Repair shop finds fake RTX 4090 with plastic die and scrap memory
Broken card turns into another second-hand GPU warning.
Another fake GeForce RTX 4090 has appeared on the Chinese second-hand market. This one does not use a repurposed GA102 GPU from an RTX 3080 or RTX 3090. It uses plastic to imitate the GPU die.
The card was shown by Chinese repair channel Brother Zhang. The video covers a broken RTX 4090 card bought for 1500 RMB, which is around $222. At that price, the card was never going to be a normal working RTX 4090, but the teardown still showed a new scam method.
The card carried markings meant to resemble an NVIDIA AD102-300-A1 GPU. However, UNIKO’s Hardware points out that the markings were incorrect. The “30” date code would suggest the chip was produced in 2030, which is not possible for a retail RTX 4090 card.
Source: Brother Zhang
The substrate also lacked the expected QR code in the bottom-left corner. The surrounding components did not match a real RTX 4090 layout either. After closer inspection, the center die area was not silicon at all. It was plastic with fake markings applied to it.
The memory packages were also not usable. According to the teardown, these were scrap chips placed on the card to make the PCB look complete. This means the card had no working AD102 GPU and no usable GDDR6X memory.
Source: Brother Zhang
RTX 4090 scams are not new
We have covered several RTX 4090 scams before. Some cards were sold without GPUs . Others used modified RTX 3080, RTX 3080 Ti or RTX 3090 silicon with laser-engraved markings . This case is different because the GPU die itself was only a plastic imitation, it’s not even a waste of sand but plastic.
The usual warning still applies. A GeForce RTX 4090 listed at a fraction of its normal price should be treated as a parts card at best. On second-hand platforms, buyers should assume that a card with no working test, no verified serial data or no return option can be a total loss.
creating a fake 4090 by repurposing 3080/3090 die is nothing new. whats new, however, is that this specific example uses plastic to imitate the silicon die. there is no "glue"/"adhesive" surrounding the silicon.
furthermore, the markings are completely incorrect. afaik a "30"… pic.twitter.com/QSFOszlkMt
— UNIKO's Hardware 🌏 (@unikoshardware) June 17, 2026
Source: Brother Zhang (Bilibili) , Uniko’s Hardware
