Graphic Card Price Hits 9 Million Won... Chinese Gamers 'Scream' Over Semiconductor Regulations

Export Restrictions Cause Shortage of General GPUs
"Might Have to Spend 3.7 Million Won More Because of the US"

In China, the price of Nvidia's high-performance graphics processing unit (GPU), the 'GeForce RTX 4090,' has reportedly surged by about three times. This comes as the United States intensifies its technology export restrictions to China.

According to the Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 22nd (local time), the retail price of the RTX 4090 sold at official online stores in China is rapidly increasing. In some stores, the GPU price ranges from 40,000 to 50,000 yuan (approximately 7.39 million to 9.23 million KRW), nearly three times Nvidia's suggested retail price.

This occurred following additional semiconductor export restrictions imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce on China. Previously, the U.S. government announced stricter export controls not only on the latest GPUs for artificial intelligence (AI) research but also on GPUs with relatively lower performance.

Initially, the GPUs restricted for export to China by the U.S. were the 'A100' and 'H100.' Nvidia developed the 'A800' and 'H800,' which have some performance limitations for export to China to circumvent export regulations, but these GPUs have also been blocked from export.

Subsequently, it has been reported that RTX 4090 stocks were withdrawn from Chinese online shopping malls such as JD.com and Taobao. The RTX 4090 is a general PC graphics card, not an AI GPU. However, SCMP reported that the U.S. export restrictions on China have had a broad impact on the Chinese market.

An Nvidia partner in China, operating on Taobao, told SCMP, "The RTX 4090 sold out immediately on the 18th," adding, "It is uncertain whether more stock will arrive."

Another computer parts seller told the media, "No one knows what will happen next," and added, "Honestly, the RTX 4090 is somewhat excessive for running video games at this stage. However, I told customers to buy it as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, China's social networking service (SNS) 'Weibo' reportedly blocked posts discussing the RTX 4090 topic in the early hours of the 19th. One netizen wrote on the SNS, "Those who already have the 4090 card should cherish it as much as possible."

Richard Zheng, a gamer living in Shanghai, told SCMP, "I was planning to buy a 4090 graphics card this year or next year, but I have no intention of paying an additional 20,000 yuan (about 3.69 million KRW) just because of U.S. sanctions," expressing his frustration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.