A gamer finds an AMD graphics card together with her boyfriend. But there is a completely different GPU behind it, which has a bad reputation among gamers.
Two people discovered a Radeon RX 6800 for around 400 euros. But once in the store, both became suspicious: The sales box says Radeon RX 580, but the graphics card is labeled as RX 6800 (via reddit.com).
From the outside, the model resembles an old Nvidia graphics card. Therefore, nothing seemed to fit together properly. A user in the comments immediately notes: “Ah yes, the notorious GTS 450.”
The GTS 450 is in almost every fake graphics card
What kind of GPU is this? The GTS 450 (codename “Fermi”) from Nvidia is an entry-level graphics card from 2010 and was already too slow for high resolutions and current games back then (via computerbase.de). It was never able to keep up properly with its counterpart from ATI.
This hasn’t changed 12 years later, although ATI has since merged into AMD. Today, the Nvidia graphics card is even more outdated and can only handle somewhat modern games at low settings. You can see how much performance this graphics card delivers in the following YouTube video:
What does this have to do with the fake? On questionable sites like Aliexpress and Wish, but also sites like eBay and Amazon, you regularly find offers where you supposedly get great graphics cards for little money. If you then order such a graphics card, you will receive a GPU, but in most cases, it is not the one you bought.
Often, you receive a fake graphics card that has nothing to do with the actual product. When you install the model, it will display the purchased product, but you will quickly notice that something is wrong. There is a fraud scheme behind it that has been used for selling graphics cards for some time:
- Scammers buy an old GTS 450 or the corresponding board for a bargain price.
- They then install a BIOS update that makes your computer believe it is a completely different graphics card, such as a GTX 1060 Ti.
- In the next step, the graphics card is sold as GTX 1060 Ti. People with little experience buy the product without recognizing the fake. Because the stickers and the box present the graphics card as a “real” model.
- When the graphics card is then installed, there are mostly problems with glitches and crashes, as the software and graphics card are not compatible. GPU-Z, a small free tool, now detects such fakes and then warns you that you have a fake graphics card.
Particularly frustrating is the fact that there seem to be numerous Chinese models of the GTS 450. This makes it difficult and time-consuming to get such a card running properly and to install the appropriate BIOS, as there are models with varying amounts of video memory.
The graphics card is notorious among gamers, users regularly fall for it
What is the reputation of the graphics card? Among gamers, the GTS 450 is now considered notorious. In numerous forums (via techpowerup.com, linustechtips.com or computerbase.de) these fake graphics cards are very well known, and there are always users who fall for them and wonder about the problems.
On the internet, these Fermi graphics cards are sold by various manufacturers as GTX-1000 GPUs to unsuspecting buyers.
The well-known tech YouTuber “Dawid Does Tech Stuff” once thoroughly demonstrated the differences between fake and original in a video:
This is how fake models can be relatively easily identified, as the YouTuber and other users explain:
- For example, by the wrong connections, as newer graphics card models do not offer VGA anymore.
- Or by a cooler design that does not match the graphics card.
- Fake models also sometimes lack components, such as cooling fins or similar. This suggests that the scammers recycled the cooling system from another card.
- Concern should also arise regarding the packaging: The box is almost empty of marketing material and often only offers very simple packaging and no anti-static cushioning.
Tips and tricks for buying graphics cards: If you want to buy a graphics card and are looking for tips and recommendations, take a look at the following article on MeinMMO:
What should you consider when you want a graphics card – Buy now or later?
