{"rewrite":{"id":"r_cd8b5b41275523cbe9585f3c","clusterId":"c_53953d392a525314993a54b8","slug":"modified-rtx-5090-cards-allegedly-shipped-to-china-by-the-batch-for-ai-use","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Modified RTX 5090 Cards Allegedly Shipped to China by the Batch for AI Use","summary":"Reporting picked up by VideoCardz describes footage, shared by HKEPC, of a Chinese workshop stripping standard RTX 5090 cards down to their GB202 chip and GDDR memory and transplanting them onto blower-cooled custom boards for AI server use. The cards shown are the standard model, which the US restricts for export to China, not the China-market RTX 5090 D v2. How the parts are procured is not clear.","whyItMatters":"If the footage reflects an ongoing flow, then the standard RTX 5090's export restriction has not stopped Chinese buyers from putting its silicon into AI servers, which makes the card's retail price and availability harder to read as a pure gaming demand story.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe Hong Kong outlet HKEPC posted video on October 23 from what it says is a card modification workshop in China. Cards are taken apart on the line, the triple-fan cooler removed, and the memory and GB202 chip placed on a custom carrier with a blower-type cooler. That board is shaped for servers, not desktops.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eASUS ROG Astral cards, GIGABYTE and PNY models, and NVIDIA\u0026#39;s own Founders Edition all appear in the footage. None of those are the RTX 5090 D v2 built for the Chinese market. Chinese suppliers have claimed 64GB and 96GB variants of the card circulate, but no working units have been confirmed. Questions about where the supply comes from remain open.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"The workshop footage shows standard RTX 5090 cards stripped to the GB202 chip and GDDR memory, then rebuilt on blower-cooled boards. The China-market RTX 5090 D v2 exists to sidestep export limits, yet these are standard models.","twitterPost":"The cards being rebuilt in that workshop are the standard RTX 5090, not the China-market D v2. The export-restricted model is the one showing up.","threadsPost":"The footage shows standard RTX 5090 cards, not the China-market RTX 5090 D v2, stripped to the GB202 chip and GDDR memory and rebuilt on blower-cooled boards. The card built to clear export limits is not the one appearing in the workshop.","newsletterBlurb":"Video shared by HKEPC and picked up by VideoCardz shows what it calls a graphics card modification factory in China, where standard RTX 5090 boards are stripped for their GB202 chips and memory and rebuilt for AI server use. The standard card is subject to US export restrictions to China, and the RTX 5090 D v2 exists for that market, yet standard ASUS, GIGABYTE, PNY, and Founders Edition cards appear in the footage. Sources for the supply remain unconfirmed.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261026-475518/\",\"title\":\"Behind the Soaring Price of NVIDIA's Top-End GPU \\\"GeForce RTX 5090,\\\" Mass \\\"AI Server Modifications\\\" Said to Be Rampant. Where Are They Getting So Many?\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4703,"outputTokens":692,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792991983,"createdAt":"2026-10-26T05:15:28.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-26T05:18:39.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T05:18:39.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_53953d392a525314993a54b8","canonicalTitle":"NVIDIAの最上位グラボ「GeForce RTX 5090」高騰の裏で、“AIサーバー用に大量魔改造”が横行か。どこからそんなに手に入れた","representativeArticleId":"a_9e127d1e8832286355f914ea","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"GeForce RTX 5090\"],\"studios\":[\"NVIDIA\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-26T04:40:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-26T04:40:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T05:18:34.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261026-475518/","title":"NVIDIAの最上位グラボ「GeForce RTX 5090」高騰の裏で、“AIサーバー用に大量魔改造”が横行か。どこからそんなに手に入れた"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["GeForce RTX 5090"],"studios":["NVIDIA"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null,"pageLinks":{"healthSlugs":["geforce-rtx-5090","nvidia"],"storySlugs":[],"entities":[{"slug":"geforce-rtx-5090","supported":0,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":1,"overall":"unverified","story_count":4,"has_dossier":true},{"slug":"nvidia","supported":5,"disputed":0,"contradicted":1,"unverified":27,"overall":"red","story_count":40,"has_dossier":true}],"stories":[],"entitiesOk":true,"storiesOk":true}}