NVIDIA Launches RTX 5090 D V2 in China: Gaming Performance Maintained, AI Capabilities Reduced

NVIDIA Introduces RTX 5090 D V2 for Chinese Market

NVIDIA has quietly launched the GeForce RTX 5090 D V2, a modified version of its high-end graphics card specifically designed for the Chinese market. This new variant comes with significant changes to its memory subsystem and AI capabilities, while maintaining gaming performance comparable to its predecessors 1

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Key Specifications and Changes

The RTX 5090 D V2 retains the GB202-240 GPU with 21,760 CUDA cores, 170 RT cores, and 680 Tensor cores. The boost clock remains at 2.41 GHz, ensuring that raw compute capability for gaming is largely unchanged 2

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However, significant modifications have been made to the memory configuration:

• VRAM capacity reduced from 32GB to 24GB
• Memory interface narrowed from 512-bit to 384-bit
• Memory bandwidth decreased from 1,790 GB/s to 1,340 GB/s

These changes were implemented to comply with US export restrictions to China, which limit memory bandwidth to 1.4 GB/s 3

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Performance Impact

Gaming performance remains largely unaffected, with benchmarks showing only a 1-2% difference compared to the original RTX 5090 D 5

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. However, the impact on AI and productivity workloads is more significant:

• AI compute power reduced from 3,352 TOPS to 2,375 TOPS
• Up to 20% performance loss in memory-intensive AI workloads
• Productivity applications like Blender show performance gaps of up to 19%
• V-Ray Benchmark reveals 7.5% slower CUDA performance and 20% slower RTX performance

Pricing and Availability

The RTX 5090 D V2 is priced at 16,499 yuan (approximately $2,295 USD), matching the MSRP of the original RTX 5090 D 4

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. This pricing strategy has raised concerns among consumers and industry analysts, as the new card offers reduced capabilities at the same price point.

In Hong Kong, the card is listed for slightly less, potentially offering savings of $700-$1400 compared to the full RTX 5090 4

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Market Implications

The introduction of the RTX 5090 D V2 highlights the ongoing challenges faced by technology companies in navigating international trade restrictions. While NVIDIA has managed to maintain gaming performance, the reduced AI and productivity capabilities may impact the card's appeal to professionals and researchers in the Chinese market.

For gamers focused solely on frame rates, the RTX 5090 D V2 remains a powerful option. However, content creators, data scientists, and AI researchers may find the reduced memory and bandwidth a significant drawback, especially given the unchanged price point 2

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As the global semiconductor industry continues to navigate complex geopolitical landscapes, products like the RTX 5090 D V2 demonstrate the delicate balance companies must strike between technological advancement, market demands, and regulatory compliance.