GPU-Z now detects and warns users about ‘FAKE GPUS’

Fake GPU have been floating around second-hand sites like eBay for quite some time, tricking consumers into purchasing sub-par products that do not offer the performance that is advertised. 

These graphics cards are often low-end graphics cards from a by-gone age, often GTX 400 series or older, which are flashed with a custom BIOS file that is designed to list the graphics card as a newer model, such as a GTX 1050 Ti. Using this method, scammers hope to sell their fake wares to unsuspecting customers. Right now this feature works with fake graphics cards based on Nvidia’s G84, G86, G92, G94, G96, GT215, GT216, GT218, GF108, GF106, GF114, GF116, GF119 and GK106 silicon. 

TechPowerUp is aware of this issue and had updated their popular GPU-Z utility to detect some ‘fake graphics cards’ and display a warning symbol to those who run their software. Below is an example which shows a fake GTX 1050 Ti, a graphics card with is actually a rebadged GTX 500 series graphics card, likely a GTX 550Ti or GT 545 GPU.