Nvidia's Sells Slower Chip in China Due to Regulation
Jan 4, 2024
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Nvidia launches a slower gaming chip in China to comply with US export controls, impacting the gaming industry and international trade. The move raises concerns about China's control and the decreased availability of AI-capable chips. The podcast discusses the speculation surrounding the performance of the new chips, as well as the potential response from China.
Nvidia's launch of a slower gaming chip in China demonstrates compliance with US export controls and poses challenges for Chinese tech companies in terms of competition and quality.
US export restrictions on advanced chips are affecting the availability of Nvidia's AI capable chips and raise questions about the performance of the adjusted Nvidia RTX 4090D chip in comparison to the original version.
Deep dives
Nvidia launches slower version of gaming chip in China to comply with US export controls
Nvidia, a US-based chip maker, is launching a modified version of its gaming chip in China to comply with US export controls. These controls require chip makers to produce lower quality or slower chips for China to give America a competitive advantage. The adjusted version of Nvidia's new processor, named Nvidia RTX 4090D, has 11% fewer CAD cores than the versions sold outside of China. This move poses challenges for Chinese tech companies trying to compete with their American counterparts, as their tools are being forced to lower quality. Nvidia claims that the chip has been designed to fully comply with US government export controls.
Implications of Nvidia's chip adjustment for China and US export restrictions
The US export restrictions aimed at preventing Chinese companies from accessing advanced American chips are affecting the availability of Nvidia's AI capable chips and gaming processors. Nvidia's chips have been in high demand due to the growth of AI applications, but their limited supply has created long waitlists. The adjusted Nvidia RTX 4090D chip, which leverages AI to enhance performance, raises speculation about its actual performance compared to the original version. China's response to these lower quality chips remains to be seen, as the impact on chip makers shipping to China may or may not be significant.
In this episode, we discuss Nvidia's strategy to launch a deliberately slower version of its gaming chip in China, a direct response to comply with US export controls. We'll examine the implications of this move for the gaming industry, international trade, and technological competition.