RTX 4090 Ti prototype surfaced in the trash — massive GPU has PCB parallel to the motherboard with display connectors mounted on a separate daughterboard

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Would this massive GPU have performed as we expected?

RTX 4090 Ti
(Image credit: This_Explanation_514/Reddit)

An RTX 4090 Ti prototype has been reportedly discovered in a computer junk bin. The card sports a PCB mounted parallel to the motherboard and display connectors mounted on a separate daughterboard. Redditor This_Explanation_514 made this rare find and shared it on the r/nvidia subreddit (h/t VideoCardz), although the subreddit’s moderators have since deleted the original post.

While there have been other unreleased RTX 4090 Ti leaks, this is the first time we have seen the GPU’s PCB. The original post also showed off the support bracket mounting system and its magnetic cover, found in most high-end Nvidia graphics cards to support their weight and prevent GPU sag.

The purported RTX 4090 Ti (or RTX TITAN ADA) looks about double the size of the Nvidia Titan RTX and looks substantially bigger than the already thought RTX 4090 Founders Edition. Unfortunately, the Redditor doesn’t have a 16-pin power cable, so they couldn’t power it on and confirm the graphics card’s identity at the time of writing.

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Nvidia RTX 4090 Ti prototype
(Image credit: This_Explanation_514/Reddit)

But even if the GPU does work, it would’ve likely been impractical to use it daily—for either professional tasks or gaming. Since it’s an unreleased product, it would receive zero support and updates. It also has no warranty, so if you run into issues with its hardware, you’ll likely end up with a very heavy paperweight. Because of this, the original poster said that after testing the GPU to find if it works (and to know what it is), it’ll end up in a display case with other high-powered graphics cards.

The RTX 4090 Ti could’ve been Nvidia’s most powerful consumer GPU offering. Still, the U.S. ban on exporting high-end technologies to China, which includes the RTX 4090 (and will likely also include the RTX 4090 Ti if launched), is probably why Team Green canceled this product.

After all, launching a high-end product wouldn’t make sense if it is unprofitable due to a lack of buyers. Nvidia also didn’t need to compete with AMD, as its top-end offering could barely compete with the RTX 4080. Besides, Nvidia already makes a lot of money on AI chips, with its consumer business only making up a small percentage of its overall revenue.

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Jowi Morales
Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • bit_user
    The article said:
    The RTX 4090 Ti could’ve been Nvidia’s most powerful consumer GPU offering. Still, the U.S. ban on exporting high-end technologies to China, which includes the RTX 4090 (and will likely also include the RTX 4090 Ti if launched), is probably why Team Green canceled this product.
    This feels like a troll. It's hard for me to believe there wouldn't be sufficient non-Chinese demand to justify it. Plus, even sanctioned graphics cards still make it into China, just at a lower rate.

    I think Nvidia probably looked at yields + demand for RTX 6000 ADA and L40's and decided there just weren't enough extra dies they could sell as RTX 4090 Ti's. If they went ahead and offered it anyway, the small quantities would've resulted in high prices that would've caused a lot of negative PR for themselves in the process, while not really benefiting a significant number of gamers.
    Reply
  • Lucky_SLS
    ^Nah, I think it was just profit. Nvidia does not need to prove to anyone without a worthy competitor to challenge the 4090/4090ti. Why waste money with GDDR6X when you can slap more memory and earn almost thrice as much?

    The performance improvement would be in the 10 to 15% range. Nothing to rave about.

    4090 - 16384 cores
    4090ti - 18176/18432 cores

    https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/?architecture=Ada+Lovelace&sort=generation
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    Lucky_SLS said:
    ^Nah, I think it was just profit. Nvidia does not need to prove to anyone without a worthy competitor to challenge the 4090/4090ti. Why waste money with GDDR6X when you can slap more memory and earn almost thrice as much?

    The performance improvement would be in the 10 to 15% range. Nothing to rave about.

    4090 - 16384 cores
    4090ti - 18176/18432 cores

    https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/?architecture=Ada+Lovelace&sort=generation
    Most likely. Without any competition from AMD, Nvidia felt no need to compete with themselves. Releasing a 4090Ti would have made them less money than continuing to sell ADA 6000 cards.

    The China hypothesis in the article is comical. China is the 3rd largest market for Nvidia, but still only constitutes about 17% of their total revenue.
    Reply
  • MobileJAD
    Cant sell to China? Might as well not market the gpu at all then. /s
    Reply
  • husker
    Yes, because multi-billion-dollar R&D departments are always just tossing their prototypes in the trash bin for random reddit users to pick up.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    husker said:
    Yes, because multi-billion-dollar R&D departments are always just tossing their prototypes in the trash bin for random reddit users to pick up.
    I'd guess they sent it out with their other e-waste. We don't know how many of these engineering prototypes they had, but it's possible they didn't run at full speed and lab space is fairly precious. You can't just keep all the old stuff, "just because", and they might have a policy against employees taking stuff home with them, since it creates a conflict of interest.

    Probably knowing the e-waste batch came from Nvidia, someone handling it was probably on a keen lookout for anything interesting. On one of the edges, there's damage consistent with it being in a bin with a bunch of other parts.
    Reply