RTX 4090 export ban forces board partners to offer full refunds to Chinese gamers in case of RMAs

GeForce RTX 4090 RMAs got complicated for Chinese gamers.

Since the United States imposed a ban on the export of high-performance chips, including the gaming RTX 4090 model, it has caused issues for users in affected countries who require urgent repairs for their cards.

Many graphics card manufacturers, predominantly based in Taiwan, also have their service centers located there. Sending the card for repairs to Taiwan results in no replacement card being sent back, as Taiwanese brands cannot export the repaired item to China or Hong Kong due to potential fines from the US. As a result, Taiwanese makers are offering full refunds for purchases of the RTX 4090.

Each RTX 4090 RMA case varies, with some requiring less complex repairs such as fan or power connector replacement, which can be performed locally in China without sending back the product to where it was made. However, for repairs involving GPU or memory replacement, unless local repair centers have stocks of AD102-300 GPUs on hand, such repairs may be impossible.

Recently, a user who had a faulty GeForce RTX 4090 card sent it in for RMA. The distributor offered a full refund to the user, but the user questioned why there were still RTX 4090 units in stock at retailers and why they couldn’t just exchange the card. The distributor replied that the RTX 4090 units in stock at retailers already belonged to them, and there are currently no new shipments of RTX 4090 cards coming into Hong Kong. After several days of negotiation, the user ultimately accepted the distributor’s full refund offer, and the distributor also provided the user with an additional discount on the GeForce RTX 4090D.

— HKEPC

These issues do not affect RTX 4090D graphics cards, which are permitted for global import and export. Ultimately, the core issue lies with the GPU processor itself rather than the entire graphics card. Sadly, it seems that local repair centers did not stock enough AD102-300 GPUs on time.

Gamers in affected countries find themselves with limited options. While a full refund isn’t a perfect solution, it does open up the possibility of purchasing an RTX 4090D or even saving money by opting for an RTX 4080 SUPER instead. Despite the RTX 4090’s price remaining relatively high even 1.5 years after its release, it’s probable to drop or at least match the official MSRP eventually, especially with the expected launch of the RTX 5090 and 5080 models later this year.

Source: HKEPC