RTX 5090 cards appear to be dismantled for AI hardware in China
Footage shared by Hong Kong hardware outlet HKEPC appears to show Chinese workshops removing GPU dies and memory chips from GeForce RTX 5090 cards for use on custom accelerator boards. The footage establishes activity at the filmed location, but not the number of cards converted, their source, the owners of the facility or whether any shipment breached export rules.
Bottom line — HKEPC’s footage shows apparent component reuse, not a verified count of converted RTX 5090s or evidence of direct NVIDIA sales into China.
Go deeper 5
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Guru3D reports that cards from multiple retail vendors appear in the footage.
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Guru3D cautions that claims of hundreds of cards are not a verified production count.
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The RTX 5090 is subject to China restrictions; NVIDIA offers a lower-performance RTX 5090D variant for that market, according to Guru3D.
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Guru3D says the video does not establish where the cards originated or whether any shipment violated applicable rules.
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The footage shows components being repurposed, but Guru3D notes that this does not establish the modified accelerators’ reliability or performance.