A new 24GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is reportedly coming, and it has "a surprise"

Nvidia is reportedly lining up a new version of its flagship gaming GPU for release, with a lesser spec than the standard card. With strict US export restrictions on its most powerful tech, Nvidia has apparently developed a new version of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 with just 24GB of VRAM, rather than the 32GB on the standard card, which is likely to be aimed at the Chinese market. One tech leaker has also alluded to "a surprise" with this graphics card, which we're hoping is a positive one.

Apart from the memory and its interface, though, the core spec of this new Nvidia GPU looks very similar to the specs we tested in our GeForce RTX 5090 review. The new variation of Nvidia's best GPU could reportedly be called the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 DD, and is reportedly based on a variant of the GB202 GPU used in the standard 5090, called GB202-240-K*-A1, and it apparently keeps all the key parts enabled.

This latest rumor comes from regular (and often reliable) tech leaker kopite7kimi, who has good form for leaking Nvidia GPU specs ahead of time. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), kopite7kimi stated that the GPU has 21,760 CUDA cores, just like the current RTX 5090, as well as the same 575W total board power.

The only key differences are the amount of memory, which reportedly drops from 32GB to 24GB, and the interface with which the VRAM communicates with the GPU, which is apparently dropping from the standard RTX 5090's super-wide 512-bit bus to a narrower (but still pretty fat) 384-bit interface. The type of VRAM used will reportedly stay the same on the new card, with 28Gbps GDDR7 chips being used.

The rumored introduction of this new GPU comes after the launch of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090D in January 2025, an exclusive for the Chinese market that reduced the performance of the GPU's Tensor cores in order to meet export restrictions. However, there have since been reports that deliveries of this GPU in China have been halted, possibly because they break US export laws.

What's really intriguing, though, is the last line of kopite7kimi's post, which promises "a surprise" - what could it be? Might this lower-spec RTX 5090 card be getting a worldwide launch at a cheaper price than the standard card? Might that "surprise" be a sarcastic reference to the lesser card having the same price as the full-spec version? We'll just have to wait and see how this news unfolds, if indeed this GPU is actually in development. As with all stories based on rumors and leaks, bear in mind that none of the above has been officially confirmed by Nvidia.

In the meantime, check out our guide on how to install a GPU if you're thinking of upgrading to a new card now, and read our guide on how to enable resizable BAR to make sure you get the most out of it.

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