Is my AOC-STGN-I2S Rev 2.11 fake?

[cisco]

I specifically looked for a used AOC-STGN-I2S Rev 2 on ebay, from a seller outside of China. I figured this would be the safest way to avoid getting a fake.

Well, it arrived (from Poland) and it's brand new with plastic holder (similar to what you see on Chinese listings).... So now I am seriously doubting it's legit. Can anybody verify this by the photos? Or is there a way for me to test it?

This is the seller: AOC-STGN-I2S LP SUPERMICRO DUAL PORT 10GB SFP+ ETHERNET ADAPTER LOW PROFILE | eBay

Thanks.

EDIT: The pins are not worn at all, just looks like that in the photo for some reason. Maybe because of the initial reflections and then my Photoshop job to try to fix the levels

 

[blunden]

Based on the PCI-E pins, it certainly looks used. I suppose they could've plugged it in just to make it look used, but I'm not sure that they would bother.

 

[cisco]

Based on the PCI-E pins, it certainly looks used. I suppose they could've plugged it in just to make it look used, but I'm not sure that they would bother.

Thanks for the reply. The pins are not worn at all, just looks like that in the photo for some reason. Maybe because of the initial reflections and then my Photoshop job to try to fix the levels. Anyhow, pins show no wear at all in person.

 

[blunden]

Thanks for the reply. The pins are not worn at all, just looks like that in the photo for some reason. Maybe because of the initial reflections and then my Photoshop job to try to fix the levels. Anyhow, pins show no wear at all in person.

Really? Because it is very clear in the third picture. The worn part stops right where it would based on where it would if it had been put in a PCI-E slot. It seems very unlikely that it would be a result of random chance.

 

[cisco]

You may be right. When I look very closely I can see it barely, but in person it is nowhere as pronounced. Looks more like this:

 

[blunden]

You may be right. When I look very closely I can see it barely, but in person it is nowhere as pronounced. Looks more like this:

It may only show up at certain angles or lighting.

Regarding the plastic packaging, it's possible that the business of selling used server NICs is of a large enough scale for specific packaging material to be produced and sold in bulk. That's just speculation, but it's certainly possible.

Is there some way to check the warranty status based on the serial number? If so, that might tell you if it's a real serial number at least. A fake card could obviously reuse a real serial number, but still. Also, my understanding is that some of the "fake" NICs sold on eBay are legitimately sold by companies like LR-Link but then resold in misleading listings by dishonest sellers.

My understanding is that you can tell if it's an LR-Link card based on the MAC addresses though, so that might be worth checking as well.

 

[ericloewe]

It's not super weird for things like NICs to be basically unused, even if sold as used. These all came from somewhere, right, and who would have them lying around to sell? They're either server pulls (new or used), which is kind of weird with Supermicro since you'd presumably just order the right NIC in the first place (it's not like they charge the ridiculous premiums Dell/HPE/Lenovo charge on some categories of components); or they're going to be spares that have been surplussed off (because the machines that took them were upgraded or decommissioned). If you get a bunch of these in a box, is it worth sifting through them to separate out unused cards from used ones? Probably not, it wouldn't command a premium, much simpler to lump them all together as "used" and be done with it.

with plastic holder (similar to what you see on Chinese listings)

You mean the plastic clamshell packaging NICs frequently come in? I wouldn't read much into it either way, that stuff is everywhere and I can imagine a recycler would have thousands of them lying around. Any serious operation would look into getting the right packaging instead of hacking something together.

 

[DaveLTX]

I've seen them (plastic packaging) come in various types of nics and they all happen to fit so yeah

 

[cisco]

It's not super weird for things like NICs to be basically unused, even if sold as used. These all came from somewhere, right, and who would have them lying around to sell? They're either server pulls (new or used), which is kind of weird with Supermicro since you'd presumably just order the right NIC in the first place (it's not like they charge the ridiculous premiums Dell/HPE/Lenovo charge on some categories of components); or they're going to be spares that have been surplussed off (because the machines that took them were upgraded or decommissioned). If you get a bunch of these in a box, is it worth sifting through them to separate out unused cards from used ones? Probably not, it wouldn't command a premium, much simpler to lump them all together as "used" and be done with it.


You mean the plastic clamshell packaging NICs frequently come in? I wouldn't read much into it either way, that stuff is everywhere and I can imagine a recycler would have thousands of them lying around. Any serious operation would look into getting the right packaging instead of hacking something together.

Thanks for the reply. I guess I am pretty cautious about these things since I lived in China for a long time and you would be surprised at the things that turn out to be fake.

Besides visually, is there any way to confirm for sure? Like trying to flash a new fw?