Counterfeit GeForce graphics cards: RTX 3090 GPUs in RTX 4090 guise
Fraudsters in China go to great lengths with their fakes. Alleged GeForce RTX 4090s are almost indistinguishable from their real counterparts.
(Image: Nvidia)
Counterfeit models of the GeForce RTX 4090 have surfaced in China. Externally, they look exactly like genuine manufacturer cards, such as Palit's GeForce RTX 4090 Gamerock. Even if you take them apart, there is nothing suspicious at first. Even the PCBs match the RTX 4000 models. Only a closer look at the graphics chips reveals how clever the counterfeits are.
Videos of such disassembled graphics cards can be found on the Chinese platform Bilibili. The creators reveal: The soldered-on graphics chips are probably GA102 GPUs from the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, RTX 3090 or RTX 3080 Ti. The correct labeling – is particularly perfidious: the GPUs were allegedly sanded down on the surface and re-engraved to disguise them as AD102 GPUs.
The graphics chips of the RTX 3000 top models and GeForce RTX 4090 are similar in size. They can be distinguished by the surrounding SMD components on the carrier, especially at the top right.
In the two linked cases, the graphics cards no longer functioned. It is not known whether there are also functioning specimens in circulation and whether the fraudsters can fool tools such as GPU-Z. BIOS modifications do not appear to be a major problem in China, as RTX-4090(D) graphics cards with twice the amount of memory are also in circulation, for example.
Videos by heise
Possibly with original boards and coolers
Sophisticated measures such as those used for the alleged RTX-4090 graphics cards meanwhile speak in favor of counterfeiting on a larger scale – hardly anyone would go to such lengths for a handful of models. The coolers and PCBs could actually be originals: At the end of 2023, pictures circulated of how masses of RTX-4090 graphics cards from the gray trade were dismantled in China to make them fit for use in servers.
The graphics chips and memory modules were unsoldered from the boards and placed on their own boards. The coolers with radial fans saved space. The original PCBs and coolers, on the other hand, remained – it is conceivable that such remnants are now being used in the counterfeits. Fraudsters wouldn't even have to forge the stickers and boxes.
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