The GeForce RTX 5090 has reportedly been easily accessible in China, despite its ban due to U.S. export restrictions. 
According to recent reports, the GPU is being smuggled into China, where it is reworked into a dual-slot blower-style card for use in AI servers. The availability of the RTX 5090 is stable, with units found on major e-commerce platforms, making it a sought-after choice for enterprises, especially given its impressive AI performance and 32 GB of VRAM-more than the RTX 5090 D V2, which is limited to 24 GB due to U.S. regulations.
The Bilibili channel, which posted the video on this process, revealed that this custom version of the RTX 5090 isn’t ideal for server deployments, as the cards are thicker than typical designs. The GPUs are converted into dual-slot configurations with blower-style coolers by installing the GPU chip and VRAM modules on newer PCBs with the 16-pin connector moved to the right side. This change is necessary due to space limitations in server cases, which would otherwise cause connector melting issues. According to a report, not a single RTX 5090 has experienced melting, even after deploying nearly a thousand units alongside RTX 4090s.
This method also aligns with EVGA’s Kingpin’s thoughts on connector placement for high-end GPUs. The top location of the connector requires more clearance to avoid cable bends and is closer to the VRM, making it run hotter compared to positioning it on the right edge of the PCB, where heat is less of an issue.