Blower-style GPUs have largely exited the mainstream attributable to how thermally inefficient they have been in typical setups. However, they nonetheless maintain an vital place within the server section the place clusters of GPUs are stacked subsequent to one another in an open-air surroundings. China has been main the wave for these for some time, and now Videocardz has spotted much more SKUs not too long ago added to the gathering.
In particular, we’re speaking about Nvidia’s Blackwell household, or the RTX 50-series, the place gaming variants of the flagship RTX 5090 have been stripped aside and retrofitted inside blower-style shrouds. So, these usually are not official associate playing cards, however somewhat aftermarket options. This goes for each the anomalously recurrent RTX 5090 32 GB that’s banned in China, and the nerfed 5090D, plus the 5090D V2 with much less VRAM.
What we’re now beginning to see are new GPUs, together with the RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5060 Ti — all SKUs with 16 GB of GDDR7 reminiscence — being accessible for buy on Taobao. The itemizing reveals specs for all of the fashions, however solely the 5090 is pictured. This can also be the usual 32 GB variant; not the upgraded playing cards with as much as 128 GB of VRAM, although configs like these are possible additionally potential based mostly on demand.
Now, the blower-style RTX 5090 32 GB will run you 29,000 Chinese Yuan, or about $4,156 USD, which is costlier that almost all retail 5090s even proper now. More curiously, the blower 5080 is priced at $1,288, the RTX 5070 Ti will run you $1,103, whereas the RTX 5060 Ti is barely round $573, which is about $100 greater than gaming variants for the time being.
All of those characterize a value premium as a result of they’re focused at AI workloads and that’s one blooming market proper now. The 5090, specifically, has been an area darling within the area despite being export-controlled by Washington. Sprawling underground operations with factory-like production lines are gutting and reassembling these GPUs, making them ready for AI clients willing to pay big money.
Beyond just adding more VRAM, even just standard cards with blower coolers represent an upgrade for AI farms. This is because they suck in fresh air through the fan at the front and exhaust it out the back. Usually, this causes them to be louder in standard PC cases and run hotter since there’s not enough intake, and the GPU is handling its own exhaust instead of handing it to the airflow of the entire case.
Now, compare that to dense spaces like data centers or server farms where a number of cards are packed together. There’s no case to trap air, instead the cards are being kept cool externally. Therefore, this kind of setup is much better since it’ll keep air from circulating within or between GPUs. Blower designs are also thinner, usually two-slot, so they take up less space, meaning more cards in the same stack.
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