Nvidia brings new gaming chip for China around US sanctions

Nvidia has recently unveiled a new gaming chip RTX 4090D for China which keeps the chipmaker in touch with the market while obeying the strict U.S. trade rules. The new processor just came into existence and the company will officially launch it for consumers in January 2024.

According to the inputs, this is Nvidia’s first China-focused processor after the U.S. authorities chained the sales of two modified AI chipsets – A800 and H800 following the export restrictions. Meanwhile, the advanced gaming chip – RTX 4090 was also on the prohibited list.

However, Nvidia’s official website says that the RTX 4090D processor bears AI capabilities for efficient performance but doesn’t break any set of rules. Besides, the company’s spokesperson gave more assurance with these words:

“The GeForce RTX 4090D has been designed to fully comply with U.S. government export control. While developing this product, we extensively engaged with the U.S. government.”

Speaking of the chipset, RTX 4090D delivers a quantum leap in performance along with better efficiency and AI-driven graphics. Although, it is a slower version of the advanced gaming chipset and contains fewer CUDA cores.

The difference is also visible in the energy segment which uses slightly lower power at 425W. In terms of functioning, the modified variant is 5% slower in gaming and creation. The rest of the specs are the same as the original chip.

Accordingly, the latest Nvidia gaming chip costs 12999 yuan ($1842) in China and will be available to consumers in January 2024.

Nvidia’s growth in China

China is one of the main markets for Nvidia. The chipmaker has more than 90% share in China’s $7 billion AI chip merchandise. Although, the U.S. ban and excessive control of China’s trade business have tied the company down.

Yet, a few analysts have said that U.S. prohibitions are more likely a blessing for Chinese firms such as Huawei, as they are getting new opportunities in the AI chip sector.

For the time being, Nvidia is allowed to sell AI chips to China. However, the only rule is that these should not be the highest processing power products.

(Source)