Fake, counterfeit SSDs are nothing new and here at LowyatNET, we’ve been reporting on said fake goods for a long time, and it still never ceases to amaze us (not in a good way) at just how elaborate scammers have gotten. Take this fake Samsung 870 EVO 2TB SATA SSD, which was unearthed by Japanese news outlet, Akiba PC Hotline.
Could’ve Fooled Anyone
On the outset, the fake 870 EVO looks like the real deal: it nearly mimics the markings and design of the original’s packaging, right down to the sticker that contains the serial numbers and other details. In fact, even if you were to place it right next to an authentic model, the average person would be pressed to figure out which one is the real McCoy. But, as we’ve always said, you can see them if you pay really close attention.
Just from the outside, the font and colours of said fonts on the fake 870 EVO’s packaging are a giveaway. On the official Samsung box, the fonts are thinner and less bold. Then there’s the sticker that’s on the SSD itself. Again, to the untrained eye, the layout may look unassuming, but one dead giveaway is the country of origin: As a general rule, virtually all of Samsung’s products are manufactured in its home country of South Korea, not China. To that end, the warning labels would either be in English or Korean, not Chinese.
Devil’s In The Details. Literally.
Akiba PC Hotline went the extra mile and even tore it down and tested it. Regarding the testing, the 870 EVO was detected to be 2TB, with CrystalDiskMark marking its average sequential read and write speeds to be 492MB/s and 467MB/s, respectively. That’s actually normal for a SATA SSD — they’re not the fastest components on the market, but they’re still a damn sight faster than the traditional platter drives.
Getting back on point, the main problem appeared when the outlet tested the SSD with a full capacity H2testw test. After reaching approximately 120GB, the storage’s write speed dropped to zero, and the test was unable to continue.
That’s when Akiba PC Hotline decided to literally crack the 870 EVO open and found more evidence of technical fakery. In this case, the scammers used a Realtek RayMX RM1135T controller, plus two NAND modules devoid of any markings. Once again, if it wasn’t already painfully obvious, Samsung is a memory maker and one of the three biggest manufacturers of the components in the world, after SK Hynix and Micron. As such, an authentic Samsung SSD would comprise a Samsung controller, Samsung NAND, and a dedicated DRAM cache.
(Source: Akiba PC Hotline, Videocardz)
