Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today unveiled the Razer Blade 18 (2024) - the pinnacle of high-performance gaming laptops. Building on the success of the award-winning Blade 16 and Blade 14 unveiled at CES 2024, the Blade 18 sets a new benchmark for gaming and creative work with its unrivaled desktop-grade performance, housed within a sleek anodized aluminium unibody form factor.

"The Blade 18 embodies Razer's relentless drive to push the boundaries of what a gaming laptop can be, with a host of world's first innovations," says Travis Furst, Head of Notebook & Accessories Division at Razer. "We are excited to deliver the Blade 18 as it ushers in a new era of Razer products equipped with Thunderbolt 5, including upcoming cutting-edge Thunderbolt accessories. With these innovations, the Blade 18 blurs the line between desktop performance and mobile convenience, ensuring our users are equipped with nothing but the absolute best to dominate in gaming and creativity."

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4090 D GPU was launched late last year in China—this weakened variant (of the standard RTX 4090) was designed with US trade regulations in mind. Chinese media outlets have toyed around with various custom models for several months—January 2024 evaluations indicated a 5% performance disadvantage when lined up against unrestricted models. The GeForce RTX 4090 D GPU is a potent beast despite a reduced core count and restricted TDP limit, but Chinese enthusiasts have continued to struggle with the implementation of worthwhile overclocks. HKEPC—a Hong Kong-situated PC hardware review outlet—has bucked that trend.

The mega-sized flagship ZOTAC RTX 4090 D PGF model has the technical credentials to break beyond the expected overclock increase of "2 to 5%," courtesy of a powerful 28-phase power PCB design and 530 W max. TGP limit. The Expreview team pulled a paltry 3.7% extra bit of performance from ZOTAC China's behemoth. In contrast, HKEPC wrangled out some bigger numbers with a sampled ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 4090 GAMING OC graphics card—matching unrestricted variants: "it turns out that NVIDIA only does not allow AIC manufacturers to preset overclocking, but it does not restrict users from overclocking by themselves. After a high degree of overclocking adjustment, the ROG Strix RTX 4090 D actually has a way to achieve the performance level of the RTX 4090 FE."

George Hotz and his startup operation (Tiny Corporation) appeared ready to completely abandon AMD Radeon GPUs last week, after experiencing a period of firmware-related headaches. The original plan involved the development of a pre-orderable $15,000 TinyBox AI compute cluster that housed six XFX Speedster MERC310 RX 7900 XTX graphics cards, but software/driver issues prompted experimentation via alternative hardware routes. A lot of media coverage has focused on the unusual adoption of consumer-grade GPUs—Tiny Corp.'s struggles with RDNA 3 (rather than CDNA 3) were maneuvered further into public view, after top AMD brass pitched in.

The startup's social media feed is very transparent about showcasing everyday tasks, problem-solving and important decision-making. Several Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC cards were purchased and promptly integrated into a colorfully-lit TinyBox prototype, but Hotz & Co. swiftly moved onto Team Green pastures. Tiny Corp. has begrudgingly adopted NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs. Earlier today, it was announced that work on the AMD-based system has resumed—although customers were forewarned about anticipated teething problems. The surprising message arrived in the early hours: "a hard to find 'umr' repo has turned around the feasibility of the AMD TinyBox. It will be a journey, but it gives us an ability to debug. We're going to sell both, red for $15,000 and green for $25,000. When you realize your pre-order you'll choose your color. Website has been updated. If you like to tinker and feel pain, buy red. The driver still crashes the GPU and hangs sometimes, but we can work together to improve it."

Thermaltake USA, the leading PC Case, Cooling, Power, and memory solutions, proudly announces the launch of twelve innovative models in the LCGS (Liquid Cooled Gaming System) Reactor series, available exclusively at Best Buy. This launch marks a significant milestone for Thermaltake, introducing the next generation of gaming PCs, meticulously designed with the newly unveiled The Tower 300 Micro Tower Chassis. These gaming powerhouses are equipped with the latest high-performance components, including the cutting-edge Intel Core 14th Gen i9/i7 processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Super Series/4090 graphics cards, 32 GB of DDR5 5600 MT/s memory, and expansive 2 TB NVMe M.2 SSD storage.

Each system in the LCGS Reactor series boasts a 360 mm radiator liquid cooling solution, ensuring exceptional cooling performance and stability during intense gaming sessions. The addition of vibrant color options such as Snow, Black, Hydrangea Blue, and Turquoise adds a personalized touch to these systems, catering to gamers' and content creators' diverse tastes and styles. Tailored for the most demanding gamers and creative professionals, these pre-built gaming desktop PCs are assembled and rigorously tested by Thermaltake's skilled engineers in the USA, ensuring unparalleled build quality and reliability.

Eurocom, a pioneer in high-performance, upgradeable mobile computing solutions, is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking advancement in mobile computing technology with the integration of PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD support in the EUROCOM Raptor X17 Mobile Supercomputer. Eurocom's commitment to innovation and performance has led to the enhancement of the Raptor X17, making it one of the most powerful and versatile mobile supercomputers on the market. By incorporating PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSD support, Eurocom is setting a new standard for speed, efficiency, and storage capabilities in mobile computing. The EUROCOM Raptor X17 Mobile Supercomputer is powered by Intel Core i9-14900HX 24C/32T Processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 16 GB DDR6 graphics with NVIDIA ADA Lovelace architecture, 24 TB of total SSD storage in RAID 0/1/5, 96 GB DDR5-5600 RAM and now PCIe 5.0 SSD support in one M.2 slot.

"The EUROCOM Raptor X17 continues to push boundaries in mobile computing. Now with support for the Corsair MP700 2 TB PCIe 5.0 (Gen 5) x4 NVMe M.2 SSD, users can experience unparalleled storage performance. Whether you're a 3D modeler, researcher, AI Developer, or creative professional, the Raptor X17 delivers exceptional power and flexibility," said Mark Bialic, Eurocom President. The integration of PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD technology in the EUROCOM Raptor X17 unlocks unparalleled data transfer speeds, significantly reducing loading times and enhancing overall system responsiveness. This advancement not only caters to professionals and enthusiasts who demand high-performance computing but also revolutionizes the mobile computing landscape by offering cutting-edge technology in a portable form factor.

An MSI "Ruan Mei" special edition GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X model has been teased by hongxing2020 on social media—it is not clear whether this is an intentional leak, given the formal office setting photographed in the background. Seemingly finalized retail packaging, heavily updated shroud plus backplate designs, and bundled poster and mousepad merchandise are emblazoned with a 5-star rated Honkai: Star Rail character. As noted by VideoCardz, the web link displayed on MSI's accompanying poster would indicate that the special green and gold special SUPRIM X model is destined for the Chinese PC hardware market—where miHoYo's Honkai games franchise is super popular.

The MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X "Ruan Mei" special edition's packaging does not make a distinction between the onboard GPU being a US sanction-compliant NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D variant, or the original + uncompromised AD102-300-A1. Perhaps it is safe to assume that a first quarter 2024 launch model will sport ever so slightly downgraded internals—MSI has already prepared their standard silver range-topping GeForce RTX 4090 D SUPRIM X model for the region. A small batch of Ruan Mei limited editions could arrive at a later date, once the the standard card has cleared the way.

According to the recent listing on Goofish, discovered by VideoCardz, Chinese companies have begun selling mobile versions of NVIDIA's latest RTX 40-series GPUs as desktop graphics cards. Initially designed for gaming laptops, the GeForce RTX 4080M and RTX 4090M are now being marketed in China as more affordable alternatives to their official desktop counterparts. This development is no surprise to industry observers who recall similar adaptations with the RTX 20 and 30 series. These companies are leveraging the lower cost of mobile GPUs, combined with budget cooling solutions and simpler PCB designs, to offer more affordable desktop GPU options. The mobile GPUs, which are capped at a power consumption of 175 Watts, are being repurposed without official sanction, with NVIDIA seemingly disregarding this practice. Despite the lack of official endorsement, these modified GPUs are finding their way into the market, providing gamers a cost-effective alternative to the more expensive desktop versions.

While not officially supported by NVIDIA, these cards utilize the mobile GPU dies paired with custom cooling solutions and PCBs to work in desktop PCs. According to reports, the RTX 4080M desktop variant offers 7424 CUDA cores and 12 GB GDDR6 memory, representing a 24% reduction in cores and 4 GB less memory versus the desktop RTX 4080. The desktop RTX 4090M is even more cut-down, with 9728 cores and 16 GB memory—a 40% drop in cores and 8 GB less memory than the flagship RTX 4090 desktop card. Pricing falls between $420 and $560 for the RTX 4080M and exceeds that of even the desktop RTX 4090 for the 4090M variant. Performance and longevity still need to be determined for these unofficial cards. While they present a cheaper RTX 40-series option for Chinese gamers, the reduced specifications come with tradeoffs. Still, their availability indicates the ongoing demand for next-gen GPUs and the lengths some vendors go to to meet that demand.

Yeston, Chinese GPU AIB, has posted a preview of its upcoming Sakura RTX 40 SUPER cards, featuring a white PCB, a first for SUPER cards. The current RTX 40 Sakura models are set to be updated to these SUPER variants, with no reported visual changes. The RTX 4070 (Ti) SUPER will adopt the older design first introduced with the RTX 30 series, featuring a color scheme of white, purple, blue, and adorned with sakura-inspired graphic designs. In addition to the RTX 4070 (Ti) SUPER, Yeston will also release the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is expected to be the highest-end Sakura model from the company at the time of its release. The only RTX 4090 in Yeston's lineup is a Deluxe edition. These new releases offer gamers an exceptional GPU design, particularly those who appreciate the unique aesthetic of the Sakura series. The white PCB is a notable feature that sets these cards apart in the market. More details about the release date, clock speeds, and pricing are expected to be announced soon.

Alienware is entering new arenas at CES 2024 with the debut of notebooks, peripherals and monitors that were inspired by our community and developed to appeal to all gamers. Whether you play to compete, play to get immersed in the game or play to socialize, Alienware can outfit your gaming needs. From the beginning, Alienware has offered high-performance hardware and software to the most demanding gamers. And here's what I can tell you: our focus on the enthusiast gamer hasn't changed. At the same time, the gaming landscape has evolved and is becoming more diverse than ever.

That's why we're eager to introduce products designed for wider audiences, from students who play dorm room sessions with friends, to working professionals who wind down the evening with a relaxing indie title, and pro athletes who game for a living. While these products reach new audiences, their DNA remains distinctly Alien, meaning they deliver the latest innovations in technology, performance and design. Meet Alienware's latest product portfolio:

• Three new gaming notebooks debut - the redesigned Alienware m16 R2, the ultra-premium x16 R2, and our performance juggernaut, the m18 R2.
• We've doubled our QD-OLED family by adding the Alienware AW3225QF and AW2725DF - two first of their kind QD-OLED monitors.
• Built in collaboration with 100+ esports athletes, our new Alienware Pro Wireless Keyboard and Pro Wireless Mouse mark our breakthrough into the pro gaming peripherals space.

Continuing on with the YEYIAN CES tour, we were shown the company's in-house gaming monitors, and pre-built gaming PCs. There were no empty cases or cases that you can purchase separately in YEYIAN's lineup as such; some of these case feature unique design elements; but you're supposed to choose it along with pre-built gaming hardware. YEYIAN offers the full range of systems integration, letting you choose from the company's in-house and external brands; which are then built to order. On eof the pre-builts shown had an Intel Core i7-14700K, paired with an OEM-favorite ASUS Prime Z790-P, and a ROG Strix RTX 4090 graphics card, all combined with YEYIAN's in-house case, power, and cooling hardware. The company's monitor lineup shown at CES begins with 25-inch Proact series Fast IPS displays that blaze Full HD (1080p) at 360 Hz with 1 ms GTG response time. Next up is the 27-inch Palette series; a premium OLED monitor with QHD (1440p) resolution, fast 240 Hz refresh rate, 0.1 ms response time, and 800 nits brightness. The monitor requires DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.1 connection to provide its specs.

YEYIAN at the 2024 International CES displayed some really wacky cooling and power solutions. Over in the cooling front, was got to see a super rare 480 mm AIO. This cooler has a 480 mm x 120 mm radiator, which requires four 120 mm in a row. We're not sure if there are any cases that support this radiator size, but we're sure it could become a thing. It would be interesting to compare the cooling performance of a 480 mm x 120 mm AIO with that of a 420 mm x 140 mm (a much more popular form-factor). YEYIAN's AIO coolers come in three sizes—360 mm x 120 mm, 480 mm x 120 mm, and 420 mm x 140 mm. The pump-blocks feature a 2.1-inch IPS LCD display with 480 x 480 pixels resolution, which can be programmed to display anything. Each of the included fans turn at speeds of up to 2600 RPM, pushing up to 72 CFM of airflow, with as high as 23 dBA noise.

Next up, YEYIAN showed off its Orion series full modular ATX 3.1 power supplies. These meet the latest ATX 3.1 and PCIe Gen 5 spec; and offer a native 12V-2x6 power connector, the successor to 12VHPWR with more mechanical durability, which can deliver 600 W of continuous power. The YEYIAN Orion series comes in 850 W, 1300 W, and 1600 W capacities, with the 1300 W and 1600 W models meeting 80 Plus Platinum efficiency; while the 850 W model meets 80 Plus Gold. All three are equipped with a 600 W-capable 12V-2x6; the top 1600 W offers two of these in case you have one of those crazy GALAX HOF RTX 4090 cards.

ASUS at the 2024 International CES expanded the lineup of BTF apparently cable-free hardware to its premium ROG product line. The company had debuted BTF with its mid-range TUF Gaming product line, which we've extensively covered here. While the TUF Gaming BTF built showcased an all-white scheme, the ROG BTF line makes no such deviations from its main scheme. First up, we have the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF motherboard, a variant of the Z790 Hero with its connectors and headers facing the reverse side of the PCB; and a power slot for BTF graphics cards.

Next up, we have the BTF-ready variant of the ROG Hyperion GR701 case. A compatible case is needed for BTF to work, because the motherboard tray needs to have cutouts in the right places for the ports and connectors of the motherboard to stick out. There's a little extra crawlspace behind the motherboard tray in the ROG Hyperion GR701, so some of the higher gauge power cables can make tight bends. The crown jewel of the ASUS ROG BTF series has to be the graphics card. ASUS has done the unthinkable—to get a GeForce RTX 4090 to run off its BTF power connector. It's a remarkable feat considering that the RTX 4090 is a 425 W TGP graphics card, and the overclocked ROG Strix version only draws more power than the average RTX 4090.

At CES 2024, Razer has updated its Blade laptop family spanning across various sizes, and even got a chance to present a "world's first" feature in a gaming product. The star of the Razer booth is the company's flagship Blade 16 laptop, which now supports 240 Hz refresh rate in its 16-inch OLED display format. Being the first to get there, Razer offers a high refresh rate at 2560 x 1600 QHD+ resolution. In addition to 0.2 ms response time and DCI-P3 100% color gamut, the display had VESA ClearMR 11000 and DisplayHDR True Black 500 certifications. At the center of the laptop is the 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, paired with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU with 175 Watt TGP. Pricing starts at $2999 for lower-end configurations and is available now.

Schenker, one of Europe's leading PC OEM and systems integrators, updated its XMG line of premium mobiile workstations, with the XMG Neo 16 and XMG Neo 17, powered by 14th Gen Intel Core HX "Raptor Lake Refresh" mobile processors, which released on January 8. Both are power-packed beasts that offer maxed out gaming with ray tracing at their respective display resolutions. Both feature the top-of-the-line Core i9-14900HX 8P+16E processor, along with dual-channel DDR5 SO-DIMM memory. The machine supports user-configured processor undervolting, and Intel XMP 3.0 overclocked memory support. Out of the box, the i9-14900HX is configured for over 100 W base power, although the maximum turbo power can go over 150 W as per Intel specifications. Graphics sub-system is led by an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU with 16 GB 256-bit memory, and 175 W power tuning.

XMG's innovative OASIS air+liquid cooling solution tackles heat from the beastly i9-14900HX and RTX 4090 Laptop GPU. Connectivity includes a 100 W PD USB-C port. The notebook has an elaborate aluminium channel heatsink with multiple flat heatpipes, but there's also a liquid coolant channel with exterior fittings. The XMG OASIS accessory (purchased separately), can be quick connected to this, which contains a liquid cooling loop with a pump, reservoir, radiator, and probably something to deal with the residual air in the loop. You can opt for a CHERRY-sourced RGB-illuminated mechanical keyboard. The XMG 16 packs mostly the same hardware, except GPU choices offered between an RTX 4080 Laptop GPU and the top RTX 4090 Laptop GPU. It comes with a gorgeous 500 nits 16:10 display.

Lenovo's new gaming ecosystem debuted at CES 2024, with Microsoft Windows 11-based PCs, peripherals, software, and services that deliver on power, thermals, graphics, AI-powered advantages, and the freedom to build the ultimate system to game. The new PC portfolio includes the following new 9th generation Lenovo Legion 16-inch gaming laptops and towers:

• The Lenovo Legion 7i (16", 9), Lenovo Legion 5i (16", 9), and Lenovo Legion Slim 5 (16", 9) are for gamers who need a laptop that can handle their favorite games as well as their STEM apps.
• The Lenovo Legion 9i (16", 9) is for those who will settle for nothing less than the best in their gaming and content creation pursuits.
• The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (16", 9) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (16", 9) are for gamers who need the ultimate in FPS, style, and screen.
• Legion Tower 7i and Legion Tower 5i are for those who need the extra horsepower of a top-tier gaming tower PC.
  Also new this year are the Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9, Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I, Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9, and Lenovo LOQ 15AHP9 laptops and Lenovo LOQ Tower 17IRR9 for gamers beginning their journey up the leaderboards. New accessories, such as the Lenovo Legion M410 Wireless RGB Gaming Mouse and Legion K510 Pro Mini Keyboard, along with a new Lenovo AvatarMaster PC software app round out the upgraded ecosystem.

At the core of this new gaming lineup is the family of Lenovo's proprietary hardware AI chips—called LA AI chips-and the advantages they bring to both Lenovo Legion and Lenovo LOQ gaming laptops. First introduced last CES, this year's LA AI chips are mightier than ever, enabling Lenovo Legion and Lenovo LOQ laptops to achieve even higher FPS, increased power efficiency, and more. And with a selection of gaming laptops, towers, monitors, accessories and even the handheld Lenovo Legion Go announced last IFA, the new Lenovo gaming ecosystem lets gamers choose the exact setup they need to achieve gaming greatness and reach their "impossible".

Acer unleashes a series of powerhouse gaming laptops, headlined by the refreshed models of the Predator Helios 18 and Predator Helios 16. Acer also announced the new Predator Helios Neo 18 gaming laptop and major updates to the Predator Helios Neo 16, all outfitted with the latest Intel Core 14th gen processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop GPUs with DLSS 3.5 technology and NVIDIA Advanced Optimus. NVIDIA RTX Laptop GPUs are packed with specialized AI Tensor Cores enabling unmatched AI performance and accelerations in creative apps, ultra-efficient productivity, blistering fast gaming, and more. The Predator laptops feature Microsoft's Copilot in Windows 11 and a dedicated Copilot key for quick access to AI-powered task assistance. They also come with one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, giving gamers access to hundreds of high-quality PC games.

Gamers seeking a competitive edge will be thrilled with the Predator Helios 18 and Predator Helios 16 laptops as they come with options for captivating Mini LED panels, MagKey 3.0 swappable mechanical switch for shorter key travel and response time, and lightning-fast network speeds with Wi-Fi 7 compatibility.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the 2024 Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G16, the latest in an illustrious lineup of supremely powerful thin-and-light gaming laptops. These machines feature a new CNC-machined aluminium chassis, a customizable Slash Lighting array, and a brand-new Platinum White colorway, while cutting-edge AI accelerated silicon from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA stand ready to push gamers and creators to new heights of performance. Both the Zephyrus G14 and G16 come equipped with the ROG Nebula Display, stunningly color-accurate OLED panels that are also G-SYNC capable for incredible gaming experiences. Ultra-efficient cooling technology, including tri-fan technology, liquid metal, and vapor chambers on select models enable the Zephyrus G14 and G16 to breathe easily despite their ultra-portable designs.

Brand-new chassis design
The 2024 Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G16 have been completely redesigned inside and out. Both machines boast all-new and all-aluminium CNC-machined chassis for the perfect mix of weight reduction, structural rigidity, and increased chassis space. This allows for an edge-to-edge keyboard design, as well as the inclusion of larger and louder speakers with superior bass response down to 100 Hz. The speakers are 25% larger than the previous generation, with a 47% volume increase for more immersive audio experiences than ever before. The Zephyrus G14 and G16 also come with larger individual keycaps and a larger touchpad, for superior typing, precision scrolling, and fluid gaming. Both the 2024 Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G16 ship with three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, providing access to a library of hundreds of great games.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the 2024 Strix family of laptops, including the Strix SCAR 18, the first 18-inch ROG laptop equipped with the mini LED ROG Nebula HDR Display. As the vanguard of gaming laptops, all 2024 Strix machines feature the latest flagship Intel Core i9 processor 14900HX, with the Strix SCAR 16 and SCAR 18 sporting up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU with 175 W max TGP. Paired with a complete suite of the latest intelligent cooling improvements, including Tri-Fan technology and Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal on both the CPU and GPU, the 2024 Strix family of laptops has arrived to dominate the competition.

Brilliant detail
This year marks the introduction of the first ROG 18-inch display powered by Mini LED technology. HDR content and games have arrived on the big screen with the arrival of the 2024 Strix SCAR 18, with its Nebula HDR Display boasting over 2000 discrete dimming zones and 1100 nits of peak brightness. On an 18-inch panel, this dimming zone density coupled with the ROG Nebula HDR Engine minimizes blooming and haloing even in challenging scenes, giving the Strix SCAR 18 incredibly vivid HDR performance.

NVIDIA has released the latest version of its GeForce graphics drivers, the GeForce 546.34 WHQL Game Ready drivers. The GeForce 546.34 WHQL Game Ready drivers bring the same game optimizations and fixes that were previously introduced with GeForce 546.33 WHQL drivers release, which include optimizations and support for DLSS 3 in THE FINALS and Squad games, as well as support for DLSS Super Resolution in Fortnite Chapter 5. The only new thing with this release is the support for the newly announced NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090D graphics card released in China.

The list of fixes include muted colors when streaming gameplay with Discord and multiplication of the NVIDIA system tray icon whenever user is switched in Windows.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 546.33 WHQL Game Ready Drivers

Update: The GeForce 546.34 WHQL Game Ready drivers only support the new GeForce RTX 4090D graphics card. For other graphics cards, you can download the GeForce 546.33 WHQL Game Ready drivers.

NVIDIA today formally launched the China-specific GeForce RTX 4090D graphics card for gaming and creator applications, after it was banned this October by the United States Federal Trade Commission from exporting the RTX 4090 (among other AI GPUs) to China. The RTX 4090D comes with a reduced AI inference performance than the RTX 4090 to comply with the US-FTC limits, and measures are put in place to prevent end-users from modifying it into a regular RTX 4090. Besides firmware and driver-level performance limiters, the card gets a completely different ASIC code, a different device ID (which prevents BIOS transplants from the RTX 4090); and a different core-configuration of the 5 nm "AD102" silicon itself.

The "AD102" silicon physically has 72 TPCs (144 SM), from which NVIDIA carved out the original RTX 4090 by enabling 64 TPCs (128 SM). The new RTX 4090D only gets 57 TPCs (114 SM), which reduces the counts of the CUDA cores, Tensor cores, and RT cores. While the original RTX 4090 has 16,384 CUDA cores, 512 Tensor cores, and 128 RT cores; the new RTX 4090D is configured with 14,592 CUDA cores, 456 Tensor cores, and 114 RT cores. The GPU clocks are the same, both boost up to 2.52 GHz, although the power limits are reduced, with the TGP lowered by 25 W. The memory sub-system appears untouched. We are also hearing that overclocking of the RTX 4090D will be limited, with lower slider limits—all to prevent end-users from regaining AI inference performance levels comparable to an RTX 4090. NVIDIA is pricing the RTX 4090D at a baseline price of RMB ¥12,999 ($1,840), which was the launch price of the original RTX 4090 in China, before it was scalped out of existence there.

NVIDIA this October was barred by the US Federal Trade Commission from selling the GeForce RTX 4090 in the Chinese domestic market. The company scampered to create a China-specific variant of the RTX 4090 that would comply with the FTC's limits on the AI inference performance, while mostly being as fast as the regular RTX 4090 at gaming. The resulting product is the RTX 4090D. This card has significantly lower AI inference performance, probably due to a lower Tensor core count as VideoCardz reports, or a firmware based performance limiter similar to LHR (lite hashrate) GPUs during the peak of the crypto-scalping GPU shortage. This card goes on sale today. To prevent modding of this GPU back to a regular RTX 4090, it probably comes with a different device ID, and other barriers that prevent video BIOS from regular RTX 4090 from being transplanted over; and overclocking of the GPU is disabled beyond the maximum boost frequency advertised. The TGP has been lowered to 425 W, too.

In case you missed it, the iconic FPS that started it all, DOOM, just turned 30. NVIDIA is celebrating this piece of gaming history with the DOOM 30th Anniversary Sweepstakes. NVIDIA is celebrating a milestone of its own, with RTX 500—that's 500 games and counting that are part of the NVIDIA RTX ecosystem that includes RTX ray tracing, DLSS, Reflex, and other major innovations by NVIDIA in the PC gaming space. To participate in the DOOM 30 Sweepstakes, all you need to do is reply to NVIDIA's post on X (formerly Twitter), with the hashtags #DOOM30 and #RTX500, to enter. Up for grabs is a special NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics card with a DOOM 30 backplate, which NVIDIA values at its latest baseline prize of $1,389. For more terms and conditions for the Sweepstakes, visit this page.

To participate, visit this post by NVIDIA GeForce on X (formerly Twitter).

Akasa introduced a couple of new accessories designed to solve the problem of an obtuse cable bend of the 16-pin 12VHPWR power cable that compounds the problem of tall high-end graphics cards not getting along well with some of the more compact PC cases—of which Akasa specializes in. These include the G-Nexus P24, and G-Nexus PX24. The G-Nexus P24 is a solid-state L-shaped adapter and connector converter. One of its sides has three 8-pin PCIe power connectors, which it converts to a 12VPWR on the other end, at a 90° angle. This 12VHPWR is rated for 450 W, which should cover all RTX 40-series graphics cards up to the RTX 4080. It might be possible to even pair this with an RTX 4090, though the 450 W connector power limit could take the edge off overclocked performance. All custom RTX 4090 cards include a 600 W-rated adapter cable (that demand four 8-pin PCIe inputs).

The Akasa G-Nexus PX24 is a slightly different take on this concept, with a 30 cm cable between the 12VHPWR (which is held at a 90° angle), and the other end that has the three 8-pin PCIe inputs, arranged next to each other on a single piece. It's important to note here, that while Akasa is converting three 8-pin PCIe (3x 150 W) to a 12VHPWR on both accessories, the connector has its signal pins set to tell the graphics card that it is capable of delivering 600 W. This would obviously mean that any continuous load above 450 W would go above the 150 W specification limit of the PCIe connectors. The company didn't reveal pricing.

NVIDIA is preparing to launch the GeForce RTX 4090 D, or "Dragon" edition, designed explicitly for China. Circumventing the US export rules of GPUs that could potentially be used for AI acceleration, the GeForce RTX 4090 D is reportedly cutting back on overclocking as a feature. According to BenchLife, the AD102-250 GPU used in the RTX 4090 D will be a stranger to overclocking, as the card will not support it, possibly being disabled by firmware and/or physically in the die. The information from @Zed__Wang suggests that the Dragon version will be running at 2280 MHz base frequency, higher than the 2235 MHz of AD102-300 found in the regular RTX 4090, and 2520 MHz boost, matching the regular version.

Interestingly, the RTX 4090 D for China will also feature a slightly lower Total Graphics Power (TGP) of 425 Watts, down from the 450 Watts of the regular model. With memory configuration appearing to be the same, this new China-specific model will most likely perform within a few percent of the original design. Higher base frequency probably indicates a lack of a few CUDA cores to comply with the US export regulation policy and serve the Chinese GPU market. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D is scheduled for rollout in January 2024 in China, which is just a few weeks away.

EK, the leading manufacturer of premium liquid cooling gear, is bearing good news for liquid cooling enthusiasts, announcing the availability of compatible GPU water blocks for the OG Editions of the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards. Due to the physical differences in the PCB of the OG Edition GPU, it requires a different GPU water block than what would usually fit the 4090 Strix and TUF models.

After researching the market and examining the GPU itself, EK's RnD team has concluded that the OG Edition 4090 TUF is compatible with the EK-Quantum Vector² Strix/TUF RTX 3090 Ti water block and EK-Quantum Vector² Strix/TUF RTX 3090 Ti ABP (Active Backplate) Set. The models of the GPU are not to be confused with the "OC" marking but with the newly added "OG" suffix in the product name. Here, EK would like to thank the Reddit community as a useful source of information.