NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090 GPU is still in good demand in China and it looks like Chinese sellers have found a way to profit from such customers.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs Are Banned From China But Sellers Have A Found A Way To Continue Making Profits By Buying Complete PC Builds
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU was among the US export control products that were banned from sale in China. This was a major hit to Chinese customers and gamers, especially the AI market which was utilizing these GPUs as an alternative to the more expensive solutions from NVIDIA such as their H100 or A100 chips (also export-controlled). All of this led to NVIDIA releasing the GeForce RTX 4090D, a slightly cut-down variant, at the same price as the RTX 4090 for China.
However, it looks like despite NVIDIA launching the GeForce RTX 4090D, there is still big demand for the original RTX 4090 GPU and certain sellers are taking advantage of this situation. It is being reported that the GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs, despite being much higher priced, are seeing a huge increase in sales in Asian markets such as Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam etc. The main purpose is to sell these GPUs for profit in China as customers are willing to pay extra for the full 4090 GPU.
But that’s not all, most retailers in these regions are aware that these GPUs are being offloaded into the AI segment and have hence started selling the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs with pre-built gaming systems to limit resellers from making profits However that isn’t working great. It’s being reported by MyDrivers that Chinese sellers are buying these pre-built PCs and despite the buyer paying the full cost of the system, they still manage to make profits by selling the RTX 4090 GPUs alone.
One such case was reported when a buyer bought off 20 pre-built systems from a Taiwanese-based PC retailer in Taipei. The whole system with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU was priced at around 32,000 RMB $4450 US. That’s more than double the current prices of the 4090 in US & 2.8x higher than the $1599 US MSRP. However, these sellers are aiming for AI customers who want all the AI power they can get, leading to these Chinese sellers making big profits despite paying a very high cost.
The graphics card itself has been getting more expensive in the market with the card no longer being available at MSRP while other RTX 40 series cards are available at or below MSRP. It almost feels like retailers are also taking advantage of the whole situation surrounding the RTX 4090 ban in China. It is unknown who well-received the GeForce RTX 4090D is in China but for gamers at least, it is a card that can be bought around the same price as its MSRP for China which is 12,999 RMB.