Nvidia has a brand new model of its RTX 4090 graphics card within the works which shall be significantly cut-down ultimately, or so rumor has it – and the GPU is tied up with the state of affairs in China.

The purported RTX 4090 D – with the ‘D’ referring to the Yr of the Dragon, most probably, taking into consideration it is a new taste aimed on the Chinese language market – was first reported on by Wccftech, after which a leaker on X introduced us some follow-up data.

4090DAD102-250November 30, 2023

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As noticed by Tom’s {Hardware}, leaker MEGAsizeGPU observes that the RTX 4090 D will purportedly be constructed across the AD102-250 chip, whereas the full-fat RTX 4090 is AD102-300 (and AD102-301). The latter 301 variant signifies a slight change, however a shift to a ‘250’ chip suggests, in fact, that that is going to be a significantly cut-down GPU.

Add your personal seasoning to all this hypothesis, however the rumor is smart in mild of the US import ban stopping Nvidia promoting the RTX 4090 (and different heavyweight AI playing cards) to China.

What Workforce Inexperienced might be doing right here is making a flagship GPU variant that’s just below the efficiency threshold whereby playing cards are blocked for export to China, dropping it by a minimum of 10% or extra to be protected.

What we’d find yourself with, then, is a chip with fewer CUDA Cores, and probably overclocking limits as properly (to stop enterprising of us from making up the core deficit by cranking up clocks by way of beefy cooling options).

Evaluation: Don’t get enthusiastic about this theorized GPU

MEGAsizeGPU doesn’t have any particulars of the precise spec of this RTX 4090 D, saying nothing is confirmed but, so Nvidia might be deciding methods to play this one nonetheless. Or it might simply be a rumor that’ll evaporate into nothing, in fact, nevertheless it appears doubtless that Nvidia will need to maintain gross sales flowing in an enormous territory like China.

What Nvidia will want to ensure of, although, is that any such RTX 4090 D doesn’t conflict with the incoming RTX 4080 Tremendous. (Though that graphics card, too, is simply rumored at this level, nevertheless it’s very strongly rumored, and fairly probably set for a CES 2024 reveal – and a possible spot on our record of the perfect GPUs).

For those who’re pondering that the RTX 4090 D might be a compelling buy, you would possibly need to suppose once more. Because the ‘Dragon’ title (and the aforementioned Wccftech report) suggests, that is more likely to be a graphics card solely launched in China, and furthermore, it’ll doubtless be pitched on the similar retail value because the RTX 4090.

Once more, as a result of you’ll be able to’t purchase the full-fat 4090 GPU in China any longer, that is smart, and Nvidia will be capable to cost a premium for the brand new cut-down taste – demand is thru the roof at the moment for high-end graphics playing cards. (And costs for the RTX 4090 have shot up outdoors of China, too, due to the inventory pressures created by the plentiful stock that has been shipped to Asia).

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