MSI Denies Involvement In Smuggling Pallets Of GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs To China
After a picture popped up on Reddit showing several pallets of MSI-brand GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards in China, MSI responded with a statement vehemently denying it had any role in the apparent large-scale smuggling operation. The reason MSI felt compelled to comment on the situation is because the United States has banned the export of certain GPUs to China, including the GeForce RTX 5090.
NVIDIA and its add-in board (AIB) have been able to get sidestep this and previous GPU bans by offering cut-down versions of certain models. As it applies to NVIDIA's latest-generation flagship gaming card based on Blackwell, a GeForce RTX 5090 D variant specifically for China exists without an export ban.
"MSI has never officially sold or distributed the GeForce RTX 5090 in China. Any units found locally are not from MSI-authorized channels and have entered through unauthorized distribution unrelated to our sales policy," MSI says.
MSI went on to say that it "strictly" complies with both international regulations and NVIDIA's regional authorization framework, noting that the regular version of MSI's custom GeForce RTX 5090 models are only available in the Americas, Europe, and select Asia-Pacific markets. MSI says it only ships GeForce RTX 5090 D and 5090 D V2 models to China.
"Any RTX 5090 units appearing in China can therefore be clearly identified as non-official supply.
Our global serial-number tracking shows that these products mainly originate from overseas retail markets, imported by unauthorized distributors or resellers through parallel channels. They are outside MSI’s official supply chain, unverified in source and handling, and not covered by our quality-control or warranty policies," MSI adds.
The post on Reddit (via Zestyclose-Salad-290) has generated over 20,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments in the span of a few days. A lot of the comments are tongue-in-cheek, such as saying Santa Claus must have moved his factory to China and customers "can buy [the GeForce RTX 5090] from anyone other than the US, lol," which is a dig on the initial shortage of GeForce RTX 5090.
It's easier to find a GeForce RTX 5090 in stock these days, though not at NVIDIA's baseline $1,999 MSRP. NVIDIA's own FE model and partner variants at the same or similar price points are still tough to track down in the U.S. For example, the least expensive GeForce RTX 5090 that's in stock at Best Buy right now is a factory-overclocked Gigabyte model that's on sale for $2,399.9 ($200 off MSRP).
In any event, there's little reason to doubt MSI's response. The GeForce RTX 5090 sells itself, even with the sticker shock in some cases.
Top Image Credit: Reddit user Zestyclose-Salad-290
