- Counterfeits are now reaching a very high level
- An Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090 proved to be indistinguishable from a genuine Nvidia GPU in the first inspection by a repair expert
- There’s a worrying level of sophistication here, and we’ve seen it lately with fake SSDs as well.
A fake Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090 is an example of how authentic fraudulent hardware can look, and it’s a worrying reminder given that this type of fraud is on the rise lately.
VideoCardz reports that Northwest Repair (a repair shop based in Kentucky, USA) highlighted the incident with a YouTube video (which you can watch below).
As Northwest Repair (NR) points out, the color of the board didn’t look fake at all and overall it appeared to be a genuine factory-made Nvidia graphics card. Typical clues such as a lack of thermal compound around the corners of the GPU chip, which would indicate that the chip had been removed (and then powered off), were not present.
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On first inspection, the only discernible clue was that the thermal compound was somewhat darker than normal (or more “baked”), which NR detected, but noted that this could be because the RTX 4090 was used for serious overclocking, perhaps; It is not necessarily a telltale sign of a fake.
Even the laser etching of the model number on the chip looked authentic, and the same was true for the video memory.
In short, this was a carefully designed fake GPU that, as NR makes clear, is manufactured to a standard that the repair expert has not witnessed before. “This is the best scam I have ever seen,” he observed, noting, “We have reached a point where the scam has gotten so good that not even the trained eye can spot it.”
Just examining the board under a microscope, in great detail, revealed the small clues (mostly related to soldering) that indicated it was a fake.
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Analysis: a reminder that we must be increasingly vigilant
The advice NR gives is clear: don’t buy an expensive flagship GPU second-hand, as nowadays there is a huge risk that someone will try to scam you out of a large amount of money. The only exception is if you buy the graphics card from a friend you can trust.
Counterfeits also cast doubt on the practice of buying “open box” returns, because the buyer who returned that hardware could have exchanged it for a fake, one that stands up to inspection (but not testing, although the retailer won’t necessarily verify this).
The sad reality of inflated prices for all PC components is that we are seeing an increase in hardware scams targeting this market. That includes graphics card scams and incidents where a third-party marketplace seller doesn’t even bother to include a fake GPU, but simply a heavy ‘dummy’ object (a packet of laundry detergent, for example, or more commonly a rock or piece of metal).
However, what to watch out for most at the moment are scams related to RAM and SSDs, where prices have skyrocketed to ridiculous levels, tempting scammers to try more with these components. In addition to this highly sophisticated fake of an RTX 4090, we’ve seen some very convincing counterfeit SSDs lately – here’s what you need to know to keep an eye out for them.
The level of scamming seen this year has even caused RAM manufacturers to take action: Corsair has introduced new packages in an attempt to make life more difficult for criminals trying to scam consumers.
The best graphics cards for all budgets
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