Comparison: Intel i350-T4 Genuine vs Fake

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grunger106

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Dec 12, 2019
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Just picked up a i350-t4 and all the chips look correct, and the Delta is embossed
However there are chips in some, but not all of the photos of the i350-t4 cards online located directly to the left if the EU1 label and U3 which are missing on mine.
Different variant? Damaged?
 

Samir

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I would say different variant, but I would see if you can find more pictures and compare.
 

craigr

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Jan 19, 2017
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I just got a legit Dell I350-4 and am wondering if anyone has figured out how to cross flash to Intel firmware?

Many functions of the Intel BootUtil.EXE for Dos as well as the Intel BOOTUTILW64E.EXE for Windows 64 work, and the software can identify the card, but neither can report a "Version." Running "BOOTUTIL64E.EFI -ALL -FLASHENABLE" reports correctly and prompts you to reboot. However, when I run some version of update such as, "BOOTUTIL64E.EFI -UP=PXE -ALL" I just get an error.

I was able to run "-iv -all" and the card reported:



Running the Dell software version 19.0.12_A00 was able to identify and update the card without issues. After updating the card with the Dell software then going back to Intel and running "-iv -all" I clearly have updated:



There is a huge size difference in the BootIMG.FLB files: 13.7 MB for Dell and 1.51 MB for Intel.

I am wondering though if it makes any difference which firmware I use however. Back in version 15.0.1 Dell added SR-IOV. There seems to be no option ROM in the Dell and it runs like a NIC... and that's what I want anyway.

Thoughts and thanks?
craigr
 
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ClintE

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Feb 22, 2019
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I'll have to check out my Dell I350 card in the next couple of days; it's not in use right now. I know it doesn't report SR-IOV when checking device capability in unRAID, but I've never looked into the flashing utilities. It worked when testing, then I opted for a couple of Cisco I350's just because they already have the SR-IOV functions.

Thanks @ craigr !
 
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craigr

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Jan 19, 2017
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I'll have to check out my Dell I350 card in the next couple of days; it's not in use right now. I know it doesn't report SR-IOV when checking device capability in unRAID, but I've never looked into the flashing utilities. It worked when testing, then I opted for a couple of Cisco I350's just because they already have the SR-IOV functions.

Thanks @ craigr !
I was able to install the I350 in my Windows machine and through the GUI updated to all the Intel versions. I can’t shutdown my unRAID server for several more days, but I’ll know when I test it eventually.

craigr
 
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Sic_Alpha

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I just got an open-box i350-T4 V2 from provantage.com but when I do an lspci commands it says the following:

lspci -n

8086:1521 (rev 01)

lspci -vv


Does that mean it's not a V2 because it says (rev 01)?
 
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vladimir.mijatovic

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Jan 12, 2019
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This topic helped me a lot solving my dilemas, where to start looking with this purchase... so I wanted to share my last purchase just days ago.
3x I350 what seems to be genuine cards + with a solid price tag.

My pics included, delta label embossed, recognized by Win10 without any need for drivers or device management.
Also a screenshot of Windows 10 device manager.
I've been using one for a couple of days testing some networking stuff - so far all good.

At the moment only 3 left, so I guess this won't last long.
Intel I350-T4V2 4 port Gigabit Ethernet network Adapter PCIe v2 5.0 GT/s OEM | eBay

Thanks to everyone & STH
 

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Jimster480

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Mar 12, 2020
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Wow, I was just shopping for some of these cards and came across this thread. I never knew that there were fake ethernet cards.
Have other cards been found to be fake also? Like possibly the wifi cards? I have seen some impossibly cheap Intel wifi cards on ebay also.
 
May 1, 2020
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Hey, this thread got me a little worried and I was hoping I could get a second pair of eyes on a listing before I purchase.

Dual Port IBM
or
Quad Port Cisco

I probably only need a dual port but I looked at a few quad ports to give me more chances to try and find a genuine card. These 2 listings looked pretty close to the genuine in the OP (source: my untrained eye).

So what do you guys think? You think one of these would be a safe buy?
 

Samir

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Wow, I was just shopping for some of these cards and came across this thread. I never knew that there were fake ethernet cards.
Have other cards been found to be fake also? Like possibly the wifi cards? I have seen some impossibly cheap Intel wifi cards on ebay also.
F yeah! There's everything from fake parts, to fake cpus, fake nics, fake younameit. :( It really sucks.

Best way to avoid fakes is stay away from 'port city' sellers who can get them from the china boat and turn them quickly. Also, avoid 'new' type of products and go with something dusty and pulled. Also stay away from the big brands like Intel and go with the oem brand instead like Cisco, Dell, HP, etc. This was how I avoided the plague of Intel fakes on ebay and actually got a much better price than if I would have went with a new fake. Good luck. Hopefully government intervention will reverse this wholesale fraud as the loosening of laws allows this seabarge of crap to keep flooding in.
 

Samir

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Hey, this thread got me a little worried and I was hoping I could get a second pair of eyes on a listing before I purchase.

Dual Port IBM
or
Quad Port Cisco

I probably only need a dual port but I looked at a few quad ports to give me more chances to try and find a genuine card. These 2 listings looked pretty close to the genuine in the OP (source: my untrained eye).

So what do you guys think? You think one of these would be a safe buy?
Both are good sellers as they regularly sell used stuff, but you never know even with these as they can also get loads of china crap to turn if they're hurting financially. I don't think they would risk their reputation to do so, so I think you're generally safe. Plus, they have solid customer support so even if you do discover a fake, they would probably make it right.
 

blinkenlights

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May 24, 2019
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Hey, this thread got me a little worried and I was hoping I could get a second pair of eyes on a listing before I purchase.
This and the related counterfeit SAS controller thread are useful, but I think they give (especially new members) the wrong impression - these are a deep study of extremes. If you choose a reputable seller and the price is good, but not absurdly good, you should be okay. Use something like PayPal with purchase protection so you can be assured of getting your money back in case something does go wrong.

I have been buying enterprise(-y) hardware online for over 25 years, using eBay for about 20 of those. Tens of thousands of dollars spent over hundreds of transactions. I was tricked once. It was a new in box Intel i350-T4v2 about 15% lower than the going price. The seller claimed he himself was scammed, and was very upset because he now had hundreds of fake cards in inventory. Something Hong Kong something triad something. I received a full refund and he paid for the return shipping.

There are good deals to be had. Wendell over at Level1Techs had a good video about the process for the uninitiated - sorry, cannot find it right now. My experience with shopping this type of hardware:
  • Big companies, government agencies, and universities view depreciating hardware as scrap metal and monthly costs (electric, cooling, maintenance) - if someone pays them to dispose of it, that's icing on the cake
  • With regards to OEM versus partner branded cards - yes, partner versions are often cheaper and less likely to be counterfeits (everybody wants the most expensive one)
  • Find folks like me who rebuild systems every couple of years and end up with leftover parts
Long story short.. do your research, use your head, do not get sucked in by unbelievable deals, and best of luck.
 
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Samir

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Some very good points, but the fakers have gotten much more devious now. I remember reading an article on how a company bought a pair of new xeons sold via Amazon many years ago and ended up with fakes--twice! They finally had to order from someone else to get legit products. The lack of enforced regulations has created a huge market for fakes, much larger than the street corner thugs that used to peddle these wares, and their scams and products are getting more and more sophisticated to fool consumers.

And it's really bad. A individual I know is in charge of the batteries for the iphone. He visits china regularly (before all this mess) to work with the factories, quality control, etc. The batteries have a type of 'fingerprint' so that fakes can be easily spotted. He put out a $1M bounty for some batteries shortly after they went into production. And someone came to him with a load of batteries--and they were actually his! All his inventories were supposedly accounted for, and yet someone was selling him back his own batteries for $1M! This is the way of business in the 3rd world, and they like it that way there, patting themselves on the back for their 'craftiness' and 'shrew business skills'. This is clearly illegal in the first world, but they don't care. And we in the first world should care and bring all our manufacturing back. All we're doing by sending them this manufacturing is enabling more corruption and IP theft.

The outsourcing of manufacturing and other jobs was never really a long term fix anyways because once the affluence and living conditions improve in those areas, they will be on the same level of first world economically and the 'price advantage' is gone. Then what? Search for some tribe on an island that hasn't seen civilization and build a factory there? It's an endless game that isn't sustainable, like many other follies we as humans do. A truly fair and sustainable ecosystem would be to manufacture and price as needed and let the market decide--then innovation will lead again versus who can steal and ripoff the best.
 

blinkenlights

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May 24, 2019
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That is all very true, Samir. There have been some cases of large-scale fraud by former Intel contractors (fab/factory) in China. In some cases, however, the concern here has reached levels of paranoia that just do not track with the market value of used hardware. A personal example from STH follows and I encourage the members involved to not reply - I am shielding your identities, trust me, please do not out yourselves ;)

I noticed someone asking for SAS controller recommendations. Having just upgraded from 2x LSI 9207 controllers to a single 24-port controller, I contacted the poster, offered them with cables and an additional 9207 external controller for a very fair price. I thought I was being a kind neighbor. The first round of questions had to do with the authenticity of the controllers, ending in a request for high-resolution photographs so the individual could inspect the etchings on each IC. I've had similar requests for two Lenovo branded i350-T4s remaining after a recent upgrade to Chelsio T5 cards.

Fact is, we are often talking about 5+ year old used hardware that sells for $25-$50 on eBay. I know these cards are genuine, I know they have worked perfectly under load 24/7 for years, and most importantly, I know the reputation of the companies which sold them to me. It's not worth the effort and headache to play games. Really, it costs me more money than the cards are worth to acquiesce to such requests.

Here's a link to the thread about Wendell's video - for some reason it was taken down: Part2: Buying Used Computers -- Auctions, Surplus and Recycling Centers | Level One Techs
 
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Nom

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In some cases, however, the concern here has reached levels of paranoia that just do not track with the market value of used hardware.
This is very true.
There's also no indication that the none-genuine cards do anything other than work just fine ! If you just need a card to function, then I wouldn't even bother doing serious checks on who assembled the board - the none-genuine cards still use Intel chips, and until we start seeing mass reports of failure then there's no reason to be worried if you're paying a cheap price for the item.

The issue is people trying to sell the none-genuine cards for full retail prices - this is the real fraud, but it's easily avoided if you focus on the cheaper end of the market.
 

Samir

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This is very true.
There's also no indication that the none-genuine cards do anything other than work just fine ! If you just need a card to function, then I wouldn't even bother doing serious checks on who assembled the board - the none-genuine cards still use Intel chips, and until we start seeing mass reports of failure then there's no reason to be worried if you're paying a cheap price for the item.

The issue is people trying to sell the none-genuine cards for full retail prices - this is the real fraud, but it's easily avoided if you focus on the cheaper end of the market.
As someone that has created something that should have been protected by IP and got it ripped off, I have a problem here on principle. How dare someone make money off MY work. And this is damaging to the companies that have spent the money, manpower, and effort to produce these products. The ripoff artists don't put a fraction of the effort in their fakes, and yet they profit from someone else's idea. This is what IP laws are supposed to prevent so that those that develop and create still have a reason to do so. Otherwise a lot of really smart people will just just not share their ideas and hold back the progress of mankind because who wants to work for free? Not me.