GPUs will be costly, particularly in case you’re contemplating a high-end card. Nevertheless, with costs and availability being haywire on a regular basis, there is a good probability your shiny new graphics card is definitely a pretend.
Scammers have already sold photos of RTX 5090 GPUs to steal your money, however even when your card arrives and appears new, there is perhaps hidden pink flags beneath the floor. Pretend GPUs are extra widespread than you suppose, and it can save you a ton of money by understanding how one can spot one.
8
Inconsistent field and branding
If the emblem appears to be like off, congrats, you simply purchased a “restricted version” pretend
When you’re in a state of affairs the place you possibly can bodily examine the GPU and the field, be sure that to eyeball the packaging. Producers have constant, high-quality packaging, that means no pale colours, misspelled phrases, or barcodes that do not scan. If one thing appears to be like dodgy, it in all probability is.
Pretend playing cards can even are available utterly totally different containers. For instance, you may order an RTX 4060, and whereas the field may look proper, there is perhaps a GTX 1060 inside. When you can, all the time verify the cardboard and the field for serial numbers, packaging defects, and something {that a} big-name producer like Nvidia, AMD, ASUS, MSI, or others will not get mistaken.
7
Previous or generic connectors
VGA on a contemporary GPU? What is that this, 2009?
Most fashionable GPUs include DisplayPort and HDMI ports on the cardboard. The precise variety of these ports may differ between playing cards, however you positive will not see a brand new card in 2025 being offered with a VGA or DVI port.
Recognizing an outdated connector on a “new” card is sort of actually an indicator that you just’re being scammed. A number of fakes are simply historic GPUs with a brand new paint job and a few flashy stickers.
It is also a good suggestion to verify the PCIe connector gold pins. For a brand new card, these pins needs to be in pristine situation. When you see indicators of damage and tear or shoddy soldering across the pins, chances are high you are being handed an outdated card or somebody has tampered with the {hardware}.
6
The cardboard feels too gentle or heavy
Both it’s lacking metallic or filled with sand. Each are unhealthy
It is a delicate change, however pretend or duplicate playing cards usually use cheaper aluminium or plastic components that make the cardboard lighter than it needs to be. Actual GPUs have a sure heft from all of the heatsinks, cooling programs, and dense elements.
On the flip aspect, scammers can even wedge in metallic weights, heatsinks, or outdated, lifeless graphics cores to throw you off. There is no sure-shot approach of telling whether or not a GPU is actual or not just by its weight. But when it feels approach off in comparison with what you anticipated, belief your instincts.
5
Sketchy PCBs and serial numbers
If it appears to be like hand-painted or the serial’s a sticker, run
One other hallmark signal of a pretend GPU is shoddy workmanship. Examine the PCB, if seen, to see if there are any odd elements, shoddy soldering, lacking or oddly coloured chips, and generally even wires operating the place they should not be.
Actual playing cards use clear, well-laid-out PCBs with recognizable branding and uniform soldering that you just normally see on PCBs inside electronics. You too can take away the cooler, being cautious to not void any guarantee whether it is actual, and evaluate the board design to official pictures accessible on-line. If issues do not line up, you is perhaps holding a pretend.
The identical applies to lacking or incorrect serial numbers. Most producers allow you to verify your GPU’s serial quantity to determine the product for guarantee claims. Strive operating the serial quantity you see in your card or on the field on the producer’s web site to see in case you get a consequence. If the serial quantity if mistaken or lacking completely, run for the hills.
4
Your OS identifies the cardboard mistaken
When Home windows calls it a GT 640, consider Home windows
One of many extra concrete methods of telling whether or not a GPU is pretend or not is to verify how your OS identifies it. When you purchased an RTX 40-series card that reveals up as a GT 730 in your Activity Supervisor window, you have been duped.
Extra superior scammers will use BIOS mods to get previous these checks. In such instances, you should utilize instruments like GPU-Z to verify the cardboard specs. If technical specs just like the variety of CUDA cores, reminiscence measurement and sort, base clocks, and extra look approach off from official specs, there’s an issue.
3
Driver points
If the drivers crash immediately, it’s not a software program bug, it’s karma
When putting in drivers, take note of any error messages or set up failures that may pop up. Actual GPUs will virtually by no means have points with the official drivers accessible from Nvidia, Intel, and AMD.
In case your graphics card got here with a third-party driver or didn’t work with official drivers, there is a good probability it is a pretend. Official management panels from Nvidia and AMD may also fail to work correctly with pretend playing cards, in order that’s one other pink flag you have to be careful for.
2
Poor efficiency
If Minecraft lags, that “RTX” might be RX in disguise
If driver set up went as anticipated, the subsequent factor to do is to run some benchmarks resembling Cinebench and 3DMark. Word the efficiency and evaluate it with different benchmarks from the web. If the efficiency is not as anticipated, it is an indicator of a knockoff card. Nevertheless, if the cardboard performs higher than anticipated, you need to check to see if the GPU is overclocked.
Efficiency is basically dependent in your PC’s cooling capability, so be sure you’ve bought the thermal headroom on your GPU to work correctly. There are ways to prevent GPU thermal throttling in case your efficiency is being inhibited by excessive temperatures.
1
Too-good-to-be-true pricing
If it’s cheaper than a Steam reward card, it’s not actual
That is normally the primary indicator of a pretend card, but when the deal appears to be like too good to be true, it in all probability is. When you’re shopping for on-line, be sure that to verify evaluations, cost strategies, and return insurance policies. For marketplaces like Fb Market, Craigslist, or eBay, ask for the field with the serial quantity and bill. If the vendor will get defensive or tries to cover documentation, stroll away.
Recognizing the fakes
Shopping for a brand new GPU will be an costly endeavor, which is made harder by all of the scams and fakes surrounding the GPU market. Run your checks earlier than the acquisition if doable, and keep away from shopping for GPUs (or any PC half for that matter) from untrusted or shady sellers.
What you may suppose is an efficient deal may find yourself being a really costly mistake. In the long run, it is a lot simpler to do a couple of fast checks early on the method to keep away from getting caught with a glorified paperweight.
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