Comparison: Intel i350-T4 Genuine vs Fake

[Patriot]

Most excellent guide...

 

[neo]

I always pick Used or OEM NIC card for home or others.

Yep, there are so many counterfeit i350 cards on eBay that if I need to buy one I make sure it is from a Dell server pull.

a) Has a Dell parts number sticker of K9CR1, THGMP or 9YD6K
b) USA seller
c) Used

This is not to say that all other cards are fake, but this is just simple criteria that I have found to be safe.

 

[neo]

the AM4 ... the only difference is that it is sold to OEMs for them to build cards around

While mine isn't a "counterfeit"

If yours is not a counterfeit then what brand is it? If AM4 are sold to OEMs then it can not be an Intel. When you search for an Intel i350-AM4 a "Sedna" brand is shown on Amazon. And on NewEgg a "StarTech" brand is shown.

 

[Keljian]

Winyao is the brand from memory

 

[neo]

Winyao is the brand from memory

It's interesting that they also list a T4 variant on their site, which should be Intel only to my knowledge.

WYI350-T4 Quad Port RJ45 Gigabit Network Card


They seem to be quite proficient at replicating Intel cards.

http://www.winyao.com/Products/nics.pdf

 

[Keljian]

You will also notice that the chipset on the "T4" is the am4...

 

[neo]

You will also notice that the chipset on the "T4" is the am4...

Sure, which they are selling as T4. No doubt they are illegitimate.

 

[Keljian]

All I know is mine works but I am tempted to move to these cheap Mellanox things...maybe when it fails...

 

[neo]

All I know is mine works but I am tempted to move to these cheap Mellanox things...maybe when it fails...

Cross your fingers! For me, paying a little more for the genuine product is worth it. But, it's your prerogative to purchase whatever brand you choose. My aim to share information. Here's a quote form another there here:

Thought I'd update this thread, I've had my card in my PFSense build for 8 months. Over the past few weeks it began to incur errors, eventually 8,000 packets a day were being dropped by the adapter. That was within the last week. I took the adapter out and replaced it with a retail Intel 1000 CT Pro. Problems gone, no more errors.

So it would appear that these Chinese cards aren't that durable, it sat in that PFSense box powered on 24.7 for 8 months only being power cycled for the occasional PFSense softare update and it seems to have just died out slowly.

I think in future I'll stick to the retail ones these cheap cards aren't worth the hassle.

 

[Terry Kennedy]

Cross your fingers! For me, paying a little more for the genuine product is worth it. But, it's your prerogative to purchase whatever brand you choose. My aim to share information. Here's a quote form another there here:

Does Intel put YottaMark stickers on their low-end adapters? While it is certainly possible to counterfeit the hologram (as Microsoft, Cisco, etc. have all discovered), the YottaMark trace data includes the MAC address of the card. So any cloned stickers would either be on cards with the wrong MAC address or more than one fake card wouldn't work on the same LAN segment.

Many counterfeit products come from either ghost shifts at authorized factories or are produced in factories where assembly was previously outsourced.

Many of the counterfeits are good enough to get past the manufacturer. For example, Cisco requires a serial number to add a device to a support contract. I've encountered a number of cases where a counterfeit was added to a contract after passing serial number validation by Cisco. In other words, the serial number is both listed as an authorized serial number in Cisco's database and has not been previously registered on a support contract, so it is unlikely to be a simple cloned serial number.

 

[neo]

Does Intel put YottaMark stickers on their low-end adapters? While it is certainly possible to counterfeit the hologram (as Microsoft, Cisco, etc. have all discovered), the YottaMark trace data includes the MAC address of the card. So any cloned stickers would either be on cards with the wrong MAC address or more than one fake card wouldn't work on the same LAN segment.

Many counterfeit products come from either ghost shifts at authorized factories or are produced in factories where assembly was previously outsourced.

Many of the counterfeits are good enough to get past the manufacturer. For example, Cisco requires a serial number to add a device to a support contract. I've encountered a number of cases where a counterfeit was added to a contract after passing serial number validation by Cisco. In other words, the serial number is both listed as an authorized serial number in Cisco's database and has not been previously registered on a support contract, so it is unlikely to be a simple cloned serial number.

I haven't personally come across any Intel i350 cards with a YottaMark authenticity sticker - even though it is listed on the YottaMark site. I have seen them on newer Intel SFP cards such x520. It is also important to pay attention that the T4 card has reached EOL, unlike the AM4 variant. When purchasing an EOL card it is important to take notice of the date code stamped onto chips. Though I am unaware of the exact EOL date. If you glance at my close up chip photos, the first line depicted is the part number and the last line is the date - in the format of the last 2 digits of the year and then 2 digits for the week. There is not a single chip stamped older than year 13 on the genuine card, while the counterfeit has a year 15 date on the big inductor photo.

 

[Terry Kennedy]

I haven't personally come across any Intel i350 cards with a YottaMark authenticity sticker - even though it is listed on the list on the YottaMark site. I have seen them on the newer Intel SFP cards such x520. It is also important to note that it the T4 card has reached EOL, unlike the AM4 variant.

Intel says they have been using it on selected cards since 2009, and that as of 2011 "nearly every" Intel Ethernet adapter has the label. The knowledgebase article specifically includes the I350 cards.

I've seen it on BLK (bulk-pack) cards. Maybe Intel doesn't put it on cards they sell to OEMs? That would seem to be a major oversight, as those are usually the cards that end up in the resale channel and could benefit from verification. Either that, or there are a lot more counterfeits out there...

 

[neo]

The knowledgebase article specifically includes the I350 cards.

Correct, that is also precisely what I stated.

I've seen it on BLK (bulk-pack) cards. Maybe Intel doesn't put it on cards they sell to OEMs? That would seem to be a major oversight, as those are usually the cards that end up in the resale channel and could benefit from verification. Either that, or there are a lot more counterfeits out there...

I hold greater experience with various server pulled OEM cards than retail/bulk variants and I don't recall many if any of the OEM cards having YottaStickers. I have not came across anything substantial to confirm or deny this, perhaps it has recently changed. Interestingly enough, Dell does place stickers on their OEM Intel cards with their own part numbers, a partial MAC and a QR code - which possibly contains a form of unique authenticity validation. The stickers which contain the serial numbers also use a slightly different font, with the genuine appearing bold and a smaller size.

Genuine

Counterfeit

 

[zedkyuu]

Thanks for the post; I just compared the I350-T4 I bought new from a 3rd party seller on Amazon and it looks exactly like the counterfeit one. Everything matches. It came in a sealed cardboard box that identified it as made in Malaysia and misspelled "adapter" as "adrpter" in one place. Newegg is selling these adapters for $300; I guess that should be a sign!

 

[Terry Kennedy]

Newegg is selling these adapters for $300; I guess that should be a sign!

Even Newegg can get scammed every once in a while. Do a search for "Newegg fake CPU".

 

[neo]

Upon my research for the EOL (end-of-life) status of the i350-T4 (and T2) which are based upon the Stony Lake DT codename, gave me some interesting information. "The Last Product Discontinuance Order Date" was "Feb 14, 2015" which is an important date to keep in mind when looking at the date code on the chips, as I previously mentioned. What replaced the i350-T4 is a i350-T4V2 which have the AUX Power component changes that will result in a decrease of in-rush current during power supply start-up. No need to worry, as "Intel anticipates no impact to the customer." Intel ARK comparison here. Here is the official Product Change Notification (PCN113232 - 01) This new product has the Powerville codename. If you are shopping for a i350 card, it might be a good idea to purchase the newer V2 version.

 

[canta]

It's interesting that they also list a T4 variant on their site, which should be Intel only to my knowledge.

WYI350-T4 Quad Port RJ45 Gigabit Network Card


They seem to be quite proficient at replicating Intel cards.

http://www.winyao.com/Products/nics.pdf

you would be surprise how chinese make many clones.


these were may journey to get cheap used/OEM intel NIC that landed on i340-t4 IBM OEM for US seller that I already bought some parts in the past:

WinYao is ok in ethical manner, since they use their name. others are hiding with "intel" brandname

I found WinYao intel NIC pictures and searched component parts numbers that shown in pictures
yeah... those components are clone(not really clone, just cheap "replica") or cheap components.

the obvious example is transformer/balloon chip, WinYao use cheap "clone" that can be found the pdf spec on Chinese website. on other simple parts are, unbranded Xtal, Voltage regulator(cheap generic product) and others. I was focusing on active components.

short story
WinYao is honest with their product, a lot better than other shady manufacturer (ghost shifts).


at the end:
I still always pick used or OEM intel NIC that you mentioned on your prev post

the simple example is: arduino clone and ESP8266 clone. oops ESP8266 board is produced better by think AI, but many copycat using think AI with their shady/cheap product

for all:
just be smart , you should outsmart when buyning cards/electronics/DYI from China . trust your guts and experience!!

 

[canta]

Even Newegg can get scammed every once in a while. Do a search for "Newegg fake CPU".

interesting, I would search and read to add my knowledge.arghh try to be outsmart...


just side notes:
I search on aliexpress.com. wow so many fakes and clones..
just a bit surprise since alibaba stocks is global now. hello alibaba hahaha

I try to get fluke instruments and wow many in aliexpress with cheap $, I know those are fake!!!!
I love fluke due on robust and durable that got spoiled during my study in electrical engineering in the past.
try to get to support my hobbies, I missed my time to deal with hardware and component.

 

[Alfa147x]

Any tips on finding a OEM genuine quad port i350? I need one for a new a build and it sounds like I'll have to eventually replace my cheap Chinese dual port.

Currently OEM part numbers to search (I'll update this):

• Dell
  • K9CR1, THGMP (Quad i350)
    
  • 9YD6K (Quad i350)
• HP
  • NC361T (2 port i350) (PDF)
• IBM Lenovo
  • 00D1998 : I350-T4 ML2 Quad Port GbE Adapter
  • 00AG510: Intel I350-T2 2xGbE BaseT Adapter
  • 00AG520:Intel I350-T4 4xGbE BaseT Adapter
  • Press Release

Moved here:
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/intel-i350-nic-oem-part-number-list.6925/

Merged:
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/comparison-intel-i350-t4-genuine-vs-fake.6917/

 

[canta]

Any tips on finding a OEM genuine quad port i350? I need one for a new a build and it sounds like I'll have to eventually replace my cheap Chinese dual port.

Currently OEM part numbers to search (I'll update this):

• Dell K9CR1, THGMP
• HP NC361T (2 port i350) (PDF)

IBM/Lenovo part numbers
Intel I350 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter Family for System x > Lenovo Press
00D1998 : I350-T4 ML2 Quad Port GbE Adapter
00AG510: Intel I350-T2 2xGbE BaseT Adapter
00AG520:Intel I350-T4 4xGbE BaseT Adapte