We have seen plenty of graphics card scams over the years. Some have involved software hacks that fool buyers into thinking they’re buying a different GPU, while others have involved graphics cards that don’t even have a GPU. Now, it looks like scammers in China have found a new way to fool potential buyers by putting plastic GPUs and scrap memory in RTX graphics cards.
Chinese repair channel Brother Zhang on Bilibili has shown a broken ASUS GeForce RTX 4090 card that was uncovered to have a plastic GPU die. The plastic piece bore the markings of the NVIDIA AD102-300-A1 GPU; however, UNIKO’s Hardware on X pointed out that the markings were off. NVIDIA’s markings have a particular code, and this “GPU” did not follow that specific nomenclature.
Moreover, there was no QR code on the bottom-left corner of the substrate, another hallmark feature of NVIDIA GPUs that was missing from this fake die. The teardown from Brother Zhang also involved a closer inspection of the die’s material, which revealed that the GPU was not silicon at all, but a plastic piece that was literally worthless. Therefore, the card could not even function as a basic display unit, since the GPU itself was fake.
To add the cherry on top, even the memory packages were made from scrap chips that had no business being on an RTX 4090 PCB. The real deal uses the GDDR6X memory, which was not present on the card. The fake plastic GPU was instead complemented with scrap memory dies just to make the PCB look complete.
This particular RTX 4090 graphics card was bought for 1500 RMB, which is about $222. At this price, alarm bells should be ringing regardless, since an RTX 4090 currently costs around $1500 on the market. Therefore, expecting a working RTX 4090 GPU at this price is a bit silly, and the deal sounds too good to be true. Common sense should come into play if you find a deal on a graphics card that is a fraction of the price of the real thing.
When buying a used graphics card, it won’t be possible to perform a full teardown to verify the GPU’s authenticity. Therefore, you can follow our GPU buying guide to make sure you get the best deal, even on the used market.
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[PC Hardware Specialist]
Usman Saleem brings 8+ years of comprehensive PC hardware expertise to the table. His journey in the tech world has involved in-depth tech analysis and insightful PC hardware reviews, perfecting over 6+ years of dedicated work. Usman’s commitment to staying authentic and relevant in the field is underscored by many professional certifications, including a recent one in Google IT Support Specialization.
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