I bought a modded 4090 48GB in Shenzhen. This is my story.
Posted by king_priam_of_Troy@reddit | LocalLLaMA | View on Reddit | 345 comments
A few years ago, before ChatGPT became popular, I managed to score a Tesla P40 on eBay for around $150 shipped. With a few tweaks, I installed it in a Supermicro chassis. At the time, I was mostly working on video compression and simulation. It worked, but the card consistently climbed to 85°C.
When DeepSeek was released, I was impressed and installed Ollama in a container. With 24GB of VRAM, it worked—but slowly. After trying Stable Diffusion, it became clear that an upgrade was necessary.
The main issue was finding a modern GPU that could actually fit in the server chassis. Standard 4090/5090 cards are designed for desktops: they're too large, and the power plug is inconveniently placed on top. After watching the LTT video featuring a modded 4090 with 48GB (and a follow-up from Gamers Nexus), I started searching the only place I knew might have one: Alibaba.com.
I contacted a seller and got a quote: CNY 22,900. Pricey, but cheaper than expected. However, Alibaba enforces VAT collection, and I’ve had bad experiences with DHL—there was a non-zero chance I’d be charged twice for taxes. I was already over €700 in taxes and fees.
Just for fun, I checked Trip.com and realized that for the same amount of money, I could fly to Hong Kong and back, with a few days to explore. After confirming with the seller that they’d meet me at their business location, I booked a flight and an Airbnb in Hong Kong.
For context, I don’t speak Chinese at all. Finding the place using a Chinese address was tricky. Google Maps is useless in China, Apple Maps gave some clues, and Baidu Maps was beyond my skill level. With a little help from DeepSeek, I decoded the address and located the place in an industrial estate outside the city center. Thanks to Shenzhen’s extensive metro network, I didn’t need a taxi.
After arriving, the manager congratulated me for being the first foreigner to find them unassisted. I was given the card from a large batch—they’re clearly producing these in volume at a factory elsewhere in town (I was proudly shown videos of the assembly line). I asked them to retest the card so I could verify its authenticity.
During the office tour, it was clear that their next frontier is repurposing old mining cards. I saw a large collection of NVIDIA Ampere mining GPUs. I was also told that modded 5090s with over 96GB of VRAM are in development.
After the test was completed, I paid in cash (a lot of banknotes!) and returned to Hong Kong with my new purchase.
Junior_Professional0@reddit
Sounds like we need a new book...
The new new essential guide to graphics cards in Shenzhen
https://www.crowdsupply.com/machinery-enchantress/the-new-essential-guide-to-electronics-in-shenzhen
Pitiful_Astronaut_93@reddit
Why nobody is doing that in Europe?
ivoras@reddit
What, modding cards? There's no industrial base capable of doing it.
indypuyami@reddit
There are dozens of chip.fabs in the EU - 2 opened in the last 365 days. What do you mean there aren't any factories? Italy alone is in the top 10 manufacturers of chips world wide.
zschultz@reddit
To make this modified Nvidia GPU, you don't need your own fab, you need the original Nvidia GPU and GDDR6 chips, and someone knows how to create a different PCB -- usually a GPU vendor.
ivoras@reddit
I'll have to ask for sources for those statements, in the context of the original question. All I can find is power and analog electronics, which is very different from the highly integrated digital electronics industry needed for this kind of work, and announcements about future, EU-backed factories.
indypuyami@reddit
Not only does the EU have it's own manufacturing of chips, TSMC is building fabs in Europe.
Pragmatic Semiconductor FlexLogic 002.
But there are tons more. Does the EU build chips ? Absolutely they're a statistically significant part of the semiconductor market Are there manufacturing centers sophisticated enough to bolt on additional vram to the underside of a single sided GPU? Absolutely without question. Sure there aren't any 5nm fabs in the EU as of today, that hardly had anything to do with the level of sophistication needed to modify motherboards as was mentioned above GlobalFoundries (AMD) Fab 1 Module 1.
Are some examples.
ivoras@reddit
As someone already mentioned, assembly is what's needed here, not IC production, that's why I mentioned motherboard production.
But ok, assuming there is such capability in the EU, can you offer an answer to the OP's question: why isn't anyone in the EU doing it on a reasonably large scale? EU should be pretty open to modding consumer devices, from the IP side.
indypuyami@reddit
The op didn't have a question they had a statement, no one is facing boards in the EU which is wrong. There are deffo enthusiasts at the cottage level doing the kind of work talked about above. Why not at the large scale? Also being done FaaS is absolutely the purpose of much of the EU infrastructure. Why aren't they violating IP law to mod NVIDIA at the industrial scale? Because that's against the whole edifice of Western Ip law. The assertions that FaaS isn't happening in the EU today at scale is just wrong
cyberdork@reddit
Why do you even talk about semiconductor fabs? This has nothing to do with it, this is about assembly.
treenewbee_@reddit
What Chinese GPU second-hand dealers do is very simple, they remove the original video memory and install a higher capacity vram. Then they modify the bios, that's all.
satireplusplus@reddit
Irrelevant as it's probably just a hot swap of memory modules and the parts are readily available. The mod requires a hot swap station and some skill. Someone else mentioned in this thread that there are shops that mod it for you in Moscow of all places.
danielv123@reddit
And board manufacturing. Unless you are buying everything from china I guess, in which case you could just do it there - there are factories that have the entire process fully automated.
satireplusplus@reddit
Last time I checked the 4090 frankensteins, they take the board from a used 3090 (since it has 2x the amount of GDDR6 chip connections), swap the mem chips for higher capacity ones and then swap the 3090 die for 4090 one taken from a 4090 GPU.
There are no custom board design here at all, just mixing different parts. Its rumoured for the 5090 128GB Frankensteins since the demand for this is there and Nvidia doesnt lock down their drivers/hardware yet. Which could also happen at any moment of course.
az226@reddit
You need to replace the core and reball the memory chips. The core replacement is the most complicated step.
zschultz@reddit
They have exhausted their power on right to repair tractors...
rasbid420@reddit
great stuff! did you manage to benchmark the card and see what it pulls?
1eyedsnak3@reddit
No because it’s propaganda for a company.
kaggleqrdl@reddit
Wow super clever posting here to prep this astroturf.. https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/1n8le8g/comment/ncjb4cj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
pabugs@reddit
This is mom's home office stupid.
Some passive switches, a service modem, and maybe a firewall? OH OH OH a land line - phew so bleeding edge......
Network side? he musta heard the term server side and didn't understand the diff. - yeeikes
Moslogical@reddit
Ahhh almost had me. Damn dude I feel like you just yanked the cord out of the back of my neck.
kaggleqrdl@reddit
which company?
1eyedsnak3@reddit
Good lawd, did you really asked that? Wao.
I bet you missed the link in the story too and I bet you still waiting on that benchmark too.
forresthopkinsa@reddit
The name of the site is "Trip.com" so simply typing it out in the post will add it as a link preview
kaggleqrdl@reddit
You could be right of course, but there would be other examples of this on reddit. The idea that their entire reddit marketing scheme was a single post in llocallama seems a bit weird.
asdfkakesaus@reddit
wHiCh CoMpAnY?
Hurr durr, my guy.
No_Industry9653@reddit
They do link to trip.com
pabugs@reddit
THIS. I came to hear the magical story too. So many specific questions about build, performance, and details asked, NOT ONE SINGLE QUESTION ANSWERED.
OP gave 3 responses. None of them mattered other than to promote buying. So don't give the "well it's so and so time in CHN\HK give them time to answer."
If this fantasy (scammer shitpost) was true, this thread would be filled with answers and specs from a builder, if for no other reason than to impress. The conversation would have been informative to whatever extent. FACT: They told a fake story FILLED with details and now they're suddenly mute.
Amazing how much trash is peddled as real on Reddit.................mind bending that only one person spotted it. The rest of you fell for it....
Karl08534@reddit
A fake story, problem written with AI!
Unlikely_Commission1@reddit
So all that story, just to advertise Trip?
IAmRobinGoodfellow@reddit
Nowadays, stories are cheap.
LilPsychoPanda@reddit
Yeah, we need to know more about how the card is actually performing ☺️
aseichter2007@reddit
Cool story right? But did it boot?
Forgot_Password_Dude@reddit
Mine stopped booting after the 10th day
LilPsychoPanda@reddit
Which card was it? Also, where was it modded, what was the upgrade, and how much was it? ☺️
Forgot_Password_Dude@reddit
The 4090D 64gb blower from eBay , shipped from China. It worked fine for games and video gen but died after several video renders-wont past POST, even in power supply/ram replacement. As soon as I got the new 5090 it booted fine again so it was definitely the card. Good news is that PayPal refunded me after I sent proof that I did everything possible to try and diagnose it and receipt of sending it back.
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
Used to be tariff free some months ago and they would just ship it to your house. Now your way is probably the only one to avoid a doubled price in the US.
Why does it feel like I read this story before?
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
But you can't avoid it. Since you have to declare it when you return home. If you don't and get caught, it's not just that you have to pay the tariff then but you will also be marked as a smuggler. Then every time you go through customs you will get a secondary.
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
So you gotta declare your laptop too?
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Ah.. yeah. If you bought it overseas. That's what the little form they hand out on the plane is for.
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
Sounds silly. How would they know where you got a used laptop? Liable to keep paying import taxes on any decent macbook, back and forth. At least if you're a stickler for the rules and declare it instead of just putting it in your carry on.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
They don't need to. That's up to you to prove.
No you don't. Just keep your receipt handy. With only purchases these days, that's easy since you get email.
Why would you declare it unless you bought it on that particular trip? There's no rule for that. Also, there's no carry on exemption. You are supposed to declare things in your carry on as well. Why wouldn't you?
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
If I bought it on craigslist and had no receipt? I certainly have none for most of my camera gear and it probably crosses the threshold. Guess I'm in the same boat. Just put it in the carry on and hope they don't decide I bought it overseas. What is even the value? Current used price? New price?
Hell of a system. Depends on the honesty of both the customs agent and the traveler. Cases of gluing 50 iphones to yourself aside.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
As the person on CL you bought it from for a receipt. I've done that. No one has ever refused. There was even that one dude that asked me to sign a NDA in case I find something on the machine that he forgot to delete.
Again, why do you think putting it on a carry on means anything? If anything, a carry on is screen more times than checked luggage. A carry on isn't a free trade zone. Have you never traveled?
Well... it starts by what value you declare it at. Then it ends with what value customs decides it's worth if they decide to duty it.
Yes. How else could it work? Anything "better" would be much more intrusive.
Which is why they have to have screenings? Which is why you have to be able to prove the provenance? Since by your line or reasoning, that person can just say "Oh yeah, I bought those years ago and I always travel with 50 iphones."
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
Nobody ever asked for receipts on my stuff when traveling. It's expected people will have some electronics. What difference does it make to fake a reciept vs a guy giving you some random one.
The point about the iphones is that unless you look like you're smuggling, chances are you get a pass. Like a single GPU with you isn't going to alarm them whether you declare it or not. New things in shrink-wrap will.
Yea and some countries will charge import fees regardless of where you bought it or declare it. May as well ask for forgiveness than permission.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Then you've been lucky or you haven't traveled enough. It's a numbers game. Customs definitely does check. That's why they allow you to register your device, like laptop, prior to departure. You can use that certificate in lieu of a receipt to prove ownership prior to your trip. If they didn't check, why would they offer this service?
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/clearing-cbp/certificate-registration
It's not expected that someone is carrying around a GPU. That's unusual.
The difference between telling the truth or perjury. Showing LE a fake receipt is perjury.
Except you aren't forgiven. You are marked as a smuggler. I know someone that didn't declare a food item. That was decades ago. To this day, she is a mandatory secondary since she's been marked as a "smuggler".
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
I know they allow you to register your gear, but that hasn't been a thing in forever. If enforcement gets truly strict, sure.
Except the power isn't in your hands. They can deem it a forgery if they so choose. You're arguing morality and truth vs a bureaucracy trying to get their cut.
It really is a numbers game and the number of people "smuggling" GPUs into the US rather than out is not yet a thing. Let alone in single quantities.
"Hey, I needed to bring my 4090 because they don't have any there and I had to edit some videos."
Food/alcohol is a different ball of wax. Lots of places go hard on that since forever. Used electronics, not so much yet. She either packed a big no-no item or met a really hardcore customs person.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
They can deem anything they want. Even a legit receipt. But can they do so without any reasonable doubt. If it was a legit receipt from someone you found on CL, you would have your email trail showing that wouldn't you? Or if you called then you would have that trail.
Reasonable doubt is the standard. Not morality. But perjury is perjury and has pretty stiff penalties. That's why any lawyer worth his salt will tell you no matter what you've done, don't like to LE. If you can't tell the truth, just keep quiet.
Great. So where's your receipt or your registration certificate?
It doesn't have to be big. The US is hardcore about food. Hardcore. Those beagles that sniff your bags in line aren't looking for drugs. They are looking for prosciutto.
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
Because most people don't use this. Mainly sticklers with 20k worth of brand new gear. And I mean you're the one turning a tongue in cheek comment into a bit of a federal case.
Maybe, maybe not. You vastly overestimate the record keeping of travelers. A handwritten receipt from joebob vs an invoice from a store.
Everyone is because of the danger to agriculture. Even within the US there's booths entering California.
You're assuming it gets that far even. The US isn't big on hassling people over unboxed electronics. Maybe now they will start, but the last 20 years nobody really gives a damn. Bureaucrats are generally lazy rather than pernicious. Such interactions are about perceptions more than anything. Even telling them what it is amounts to satisfying their curiosity and that it's not going to blow up.
Likelihood of a person bringing back a single GPU, their computer, or a small amount of gear getting the third degree is going to be very very low. If you are doing it every week with 5 of them, probably won't last very long.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Please link to stats of it only being people with 20K of equipment.
LOL. Tongue in cheek? You went on and on about it like it was a big gotcha. Now you claim you didn't because you already knew there was an simple alternative.
Ah.. record keeping? It's email. There's no record keeping. You have to go out of your way to delete it.
Many of the receipts I've gotten from smaller stores are handwritten.
Uh huh. CBP just sets up a system to register things that they will never check.
You mean like those lazy ICE agents. Customs agents aren't bureaucrats. They a LE. The thrill of catching someone is the thrill of the job.
Uh huh. So low that travel insurance companies warn you about it. Seems like a lot of effort to warn you about something that never happens.
http://trip.ustia.org/security/tips/1189/how-to-avoid-paying-duty-on-pesonal-items-you-carry-abroad/
a_beautiful_rhind@reddit
Or simply change emails.
It is. Food is a big no-no item. Especially fruits and things like that. Not just for the US but literally every country. Not even recent, since forever.
Yea because it can happen. This is a way you ensure it does not happen. Travel insurance companies are not in the business of dispensing gray market advice.
Yea, I bet a GPU in a static bag is gonna get them all riled up for the thrill of catching someone. Go read some experiences of people traveling with their computer gear, including computer parts and how much they got hassled.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Which doesn't get rid of your old email. Especially if you use an email program.
Well then why did you say "She either packed a big no-no item or met a really hardcore customs person." I said it was a food item. So if you knew "Food is a big no-no item.", then why that statement?
FIFY.
Static bag? You carry around your laptop in a static bag? You know that's pretty redundant right. Since the case is effectively a Faraday cage for EMI reasons.
Virtualization_Freak@reddit
The customs forms to the US only says items valued over 10K must be declared. At least the last half a dozen times I've gone to JP...
Vas1le@reddit
Or 800$ if is from US
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
That's for cash. As in money. As a big roll of cash. You have to declare if you are carrying more than $10K of cash, bonds, whatever. Which is the same $10K limit where banks are required to report transactions.
For goods(like a GPU), and even services(like modding), the exemption was $800. Which was what the de minimis limit was. But now that de minimis limit is $100, IDK of it's still $800 at the border. But even if it's under $800 you are supposed to declare it. It just won't be dutied unless it all adds up to over $800.
"For example, a returning resident is eligible for the $800 duty-free personal exemption every 31 days"
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/know-before-you-visit/customs-duty-information
Dude, the golden rule from customs for ever is “If in doubt, declare it.”. I declare everything. Like everything. From magazines to even a left over roll of TP I might have in my bag.
Virtualization_Freak@reddit
Your link is for international visitors into the US.
While still useful, I'll need to go source info for US Residents.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
The customs form is the same regardless whether you are a returning citizen or a visitor. Everyone gets the same form for customs.
"Whether you are a visitor to the United States or a U.S. citizen arriving in the United States"
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/clearing-cbp/traveler-entry-form
As per that form.
"U.S. Residents—Declare all articles that you have acquired abroad and are bringing into the United States."
"Duty—CBP officers will determine duty. U.S. residents are normally entitled to a duty-free exemption of $800 on items accompanying them."
"The transportation of currency or monetary instruments, regardless of the amount, is legal. However, if you bring into or take out of the United States more than $10,000 (U.S. or foreign equivalent, or a combination of both), you are required by law to file a report on FinCEN 105 (formerly Customs Form 4790) with U.S. Customs and Border Protection."
Virtualization_Freak@reddit
Thank you for the info. I have always shipped my stuff back as it was the easiest in the past....up until a few weeks ago.
qiuboujun@reddit
They can’t do that if you don’t have packaging etc. what if it’s your own pc?
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
They absolutely can.
That would involve you bringing your PC with you. Which the country you are going to might question you about. Since they don't want you importing that into their country without paying taxes/duty/tariffs. Even if you can convince them that you just travel with a PC, they'll note exactly what that PC has and that better match when you leave. If there's an extra GPU all of a sudden, you'll be questioned about it.
Then when you come back to the US, you'll face the same. "You know you have to declare the PC you bought on your trip right?" People don't generally with PCs. That'll be a big red flag. If they call you on it, it's up to you to prove you didn't buy it on your trip.
No-Big-8343@reddit
I'm so fascinated by this. In years and years of travelling I've never been stopped by customs. If you're not moving bulk goods or anything illegal they're really unlikely to care. Every upper middle class family in Latin America has brought back new phones, a laptop, and maybe a console whenever they go visit Disney in the USA.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Then you got lucky. Keep an eye out next time and you'll see them pulling people out of the stream for secondaries as they walk from the x-ray machines to the door out of the customs area. It's done at random. Every 3rd person. Every 5th person. Or if you fit a profile. In my case, it's not having enough luggage. At the other end of the spectrum, people with too much luggage get a secondary as well.
A secondary is where they x-ray your luggage again followed up with a hand search if they see something in the x-ray.
No-Big-8343@reddit
Sorry I should've been more specific. They've never questioned tech goods in any way. I've definitely had them questions food items and things that contain seeds etc. They're much more concerned about environmental damage from invasive species, drugs, and live animal smuggling than legal personal electronics.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Again, you've been lucky. It happens.
http://trip.ustia.org/security/tips/1189/how-to-avoid-paying-duty-on-pesonal-items-you-carry-abroad/
Apprehensive_Poet480@reddit
nah bro. they dont have time for that guessing work.
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
LOL. Yeah bro. They definitely do. "Secondary!". I guess you haven't traveled much. They have all the time in the world.
UniqueAttourney@reddit
Bro has seen the worse, customs shenanigans are real but didn't think it was like that for the US
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Ah... the US is one of the worst countries for "customs shenanigans". I've gotten more "secondaries" in the US than in the rest of the world combined. As in I only got one outside the US. That was in China because of my power bank. They wanted to check for the proper certifications before allowing it on the plane. China is a stickler for that. It didn't have them so they confiscated it and the agent put it in the big bin full of them behind him.
In the US I get "secondaries" all the time because I fit a profile. That being not having enough luggage. I only travel with a small backpack. The second an agent asks "Where's your luggage?", I know I'm going to get a secondary.
LumpyWelds@reddit
Leave with a broken, parts only 5090. Make sure to document it on the way there. Bring it back "repaired"!
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
Even if you are actually repairing it instead of "repairing" it. You are still subject to tariffs. Since the value of repairs and mods to existing equipment you bring over are still subject to duties et al.
FreedFromTyranny@reddit
My friend repaired it for me for free
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
It's not how much you paid, it's how much it's worth. Someone can give me a brick of gold. That doesn't mean it has no value. The duty is on value, not how much you paid.
hempires@reddit
i've seen people dismantle a project car to get it into the US without being hit with insane tariffs, maybe you could disassemble the card and claim its all spare parts? lmao.
richdrich@reddit
I guess if you were near to Canada (or Mexico, Bahamas, etc) and had a friend on the other side of the Wall, you could use their address and drive across to collect? And take a PC chassis with you, so you can show your mate your gamer rig.
Particular_Volume440@reddit
Nope, I tried that. I bought a modded 4090d from a vendor in China and thought I could avoid Tariffs by shipping into Mexico. I told the vendor to Declare the value at $1500 USD and I was charged $5,826 MXN for import duties and tariffs into Mexico (about $300 USD). I bought another one 2 weeks ago but had it shipped to the U.S. directly and told the vendor to declare the value at $500 and I still got fucked by the trump tax, had to pay like 75% of the value of the card in tariffs, so that was another $300 USD.
That-Thanks3889@reddit
FYI I’ve tested on of these 48 gb cards a phd student had one …… he brought it in the thing sounded like a jet engine and was not stable u had to undervolt it and that’s with 3 fans blowing on it in addition to the cooler….. 2 5090s with the aio water coolers are quieter by far and stable and same price if not less with a warranty
sailee94@reddit
That has nothing to do with the 48gb mod though. If it's a jet engine then it's simply faulty.
sciencewarrior@reddit
See, people flying to Asia to buy modded computer parts in cash to run their local AI, that's the cyberpunk future I asked for.
Keyframe@reddit
Flying to China to buy a modded US equipment part to run chinese AI back in US!
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
US equipment is not exactly right. IC designed by NVIDIA, US. Chip produced in Taiwan, China. And the PCB and final products manufactured in mainland, China.
Keyframe@reddit
It's exactly right. It's US equipment. NVIDIA can take it to Korea or back home to intel and still produce it, those without NVIDIA can't. Not to mention it's subject to US export regulations.
cornucopea@reddit
OP didn't mention about the trip back to US, wonder if US custom will clear it.
ThinCod5022@reddit
lol, jensen huang i know that you are reading this, just please give us more VRAM at a reasonable price please xD
CompetitionItchy6170@reddit
Cash-only GPU black markets in neon-lit alleys… yeah that’s peak cyberpunk vibes.
gapingweasel@reddit
Shenzhen is basically side-quest central for PC builders. U walk in for a GPU......come out with a bag of knockoff LEDs and a story about haggling in three languages
CompetitionItchy6170@reddit
haha sounds like a whole adventure...
michaellee8@reddit
There is a place in Shenzhen which sells every computer related thing that you can name. You probably want to pretend you know Chinese to avoid being sold overpriced/low-quality products through.
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
实际上那个地方是：华强北。
1980年，深圳市城市建设规划委员会成立，规划了上步工业区和八卦岭工业区。 华强集团就在上步工业区内，企业旁的路以企业名命名，华强路因此得名。 华强路又与深南路交叉，并以深南路为南北分界线，深南路以北被称为“华强北” 。
michaellee8@reddit
I know it, I am from Hong Kong, just trying not to put the name cuz foreigners won't be able to understand Chinese anyway. I even bought things there before, real dirt cheap prices.
nmrk@reddit
The sky was the color of a tv tuned to a dead channel.
(BTW, contrary to popular belief, William Gibson confirmed the color is gray static, like old analog TVs)
buildfailedagain@reddit
What’s the popular belief? I always imagined it as static
nmrk@reddit
Deep blue, the color of a digital TV tuned to a dead channel. That’s all millennials have ever seen. Us oldsters that grew up on NTSC TV know what he really meant.
gameoftomes@reddit
Nah dude. The older mellennials know the static. We were born into it. The tech moved quickly back then. I experienced the family Atari to my sisters master system to my friends mega drive to my playstation. The younger millennials arrived to experience playstation.
1eyedsnak3@reddit
Don’t forget coleco vision 😂
FluffySmiles@reddit
Ha! I used to sell those when they were new and shiny.
nmrk@reddit
Now they call that tail-end “Generation Jones.”
gameoftomes@reddit
From Wikipedia
The term you might be thinking of is xennials or zellennials to define the edges of the millennial group.
nmrk@reddit
I’m mostly talking about G Jones, that’s my demographic. I grew up fixing B&W tube TVs. My first memory in life is being terrified because my mother was sobbing uncontrollably, while our little B&W TV showed a horse-drawn caisson: JFK’s funeral. I was astonished a few years back when a prominent tech forum published an in-depth tech article “What Is A Raster?” The younger tech kiddies (even older ones) were astonished, “I always wondered what that was about!” Old dudes like me were like “what, people don’t know this?” Anyway, I don’t mean to hijack the thread with an obscure literary reference. But I disputed people for years, they wouldn’t believe me it was gray static! So I thoroughly enjoyed Gibson’s validation.
gameoftomes@reddit
So why rope millennials into the conversation thread about them never seeing static on TV channels?
nmrk@reddit
You're no fun.
Pixelmixer@reddit
r/xennials
allesfliesst@reddit
How young do you think millennials are? :D
svideo@reddit
“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”
msew@reddit
Yesssssss!!! It is so good. I just want my deck and some ice killers
satireplusplus@reddit
Chinese GPU black markets and meeting dealers behind dim-lit back alleys to buy them with cash lol
mrdevlar@reddit
Yes, this story just compounds the fact that we're living in a cyberpunk dystopia.
treenewbee_@reddit
The sad thing is that it is difficult for Chinese people to appear on camera.
shanghailoz@reddit
Cash, in China?
Thats so old school. I guess no Alipay or Wechat for you!
king_priam_of_Troy@reddit (OP)
Fun fact: I tried to use Alipay. But I was banned the moment I tried to pay 22900 ! The vendor drove me to an ATM inside the a local bank that would only allow me to get CNY 3000 at the time. I had to take 229 banknotes.
power97992@reddit
Why didn’t you just pay him in euros?
treenewbee_@reddit
Foreign currencies cannot be circulated in China. Even if you have foreign currency, no one will accept it. This is because China strictly restricts foreign exchange. This is why the RMB is actually bankrupt. If China opens up the RMB to free convertibility, then the RMB will immediately become worthless.
DarthFluttershy_@reddit
For big transactions, it's not unheard of. Most vendors don't want petty cash because they have no change and aren't going to go to the back for a small amount, but when you're up in the 3k euro range like this, they'll be willing to deposit it later. Especially with a foreigner, who's ability to pay digitally will be spotty at best. You can link your western credit cards to wechat and alipay now (thank God, it's so much nicer), but if the transaction gets flagged or something, you might be screwed.
I'm honestly not sure if it matters a whit for taxes there, too. It's mostly just a convenience thing.
terminoid_@reddit
oooh, rly? last time i tried alipay it required a Chinese bank account
DarthFluttershy_@reddit
Ya, that was a new policy in 2023 or 2024 I think. But you have to pre verify and such, so (assuming if you want to do this you're living in the West) it's best to set it up before you travel, and notify the credit card company that you're traveling to prevent it locking up. Keep in mind if you have verification texts as two factor authentication you won't be able to get that in China unless you have a plan you can access via the Internet, so it's a Dickens to get that stuff sorted out post facto.
VelvetyRelic@reddit
When I was in China in 2023, there was a transaction fee for large transactions on Alipay (with foreign credit cards). I think it was transactions over 300 RMB or something like that.
shanghailoz@reddit
I haven't used cash in China for a couple of years now. I think the last time was a cab driver who for some strange reason didn't take wechat.
DarthFluttershy_@reddit
I have, but again it's for significant but not astronomical sums that have to come initially from another currency. In the few thousand euro range its just easier.
SkyFeistyLlama8@reddit
Your issuing bank might be wondering why you're paying 3k euros to some rando on AliPay. Some banks might flag repeated small transactions if they think someone stole your card and is using it to pay for scooter rides and noodles or something.
beje_ro@reddit
Can you share the tweak for the P40?
Impossible_Art9151@reddit
Thanks for the story. I really love it.
Let's look on this from a higher economic perspective.
When someone travel all over the world in these days to receive that required good,
it is a clear sign of market failiure.
The whole GPU market supply is a huge monopoly.
Some "small garages" in china are producing and supplying customers demand.
Midprice GPU with huge VRAM !!!
A 5090 with 200GB, a rtx 6000 pro with 400GB
In a free market we should see these products.
Centralized AI would decline and it would give a push to local AI.
I really appreciate those kind of stories!
petuman@reddit
Those two are the same GPU. Not to say that those configurations are not even remotely possible, there's simply no memory chips with that capacity.
Aphid_red@reddit
With HBM memory it would be possible. Said memory (for a brief amount of time) was actually available for gaming GPUs. If the AI bubble eventually pops, then it will be once again.
In a world where there is competition for fab machines (ASML monopoly), competition for actual fabs (TSMC monopoly), competition for the memory chips (mostly an oligopoly of 3 companies; Samsung/SK Hynix/Micron) and competition for the packing process (TSMC again) as well as the chip design (NVidia) I can definitely see that a GPU akin to the datacenter blackwell (192 or 288GB) would be available in common PCI-e form factor for a few thousand, because that's much closer to what it costs, and that's generous R&D margins included.
aseichter2007@reddit
Yeah, this really is AMDs moment to drop a huge memory card, but they won't.
Charuru@reddit
You clearly don't know what you're talking about, 96 is the max possible today.
prusswan@reddit
Modded 96GB? I think that's we needed to hear
No_Afternoon_4260@reddit
If they manage to ship it under the price of a rtx pro.
MisterChouette@reddit
They just have to be a little less greedy than Nvidia, which really shouldn't be too hard
Tansien@reddit
You have to remember the main reason they're doing this is for datacenter usage in China.
yukintheazure@reddit
No, these mainly come from small workshops in Huaqiangbei. They usually require customized modified drivers and do not provide any quality assurance. Moreover, they are made to order based on demand, and data centers would never use such unstable products.
aliencaocao@reddit
Completely wrong. You probably havent even seen a card in real life. I have worked with major telcos in china (China mobile, china telecom) on their DCs, which deployes tens of thousands of these 4090 48g cards for rental. Also, they do NOT need any customized drivers.
yukintheazure@reddit
This is very interesting. As far as I know, the cards for this type of enterprise must be purchased through official channels, and some state-owned enterprises even have a bidding process. It is truly baffling that so many modified cards from small workshops can enter their data centers.
aliencaocao@reddit
No one said they cannot bid, you just need a company. Also, it is not "small workshops" scale like you think. This is not some youtuber trying to fix gpus thing, this is a coordinated mass production with a complete supply chain for gpu cores and gddr6x modules and custom PCBs. The fact is, companies wholly owned by telcos (china telecom/mobile/unicom) are engaged in manufacturing
popporn@reddit
These people are talking out of their asses. In runninghub.ai you can clearly choose 48gb GPUs to run your comfyui workflow
Tansien@reddit
You do know that china are banned from buying the more powerful NVIDIA cards, right?
Second hand gaming GPUs are much easier to source than second hand datacenter GPUs. Large companies even have buyback agreements with NVIDIA so that their stock gets destroyed rather than ending up on eBay.
yukintheazure@reddit
Data centers require enterprise-level service support. No data center would put in unknown/private workshop products. You're probably referring to small-medium sized or private computing power providers/GPU rental services, right?
djdanlib@reddit
I think you are underestimating both their legendary willingness to cheap out and their desperation to have relevant tech. This is the situation the export restrictions were intended to exacerbate in the first place.
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
I'm living in China and I support yuki. only new starters like China Telecom (they provide mobile network for very long ages but still starter in computing gpu services), will take the usage of 4090 48g. those modded gpu are glassy and easy to break. none of large enterprise application will choose those cards.
as i knew, most entreprise cards are from singapore with more black ways, like h100s & b200s. real beasts.
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
by the way the US export restrictions actually do nothing because anyone could buy cards from east-south asia and briing it to mainland. or just set up a cloud services in SE asia and rent them to mainland (which keeps server and gpus still in foreign countries).
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
and also, it it not morality for the restrictions. in my perspective.
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
so just pirate it
yukintheazure@reddit
I feel that you have a significant misunderstanding. What the company needs is ease of maintenance and stability. Your imagination is very rich, but the data center will never allow these heavily modified cards without warranty that involve swapping boards. Export controls will actually increase the use of chips from Huawei's Ascend, Cambricon Technologies, and T-Head from Alibaba.This kind of card only appears with some small and medium-sized computing power providers.
DickBatman@reddit
You should watch that game's nexus video. I don't see much reason why data centers wouldn't do this
yukintheazure@reddit
These cards are all made by small workshops, with a 3-year warranty, but they might disappear at any time. You can search for news about other counterfeit/refurbished graphics cards in China, such as "卡诺基" and "黄伟达".
The 4090 48G is achieved by transplanting chips through a 3090 motherboard, and its stability is not as good as native graphics cards. There are many GPU repair YouTubers on the Chinese video website Bilibili who have posted repair videos - you can go search for them.
dinosaur-boner@reddit
This is China we're talking about. Which until recently, could not legally even buy most of the cards. The target audience for this isn't western datacenters, it's the domestic ones who NEED the compute.
anesthetic1214@reddit
Both USA and china governments ban companies from buying Nvidia cards. Based on ER last quarter Nvidia sold 0 cards there and lost about 12% revenue.
dinosaur-boner@reddit
The confidence with which you said that despite being 1000% wrong is commendable. They are pumping these out in volume, the demand right no far outstrips their supply.
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
for datacenters, those modded cards cannot provide enough stablity. it is mostly for university researching groups and students and LocalLLM enthusiasts in CN.
No_Afternoon_4260@reddit
What would you say? 4.5k?
GenLabsAI@reddit
No, I'd say at least 6k Still better than Nvidia though.
ResidentPositive4122@reddit
At 6k it makes no sense to buy. The risk/reward isn't there. Saving 2k but losing warranty and future support (new drivers, new features, new kernels, etc) is really not worth it.
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
at least for 4090 48g it is supported by origin 4090 driver
6uoz7fyybcec6h35@reddit
the really limit is about vbios
Content_Cup_8432@reddit
and much worse performance
CatIsFluffy@reddit
An RTX 6000 Pro has the same memory bandwidth and only \~10% more cores than a 5090, so not really.
No_Afternoon_4260@reddit
Actually you could TP multiple 5090 so 🤷
No_Afternoon_4260@reddit
5 in pairs
prusswan@reddit
logistics is more concerning unless Shenzhen happens to be your backyard, hope they can get a foreign partner
cooling might be an issue too, I believe in their capability to install the memory modules, but durability is a different matter
Long_Pomegranate2469@reddit
They build custom PCBs and coolers.
xrvz@reddit
Being able to run a 70b q8 model at 5090 speeds sure sounds nice.
Moose_knucklez@reddit
I believe for that you have to pay to download the extra ram.
getting_serious@reddit
eBay has them for 2500. Add 700 in taxes and fees, and that's what you paid before flight and hotel costs?
cyberdork@reddit
The €700 is actually also what he would have to pay at customs when returning. He basically smuggled the card into the country risking a fine.
My guess is Op is not even aware of it.
Blizado@reddit
Could end up as a very expensive lesson.
Sufficient_Map_5364@reddit
So the 5090s with 96gb are real??
Blizado@reddit
Makes that even sense with a RTX Pro 6000 on the market which has by default 96GB? When a modded 4090 with only the doubled VRAM size (but still only the half) is already that expensive...
omertacapital@reddit
the minute I hear the 96gb 5090’s are confirmed I’m booking a flight to Hong Kong
Blizado@reddit
For paying as much for such a modded card as a RTX Pro 6000 with 96GB cost? XD
Blizado@reddit
Plot twist: he is still in Hong Kong. :D
I think such a story should end at home with the card in your Server. :D
UniqueAttourney@reddit
Narrator: "But he never left Hong Kong, Some would say he was never meant, or allowed to leave" :p
Blizado@reddit
It's not even that unrealistic. So far I know this modifications are not officially allowed by NVidia. So who knows how the customs react when they notice this card.
michaellee8@reddit
Hong Kong customs won't give a shit to this card, not sure about US customs through but I thought they only ban export to china but not import.
Blizado@reddit
Yeah, true, that would be more on the target country side. He sounds like as he is from Europe because he used Euro.
BaoBaoBen@reddit
Customs is not one single institution, every country has their own rules. Also, this may be a shock to you, customs doesn't work for Nvidia and doesn't give a f*ck about what they allow or not. It's not their job to enforce the opinions of a private company.
Blizado@reddit
I didn't said that this would come directly from NVidia, but it can be in the interest from them and then there is lobbying.
alvenestthol@reddit
The average customs worker wouldn't be able to tell you how much VRAM was in a base 4090... or tell apart a 4090 from a 4080... or from a 1060... or probably even a Pentium 2.
If the mod just involved replacing the memory chips with higher-capacity ones, it might not even be possible to distinguish a normal 4090 with a modded one even with an X-ray machine.
Blizado@reddit
Yep, unless they have RTX 4090 on their list of special items where they have should a closer look at them when you come from china. And Europe (since he wrote about 700€ costs) can be more special depending on the country. But no clue if this cards are on their lists. So maybe the risk is really not that high.
cyberdork@reddit
More plot twists: when landing at home he went thru the ‘I have something to declare’ door and still paid the €700.
Long_Pomegranate2469@reddit
Sucks if they pick you up at customs back home.
tired-andcantsleep@reddit
INDIRECT ADVERTISEMENT CRAP POST
pixiedustnomore@reddit
But why?
"After arriving, the manager congratulated me for being the first foreigner to find them unassisted. I was given the card from a large batch—they’re clearly producing these in volume at a factory elsewhere in town (I was proudly shown videos of the assembly line). I asked them to retest the card so I could verify its authenticity.
I was given the card from a large batch—they’re clearly producing these in volume at a factory elsewhere in town
card from a large batch—they’re clearly producing these in volume
a large batch—they’re clearly
batch—they’re
— "
Bionic_Bread@reddit
any issues getting the modded card through customs?
madsheepPL@reddit
"experiences with DHL—there"
" large batch—they’re clearly "
you forgot to clean up some of the m-dashes ;)
pier4r@reddit
I don't mind if the user writes a draft and then LLM'd it for correctness. What is the problem with that? It is like proof reading (a thing I do too rarely)
Ok_Scientist_8803@reddit
Or for translations in other places, I find it to be accurate more often than not. Less broken English and more readable language for everyone.
sideburns28@reddit
I don’t mind if non-English speakers spruce up their written English a little, the account seems genuine
WaveCut@reddit
I use it all the time. Just double-press dash and space on your Mac of choice, and — voila.
Firm-Fix-5946@reddit
you're double pressing hyphen. what it's giving you is a dash.
not that that really matters. but since some people have decided to go full grammar freak and bust out the technical term "em dash", which nobody ever uses outside LLM discussion -- normal people just call it a dash -- we might as well be clear
rbbrdckybk@reddit
Normal people definitely use "em dash" to differentiate it from the shorter "en dash" (which is commonly just referred to as a dash).
If you just say "dash", I don't think anyone will assume you mean an em dash. They'll assume you mean the shorter (and more commonly-used) en dash.
Mediocre-Method782@reddit
Only idiots try to normalize ignorance.
spacengine@reddit
Only idiots assume true knowledge is attainable
Antriel@reddit
I just got into the habit of using ALT+0150 – and started long before the age of LLMs.
devildesperado@reddit
you can buy these genuine accounts for as low as 500$ till 2k ranging from 500 karna to 10k 🙃
dc740@reddit
Same here. I get really frustrated reading ai generated content, rage bait, click bait, etc etc etc... But I also have to acknowledge that it may be their second language, and some people, like me, also have a lot of issues writing properly structured text that makes sense to others. Imagine a text as long as that one but structured in my writing style. No one would read it
PwanaZana@reddit
He's either a bot, or, shudder, a frenchman.
king_priam_of_Troy@reddit (OP)
Frenchman.
anedisi@reddit
did you have to declare them ?. im visiting south east asia next week. i could "jump" to china for like 100 eur return. but then im like what to do with it. where did you have it.
PwanaZana@reddit
J'men doutais bien, à voir ton post de finance. Trop ouf!!!
DarthFluttershy_@reddit
The sad part is I actually liked using em dashes in my writing, but now if I use them everyone assumes it's an LLM, lol.
Satyam7166@reddit
I don’t use em dashes but sometimes the way that I write seems too HR (I’m not an HR) so yeah I’ve reduced it xD
florinandrei@reddit
Why do you care about the feelings of dumb people?
YourNonExistentGirl@reddit
Should we just exterminate them? Is that what you’re suggesting?
Firm-Fix-5946@reddit
there's no such thing as an m dash. the term you're seeking is em dash, but normal ass literate people who know how to write have historically just said "dash." believe it or not these we were extremely common already in these things called "books" before LLMs were created and somebody as clueless as you looked in a Unicode table and latched on to the term "em dash"
RegisteredJustToSay@reddit
Your life must be pretty good if this is what you’re spending your energy being angry at people about.
Firm-Fix-5946@reddit
anger isn't a pre requisite for giving somebody shit for saying something silly
kopasz7@reddit
Isn't it called em dash, because its length is how long the letter m is?
Firm-Fix-5946@reddit
probably not, see "obsolete alternative definition" here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Em_(typography)
it's possible that was the origin and the evidence is lost to history, but the evidence available doesn't really support that
robottiporo@reddit
That’s language specific – my native language has different grammatical rules for -, –, and —. They don’t mean the same thing.
florinandrei@reddit
Why? Because a dumb social media fad tells you how to feel about it?
madsheepPL@reddit
Interesting. Are you looking to antagonize me or is that just how people are now?
ATGM_Fan@reddit
Some people (especially who were in research or academia) use them a lot.
robottiporo@reddit
Why are people so obsessed the with em dash versus en dash controversy – is em dash rude in the US? Many languages use all three different dashes and anglophones are the only ones who are triggered.
bidibidibop@reddit
Double dash on MacOS mate ;)
Express_Nebula_6128@reddit
Nice, what place is that? I live in Shenzhen, might want to get some myself 🤔
mayhemonger@reddit
It’s located in shenzen but you went to Hong Kong?
Ecstatic_Winter9425@reddit
If I were to guess, there are significantly more international flights to HK than SZ because the former is a business capital. It's probably also cheaper to fly to HK. Since SZ is only 50 km away from HK, the logistics of the trip is very simple.
Ok_Scientist_8803@reddit
Now there's a train going between there, all the way up to Guangzhou too. Less than 30 minutes between SZ and HK, and far far cheaper than the price difference between direct flights to china and HK.
sahrul099@reddit
Hong Kong then ferry to Shenzhen?
iSevenDays@reddit
I bought at C2 two cards already, 4090d variant . It works fine for 6 months already and I'm pretty satisfied
Vas1le@reddit
Can you dm the link?
iSevenDays@reddit
Just search for C2 computer
sideburns28@reddit
Who was the seller: Shenzhen Aochuangshi Tech Co Ltd on Alibaba? Also how does it run??
king_priam_of_Troy@reddit (OP)
Ailfond Technology (shenzhen) Co., Ltd
Kamal965@reddit
Hey I bought my 2 MI50s from them! They were super nice and communicative (over Alibaba initially, and then Whatsapp). They got it to me from HK to Canada in literally a week thru UPS. I've ordered shit off of Amazon that took longer to arrive lmao
Kousket@reddit
How much did you pay and how much tax and fee and ups?
Kamal965@reddit
$30 CAD shipping. \~$180 CAD per card. No duties, tariffs, etc. Only 15% sales tax collected by UPS.
lurkn2001@reddit
Could you share or DM their address?
nodozpills@reddit
nice try fed
progmboy@reddit
The seller is a small, independent GPU modding workshop.
progmboy@reddit
The seller is a small, independent GPU modding workshop.
Consistent-Hall-3719@reddit
Your story is great like a fiction novel of buying human organs. The 4090 48g is quite popular here in China, I've bought one last month, it works good and the online shop(one in Taobao) Will even provide warranty for it like 2 years
TetraNeuron@reddit
Your organs would probably fetch a smaller price than that graphics card
norsurfit@reddit
But I've got one very large organ...
Vas1le@reddit
That is not what she said
cure-4-pain@reddit
How much does it cost and can you DM me the link?
tiikki@reddit
Now I wonder if those commenters are sending DMs about organs or cards...
zhambe@reddit
Could you share (or dm) link to the shop please?
Steve_OH@reddit
What is the going rate for the local model?
Particular_Hat9940@reddit
I dm'd you
brianlmerritt@reddit
I bought an RTX 3090 gaming pc in the UK for £800. I travelled to Waltham Cross in North London. It was too big for public transport, so I drove there. I can send photos if anyone is interested. It has pink/purple gaming leds on the fans I can't turn off. Very pretty.
ToHallowMySleep@reddit
Cool story and very nice find! I echo the calls for some kind of benchmark or other performance indicator :)
aliencaocao@reddit
https://main-horse.github.io/posts/4090-48gb/
very long ago have already
ToHallowMySleep@reddit
Cool, are we sure that's the same card though? Modded 4080 could mean many things :)
aliencaocao@reddit
Yes....i work with oem who made this and benched it last year when it was just out
ToHallowMySleep@reddit
That's a pretty solid source then, thank you for clarifying! :)
Opposite_Street_658@reddit
I need one lol qhere i get this lool
superdav42@reddit
But isn't the 4090 on the export blacklist?
ajmusic15@reddit
Smuggling
Spiritual-Carob2235@reddit
Welcome to Shenzhen and we have all electronic devices you can imagine and you can't imagine.
arrty@reddit
This would not have been written without AI
Loud_Structure4664@reddit
a story written by local LLM
townofsalemfangay@reddit
Incredibly high-quality post. Thanks for sharing!
1eyedsnak3@reddit
Yup
squabbleaway@reddit
Screenshots of benchmarking?
puru991@reddit
Man, I was just in shenzhen, still in macau leaving for hong kong tomorrow. If you had posted a week ago, I could have visited the factory myself. Anyway, can you share the address?
king_priam_of_Troy@reddit (OP)
广东省深圳市龙岗区横岗街道埔厦路瑞泽佳园一栋亿立方308
michaellee8@reddit
Hey man you still in Hong Kong? Local Hong Konger here who sometimes go hang out in Shenzhen. Would love to see the card for curiosity.
Cergorach@reddit
So... You're admitting to smuggling on Reddit, as I doubt you declared the card when going back. I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has not expired on that...
"Customs officers coming through!" ;)
vaksninus@reddit
Cringe its just a gpu for personal use
McSendo@reddit
jealousy is bitch
Cergorach@reddit
So? Better pay the tax man!
urbanhood@reddit
This is like epic real life quest.
Significant-Ebb4177@reddit
I know there is a Chinese version of 3090 48 GB, but not 4090. The story is beautiful, but ... I doubt it
FormalAd7367@reddit
Love your experience. I also built my server from China. I was given a variety of options for GPUs… i chose 3090s. the seller didn’t have any.. he pointed me to a different shop and i bought them off a different seller and have them shipped to my guy. The seller specifically asked for “Turbo” 3090 card.. it was a fun experience
Flat-Back-9202@reddit
cyberpunk story
gK_aMb@reddit
Closing should be, returned FROM Hong Kong, no?
Secure_Reflection409@reddit
From the Nexus video, I think HK is the free port so go via HK and sail home free?
WithoutReason1729@reddit
Your post is getting popular and we just featured it on our Discord! Come check it out!
You've also been given a special flair for your contribution. We appreciate your post!
I am a bot and this action was performed automatically.
YourNonExistentGirl@reddit
Wasn’t this pinned earlier? How come it’s at the bottom now?
YourNonExistentGirl@reddit
FYI - Trip.com is doing a site-wide astroturfing campaign.
rm-rf-rm@reddit
links?
YourNonExistentGirl@reddit
I can’t be arsed to search all of them but I’ve one example on our local travel sub a while back.
rm-rf-rm@reddit
I looked at the poster's profile - doesnt look likely hes shilling.
YourNonExistentGirl@reddit
How? The profile’s already deleted and the post removed from the platform.
rm-rf-rm@reddit
huh? https://www.reddit.com/user/king_priam_of_Troy/
YourNonExistentGirl@reddit
I’m referring to the example I provided. You asked for links. I gave you another to peruse.
Here’s how a sceptic like me would approach OP:
So they’re not a regular user by any means.
They employed a narrative style of relating their experience on this post which is inconsistent with their older ones. Maximum affect for maximum engagement. It’s proven to work well on reddit regardless of the community involved (hard sciences maybe 50/50) because we are emotional creatures.
User also used an LLM to tighten/enhance their prose.
Francophones often add spaces before punctuation marks. The post is devoid of that stylistic choice. You can observe this on some of their comments, and their significantly older posts.
As for the Trip.com framing, see how the post evolved from I got a modded GPU to great and frictionless experience with international travel. The success of the endeavour is directly tied to the use of the site/service, whereas they were met with roadblocks almost every step of the way.
1eyedsnak3@reddit
Hahhaha Fail. Nothing but propaganda for a company here.
Secure_Reflection409@reddit
Need more story dood :D
I also need to figure out how much you paid.
jagauthier@reddit
https://www.google.com/search?q=CNY+22%2C900+to+USD&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=73afc9bb409a06fd&sxsrf=AE3TifMgihfHwy9e_1LOXjOkt1FguZSpHw%3A1758026209399&ei=4VnJaLmMGO2Cm9cPxorNmQc&ved=0ahUKEwj5gN79pd2PAxVtweYEHUZFM3MQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=CNY+22%2C900+to+USD&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiEUNOWSAyMiw5MDAgdG8gVVNEMggQIRigARjDBDIIECEYoAEYwwRIgwdQ5AVY5AVwAXgBkAEAmAFkoAFkqgEDMC4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAICoAJswgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR5gDAIgGAZAGCJIHAzEuMaAH_wGyBwMwLjG4B2fCBwUwLjEuMcgHBg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Due-Memory-6957@reddit
I'm glad to see you're using firefox on a desktop computer and that it was 11:36:49.399 PM when you made that google search which I'm too lazy to try to figure out what timezone that means to be able to guess where you're from, but really, next time just link to https://www.google.com/search?q=CNY+22%2C900+to+USD
TheRealGentlefox@reddit
Unless I'm mistaken, that would make them UTC -1 which is neat, because that's one of the rarest timezones on the planet.
ieph2Kaegh@reddit
Viberpunk you say
MarinatedPickachu@reddit
Is more than 96MB on a 5090 even possible? I thought the module capacity that would be necessary for that doesn't even exist yet
Virtualization_Freak@reddit
Custom PCB, sounds like 128gb may be possible: https://www.techpowerup.com/340771/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5090-gets-128-gb-vram-capacity-mod
danielv123@reddit
550 driver is old so most likely doctored. 128 could be possible with 4GB modules, but they are basically not even rumored even outside of that one screenshot.
petuman@reddit
There could be 4GB density engineering samples that they might have.
Noel3leon@reddit
That would make a 48GB 5090.
1998marcom@reddit
No, that would make a 128GB 5090 with VRAM in clamshell mode, or 64GB in normal mode (RTX 5090 is using 2GB memory modules)
TokenRingAI@reddit
64GB on the 5090 PCB would be epic.
Noel3leon@reddit
Good point!
Freonr2@reddit
Don't think it is. The 6000 Pro already uses 32 x 3GB modules and I think that's the highest density available.
MarinatedPickachu@reddit
Yeah, this article at least claims so https://videocardz.com/newz/no-there-is-no-geforce-rtx-5090-with-128gb-memory
michaelsoft__binbows@reddit
That's wild. to fly all the way there and only acquire a single computer part, that takes quite some constraint. Or perhaps just a very constrained budget. I would at least be talking myself into 4 of them or something to make a beefy node out of.
alex_bit_@reddit
Is RTX 3090 with 48GB of VRAM possible?
msew@reddit
WELL WELL
Looks like that trip to china is back on the menu boys!!!
Adventurous-Egg5597@reddit
Cost?
Same-Artichoke-6267@reddit
Presumably bench would be the same
techlatest_net@reddit
that’s a crazy find, hardware hacking in shenzhen always feels like stepping into the future, curious how stable temps and power draw are with the extra memory
GameEnder@reddit
So how did you get it back without customs being a mess? How do you declare a GPU?
LocalLLaMA-ModTeam@reddit
r/LocalLLaMA Self Promotion Rule Violation
Original-Material301@reddit
Bro is a legend.
48gb card and a trip.
MachinaVerum@reddit
you went to AILFond?
crantob@reddit
Did anyone mention 96GB 4090 being real and buyable (and egads, reliable?)
fallingdowndizzyvr@reddit
They are 5090s and not 4090s.
adalaza@reddit
That's sick
FlufyPsychedelic401@reddit
Amazing! I am inspired to do the same!
Snoo_28140@reddit
That's a crazy story 🤣 I love it. Glad you got your money's worth.
NoWheel9556@reddit
does it say bingchilling on bootup ?
ComputerArtClub@reddit
Don’t understand the joke, but from the little Chinese I have, are you referring to Ice Cream? … ok for anyone else curious, I asked ChatGPT. It is a meme about a video of John Cena promoting a movie in China with an ice cream…
ahtolllka@reddit
I thought it is very complicated process to convert 4090-24 to 4090-48, but found out there a lot of places here in Moscow I can do that. Got to one of them, left two 4090 palit gameready omniblacks, two days later they become turbo-cooled 4090-48, working great for a month now. Going to convert another two at another place just to have two suppliers. Buying 4090 locally for around $1.8k from gamers mostly, conversion is around $900.
progmboy@reddit
If you bought it within the last few days, I think you might have overpaid. Currently, the price for a GeForce RTX 4090 48GB in China is around CNY 20,500, and it comes with a three-year warranty.
omertacapital@reddit
the minute I hear the 96gb 5090’s are confirmed I’m booking a flight to Hong Kong
luxfx@reddit
You scored a gpu and a life experience, that's amazing! I honestly don't know which I'm more jealous over.
ANR2ME@reddit
Nice journey you have there 👍 but isn't it too risky to bring that much cash? 🤔
Kindly_Elk_2584@reddit
He could withdraw the money from a bank in Hongkong.
ANR2ME@reddit
I mean from HK to wherever OP brought the money while searching the location (Shenzen?)
Kindly_Elk_2584@reddit
Hongkong and Shenzhen are bordered, all he needs to worry about is that the customs doesn't find it suspicious.
pythonr@reddit
In a lot of countries it is quite normal to do large cash transactions (e.g. buying used cars in Europe). If people are culturally inclined to not behave criminally in the open and the country doesn‘t have guns like the US it’s actually quite safe most of the time.
LionNo0001@reddit
Very cool story.
recitegod@reddit
What is the comparison to an RTX 8000?
mildlyImportantRobot@reddit
Why was this specific detail, and link, necessary for the story?
Claxvii@reddit
crazy... i had to put my hands on two 3090s (actually 3 but ill have to do some fiddeling before i get there. sometimes i feel it is just easier to bruteforce it with a bunch of gpus whenever possible.
mister2d@reddit
Cool story?
twiiik@reddit
Great story! I would have loved to see som more photos from the trip/location 😃
TetraNeuron@reddit
Bro turned into Steve Nexus
r-amp@reddit
That's quite the journey.
I live in a country with a lot of import tax. Sometimes we wonder about flying to us to buy stuff.
And many do that, downtown Miami.
RRO-19@reddit
This is wild - getting that much VRAM on consumer hardware opens up so many local AI possibilities. Curious about stability and warranty issues with the mod work though.
sub_RedditTor@reddit
Japan https://www.c2-computer.com/products/new-parallel-nvidia-rtx-4090-48gb-384bit-gddr6x-graphics-card-1?_pos=1&_psq=4090&_ss=e&_v=1.0
MelodicRecognition7@reddit
which one from a hundred of different models?
maybe the main issue is findind a better server chassis? I have three cards in a "Supermicro chassis", not 1U height of course.
Mediocre-Method782@reddit
trip dot com spam, reported
MelodicRecognition7@reddit
meh
yay!
rfid_confusion_1@reddit
CNY 22900 , wow
MustafaMahat@reddit
Damn nice, how well does the card work in terms of performance and tokens per second? Also do you mind sharing the company you was in contact with?
CaptParadox@reddit
This is seriously the coolest story I've read on here ever. Thanks for sharing it!
Korkin12@reddit
So now tell us how the card is running
LowMental5202@reddit
Very interesting. Your customer experience seemed good for an alibaba seller. You mind sharing were you bought the card ?
Least_Light2558@reddit
They don't sell these on taobao? Why do you have to go in person just to pick up the card?
shanghailoz@reddit
They do, but better off looking on 2.taobao.com as this is more niche.
kitanokikori@reddit
He explicitly said why - because he would possibly be double-taxed for VAT due to fuckups between the shipper and customs.
C00lAIDs@reddit
Did you even read the first paragraph 😭
orblabs@reddit
He explains it, 700$ in taxes and fees and he spent similar to fly there and got to see a new city. (Implying that he would then.... "Self import it" ignoring the taxes and customs fees
neotorama@reddit
Free beef noodle from the manager
hedgehog0@reddit
It's on Taobao.
Least_Light2558@reddit
That's why I'm asking.
neotorama@reddit
Xi approved
Potential-Leg-639@reddit
Nice one! Now test :)