Comparison: Intel i350-T4 Genuine vs Fake
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I absolutely agree - if you're running them in any kind of scenario where uptime is important, then it would be crazy to cheap out and buy a none-Intel card.
The uptime vs cost question works out differently for a home user.
Thanks you so much for this post. 
I was wondering why the hell those cards are so inexpensive coming from China and Hong Kong. I was going to buy from USA sellers but looking at all the evidence you provided they also seems to be fakes.
I ended up buying used but genuine Intel cards... All I need now is to purchase full height bracket which might end up being knockoff or copy!
I was wondering why the hell those cards are so inexpensive coming from China and Hong Kong. I was going to buy from USA sellers but looking at all the evidence you provided they also seems to be fakes.
I ended up buying used but genuine Intel cards... All I need now is to purchase full height bracket which might end up being knockoff or copy!
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Many knock off intel cards on Amazon marketplace.Thanks you so much for this post.
I was wondering why the hell those cards are so inexpensive coming from China and Hong Kong. I was going to buy from USA sellers but looking at all the evidence you provided they also seems to be fakes.
I ended up buying used but genuine Intel cards... All I need now is to purchase full height bracket which might end up being knockoff or copy!
I prefere to buy used cards from off-lease machines (ebay mostly).
99% cheap brackets are knock off. but.... bracket is just a piece of metal hahahaha.
LAN is a Local Area Network - nothing to do with a solo NIC -- unless you're the router and you have 4 clients plugged in to your NIC using twisted pairs. And if that's the case, I'd buy a router plus a $5 scrap NIC.
When it comes to servers, you'll probably notice bad input/output and bunch of errors. Eventually, you'll end up losing customers.
I am running proxmox baremetal. One nic serves multiple VMs.
I have multiple nics and some baremetal with multiple nics.
I am a home user
Just out of curiosity I am wondering if anyone has tried any of the cards from China recently.
For 50 USD/42 Euro I'd be willing to try one out
For 50 USD/42 Euro I'd be willing to try one out
Guys what do you think about this card is it fake or genuine. what's the consequences of buying fake card. I am planing to make router + nas server for my home so I will be using intel i5-3450, 4gb ram and use PfSense
US $59.0 |FANMI I350 T4V2 4 Port Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express X4 intel I350AM4 Server Adapter Network Card-in Network Cards from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
US $59.0 |FANMI I350 T4V2 4 Port Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express X4 intel I350AM4 Server Adapter Network Card-in Network Cards from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
101% fake
look here:
dell i350 | eBay
cisco i350 | eBay
i have a pair of cisco branded, also in my home server for over a year - no problems at all
look here:
dell i350 | eBay
cisco i350 | eBay
i have a pair of cisco branded, also in my home server for over a year - no problems at all
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Thanks but on ebay shipping is $62.40 so its out of my budget
what if I do buy chinese one, will it not last long or not provide specified throughput
There's no way a $59 i350 on alibaba is genuine. In the best case you won't know the difference. In the bad case it might not work or it might be flaky. In the worst case, it'll catch fire and/or kill the motherboard.
I'm going to estimate that 99% of cards won't show any difference, 0.999% of cards may be broken or flaky, and 0.001% of cards could cause a fire or kill a motherboard
It's really a none-issue - as discussed earlier in the thread, the "fakes" are really just unbranded clones - they still use Intel chips and work with the same drivers. If you really have concerns then buy from a seller in your country, with a warranty, so you can return the card if you have issues.The question isn't whether the network controller chip operates as an intel network controller, it's whether all the other components on the (uncertified) board are to spec.I'm going to estimate that 99% of cards won't show any difference, 0.999% of cards may be broken or flaky, and 0.001% of cards could cause a fire or kill a motherboard
I think both of those questions are valid, there's no need to exclude either one. The end result is that you want the card to work.
The difference is that the core controller chip is probably not a fake--it's just too much effort to clone it. They may be parts that failed QC, or they might be unauthorized runs, or they might be 100% ok, but at any rate they probably are the same as the chip on a genuine card. The rest of the components are more of a mixed bag--almost certainly not the original parts, but maybe (or maybe not) within spec. It's also those components which will typically lead to weird behavior, due to a slightly out of tolerance voltage controller or somesuch. It's also true that they're statistical failures, so there will be an increased rate of failure but not 100% bad. So you may still come out ahead being the QC and buying one, throwing it out if doesn't work, and then buying another--just know what you're getting into and decide if it is worth it. For a paying gig, probably not--the time would likely cost more than the savings--but for your home, maybe it is.
Thanks for posting the verified part numbers - very helpful for eBay shopping.
I want to throw out a cautionary tale: price may not be the best evidence of a fake I350 card. Last year, I purchased one of several I350-T4 cards for $125 from a U.S. seller with 100% feedback. Based on price alone, you would not suspect a cheap Chinese knockoff - the genuine IBM/Lenovo quad cards I bought instead were almost $50 less. The biggest clue was when I tried to install the card.. it was thicker than a normal PCIe card and the slot pins made loud noises when it finally seated. I've hacked around with mini/workstation/PC hardware for 30+ years and it fooled me at first glance. As it turned out, the eBay seller was also a victim - full refund and went after his supplier for damages.
I want to throw out a cautionary tale: price may not be the best evidence of a fake I350 card. Last year, I purchased one of several I350-T4 cards for $125 from a U.S. seller with 100% feedback. Based on price alone, you would not suspect a cheap Chinese knockoff - the genuine IBM/Lenovo quad cards I bought instead were almost $50 less. The biggest clue was when I tried to install the card.. it was thicker than a normal PCIe card and the slot pins made loud noises when it finally seated. I've hacked around with mini/workstation/PC hardware for 30+ years and it fooled me at first glance. As it turned out, the eBay seller was also a victim - full refund and went after his supplier for damages.
I bought a i350 T2V2 recently from an online retailer and the pricing does not indicate fake 560 RON ~ 140 USD.
It came in a simple card box with a plastic protection inside, mounted with full bracket and also a half bracket included.
There are no Intel markings on the box and it says L233752-OEM on the box with some barcodes.
Do you know how can I check if this is fake or not?
It came in a simple card box with a plastic protection inside, mounted with full bracket and also a half bracket included.
There are no Intel markings on the box and it says L233752-OEM on the box with some barcodes.
Do you know how can I check if this is fake or not?