Why China Changes RTX 5090 to Dual-Slot Blower Cards
A channel named 阿健座谈 on Bilibili tells more about the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in China. Even with US rules on export, the strong RTX 5090 is still well-stocked and is now being changed into dual-slot, blower-style cards for AI and server needs.
Supply and Demand in Servers
The source says the RTX 5090 is easy to get in China and you can find it on big online shops. This keeps it in favor for firms, more than the weaker "RTX 5090 D" as the full model has better AI skills and more VRAM (32 GB vs 24 GB).
The main need to change is due to size. Servers need many GPUs but standard RTX 5090 cards, made for games, are too wide (often 2.5-3.0 slots). To pack more GPUs in one server box, they need to be made thinner, into a dual-slot design.
Fixing the 16-Pin Connector Issue
This change also fixes a big problem with the 16-pin power slot. They move the slot to a new place on the custom card's board for the blower-style design.
Problems with Gaming Cards: Most RTX 5090s for games put the 16-pin slot on the top edge. This needs over 35mm of free space for the cable, which most server boxes don't have. It’s also next to the very hot VRM parts.
The Blower Card Fix: The modified cards move the 16-pin slot to the side edge of the board, away from hot parts. This lets the power cable go straight without bending.
No Melting Cases Seen
It's clear this new design works well. One user with nearly a thousand RTX 5090 and RTX 4090 blower-style cards in their servers has seen no melting issues.
This backs up what many folks who know hardware think, like EVGA's Kingpin, who said putting the slot at the top near hot parts was a bad design. The changed server cards show this new slot spot is much safer and more reliable.
