds. So, these are not official partner cards, but rather aftermarket solutions. This goes for both the anomalously recurrent RTX 5090 32 GB that is banned in China, and the nerfed 5090D, plus the 5090D V2 with less VRAM. What we're now starting to see are new GPUs, including the RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5060 Ti -- all SKUs with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory -- being available for purchase on Taobao. The listing shows specs for all the models, but only the 5090 is pictured. This is also the standard 32 GB variant; not the upgraded cards with up to 128 GB of VRAM, though configs like those are likely also possible based on demand. Now, the blower-style RTX 5090 32 GB will run you 29,000 Chinese Yuan, or about $4,156 USD, which is more expensive that most retail 5090s even right now. More interestingly, the blower 5080 is priced at $1,288, the RTX 5070 Ti will run you $1,103, while the RTX 5060 Ti is only around $573, which is about $100 more than gaming variants at the moment. All of these represent a price premium because they're targeted at AI workloads and that is one blooming market right now. The 5090, in particular, has been a local darling in the region despite being export-controlled by Washington. Sprawling underground operations with factory-like production lines are gutting and reassembling these GPUs, making them ready for AI clients willing to pay big money. Beyond just adding more VRAM, even just standard cards with blower coolers represent an upgrade for AI farms. This is because they suck in fresh air through the fan at the front and exhaust it out the back. Usually, this causes them to be louder in standard PC cases and run hotter since there's not enough intake, and the GPU is handling its own exhaust instead of handing it to the airflow of the entire case. Now, compare that to dense spaces like data centers or server farms where a number of cards are packed together. There's no case to trap air, instead the cards are being kept cool externally. Therefore, this kind of setup is much better since it'll keep air from circulating within or between GPUs. Blower designs are also thinner, usually two-slot, so they take up less space, meaning more cards in the same stack.

After RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, And RTX 5060 Ti Are Now Getting Converted To Blower-Style GPUs In China

It's not just the GeForce RTX 5090, which is getting converted to a blower-style GPU for the AI market, but other slower cards are following the same path as well. Remember the Chinese labs where the banned GeForce RTX 5090 were getting converted into blower-style GPUs? Well, not only does that go almost unrestricted, but more NVIDIA RTX 50 series GPUs are now seeing a similar transformation. Since the RTX 5090 has a huge demand in China, while the US govt has banned the sale of this GPU, NVIDIA had to release the 24 GB variant, known as the GeForce RTX 5090 D V2. A huge inventory of the standard RTX 5090 still easily manages into Chinese markets, where specific shops/labs remove the GPU chip and the VRAM from the PCB to deploy on newer ones that utilize a blower-style cooler. These are then sold in the market for AI usage, and that's also one of the reasons why it gets even harder for gamers to get their hands on the flagship RTX 50 GPU. But if you think the rest of the lineup is untouched, then you are mistaken. Recently, Taobao has started listing other blower-style RTX 50 series cards, which include almost the entire lineup except for a few SKUs. Apparently, three more GPUs are now getting converted into blower-style GPUs, including the GeForce RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5060 Ti, all of which boast 16 GB GDDR7 memory. We don't know which one is shown in the pics, but these may or may not be the PCB from NVIDIA or its board partners. It's possible that, similar to the RTX 5090 blower-style GPUs, these are the converted cards with newer PCBs. With a blower-style cooler attached to the PCB, these GPUs are now fit for deployment in machines where the heat needs to be dissipated via the I/O, and these also have the power connector located on the right edge to ensure more clearance in the chassis and allow a multi-GPU setup. Right now, none of the cards seem to have an upgraded memory configuration. which is going to be particularly more difficult at the moment, given the market conditions. Price-wise, some of these are quite expensive, especially the RTX 5090 32 GB GPU, which is sold for nearly $4150. The RTX 5090 D 32 GB variant is a bit cheaper at $3,869, and the V2 is just over $3400. RTX 5080 is selling for nearly $1300, and the RTX 5070 Ti is at around $1100. The RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB is going for sale at $573, making it the cheapest 16 GB card.