A repair technician discovers three out of four RTX 4090s are fakes containing RTX 3000 series GPUs

A technician finds most RTX 4090 GPUs are fakes after opening the units for repair.

: A Chinese repair technician uncovered that three out of four RTX 4090 graphics cards were counterfeits, containing RTX 3000 series GPUs, bought for 10,000 yuan each. The fakes were hard to distinguish as they replicated some physical aspects correctly, but differences like QR code positions gave them away. Fortunately, one of the cards was genuine and was repaired successfully after replacing certain components. The customer plans to return the fraudulent cards to the overseas seller to seek a refund.

Recently, multiple instances have emerged where customers have unknowingly purchased counterfeit high-end graphics cards. A Chinese repair technician shared his findings on a YouTube video demonstrating how he identified three fake RTX 4090 GPUs among four faulty cards sent for fixing. These cards instead housed components from older RTX 3090 or 3080 models.

Such practices remain surprisingly frequent, as scammers exploit the demand for updated technology by falsely labeling older GPUs as newer models. The technician detailed methods for identifying these fakes, such as checking QR code positions and differences in GPU substrate appearance, including substrate color and markings.

After paying 10,000 yuan per card, the customer found only one genuine RTX 4090, which was repaired by replacing two GDDR6X chips and some rear capacitors. Such scams have recurred in the past, illustrating a persistent issue within gaming and hardware markets. Last year, a similar case involved a card with RTX 4080 components being passed off as an RTX 4090.

The genuine RTX 4090's repair provided relief to the customer, emphasizing the importance of recognizing fraudulent activities that could affect gamers and professionals who rely heavily on genuine high-performance hardware. The customer now intends to send the fake items back to the seller and request a refund, highlighting consumer vigilance.

Sources: TechSpot

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