The AI race has completely rewritten the market landscape for high-performance computer hardware. Data centers are hoarding all kinds of equipment, causing hardware that had become increasingly affordable just a few years ago to now be available to ordinary consumers only at inflated prices. The limit of buyers' tolerance has not yet been fully tested. A hardware enthusiast in California has drawn attention: he was required to sign a loyalty pledge when purchasing an NVIDIA RTX 5090, promising not to resell the hardware, with the purchase tied to official identification documents.
Reddit user Krothic posted: "I bought a Powerspec Ai90 brand pre-built PC equipped with an RTX 5090. The store manager asked me to fill out this form and scan my driver's license. He said this was a new rule that started two days ago. I complied with the process, but I found it quite interesting."
Krothic purchased this graphics card at the Micro Center store in Tustin, California. According to the post, the store required consumers to sign a declaration to complete the transaction. This single-page form required buyers to guarantee that the graphics card would be used only for personal or business purposes and must not be resold or even gifted to others. The commitment letter also emphasized geographic restrictions, requiring the graphics card to remain within the United States. The form also required filling in home address, government-issued ID information, and the intended use of the hardware.
It is currently unclear what penalties would apply for violating this agreement, but once devices are linked to personal identities, violations can be easily traced. In the comments section, many netizens shared similar experiences of scrutiny at other stores. The top comment mentioned being repeatedly questioned by the store manager and having to provide photos to prove they were indeed a gamer. Others believe that the introduction of this document is partly due to the lucrative resale profits of RTX graphics cards overseas, and partly because the US government recently implemented policies prohibiting the export of consumer-grade GPUs to countries like China.
Although Trump's concept of "superintelligence" is still taking shape, his administration clearly places great importance on the AI field. Despite public dissatisfaction, the White House is vigorously promoting data center construction and in-depth research and development of large language models. The North American AI industry is developing rapidly, while the Asian AI industry is experiencing explosive growth, with China being one of the fastest-growing economies in this sector. Washington clearly wants to prevent high-end hardware from flowing to other countries.
Retailers like Micro Center are likely implementing such measures in response to these new policy pressures, and other stores may subsequently introduce their own control measures. This is not the first time Trump's policies have triggered unexpected chain reactions in the gaming community, and the fierce competition in the AI sector has already caused a significant surge in prices for computer and console hardware.