In the latest version of the NVIDIA RTX Enterprise driver, the recently introduced RTX 5880 ADA workstation GPU has a specific role: ensuring compliance with US export restrictions, enabling NVIDIA to send AD102 GPUs back to China.
In November, the RTX 6000 ADA and RTX 4090 were included in the list of high-end GPUs banned from being imported into China. Consequently, NVIDIA has been developing versions of these cards with comparable hardware capabilities, ensuring compliance with the new restrictions imposed by the US Department of Commerce.
Information about the RTX 5880 is currently limited, but it is strongly anticipated to feature the AD102 GPU, considering that the RTX 5000 ADA, based on AD102, remains unaffected by the new US export regulations. Consequently, the specifications are expected to be positioned between the RTX 6000 and 5000 ADA models. However, the memory capacity is likely to be similar to RTX 6000 (48GB), as this specific aspect is unaffected by US sanctions.
Gina Raimondo, the Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, has issued a warning to NVIDIA. She raises concerns about the company seemingly modifying current solutions to comply with regulatory standards. If NVIDIA introduces a new SKU linked to a product on the restricted list, potentially allowing China access to more powerful GPUs for AI, she declares her intent to regulate the product “the very next day.”