How to spot a fake Titan V

[alkakxmmiq]

I might secure an almost too good to be true deal on a Titan V but since it is almost too good to be true I want to be sure it is not a fake. How can I assure myself it is not?

 

I can run GPU-Z or a similar program to check but as I understand it is not 100% proof that it is not fake if it passes.

 

I've heard I can check the serial number with nVidia somehow. Do you know how? It also does not seem a 100% proof since one can copy the serial number of a genuine one.

 

The last option is to run some benchmarks. I don't have basically any experience with running benchmarks so can you tell me how good of a system do I need to tell it apart from another card? (I have just a notebook so I probably coudn't run it anyway but I know people with better PCs).

 

I think the best option is to run something fp64 intensive (some physics simulations?) and if it gets more than 5 TFLOPS I can be almost sure it is a Titan V since I don't know any other card which has 1/2 fp64 performance compared to fp32 and so high fp64 performance. That way even if it is a fake I would not be angry since it would be almost as good as the genuine one. The main question remains: How good of a system do I need to run such a benchmark so the rest would not bottleneck it?

[r2724r16]

4 minutes ago, alkakxmmiq said:

I might secure an almost too good to be true deal on a Titan V but since it is almost too good to be true I want to be sure it is not a fake. How can I assure myself it is not?

Where have you found the deal? On eBay? A local shop? A local second hand market? Can you post a link of it (if it's online)?

 

Welcome to the LTT forums!

[keskparane]

The first way is usually, like you say "too good to be true". Why is it so cheap?

[TempestCatto]

Her boobs will be made of silicone.

 

I kid.

 

But if it's Ebay, I'm just gonna assume it's a scam. That's all that place is right now in regards to GPU's. There's really no finding a real one for a decent deal. I really wish there was a place for used pc parts where everything is legit. Or if it exists, point me to it lads.

[alkakxmmiq]

54 minutes ago, r2724r16 said:

Where have you found the deal? On eBay? A local shop? A local second hand market? Can you post a link of it (if it's online)?

 

Welcome to the LTT forums!

Local second hand market. The seller says it has 1.5 year (out of 2) warranty left. He sells it for an equivalent of 1100 USD. He is also selling a Vega Frontier for similarly ridiculous price. It seems fishy but I'm willing to take some risks for price like that. Of course I would take some precautions when I meet with him like having a friend nearby in case something went wrong, not having the money in pocket but taking it from the bank with him, running benchmarks before I take the deal and so on.

 

53 minutes ago, keskparane said:

The first way is usually, like you say "too good to be true". Why is it so cheap?

I have no idea why it is so cheap.

Ok. The fact he is selling the Vega Frontier at the same time for such a cheap price convinced me it is 98% a scam.

But I really want a Titan V It has stellar double precision and ML performance

[TempestCatto]

Can you ask what he did with it before? Like mining or something that uses it almost 100% of the time.

 

Also maybe meet in the parking lot of a local police station. I've done that before, makes ya feel much better.

[LukeSavenije]

well, i would suggest the following benchmarks/tests

userbenchmark

3dmark

aida64

unigine valley/heaven/superposition

gpuz

common sense

[alkakxmmiq]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

well, i would suggest the following benchmarks/tests

userbenchmark

3dmark

aida64

unigine valley/heaven/superposition

gpuz

common sense

What kind of PC do I need for it not to cause bottlenecking so I can be sure bad results are due to the GPU rather than the rest of the PC? Or can the GPU tests be run at almost any PC?

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, alkakxmmiq said:

What kind of PC do I need for it not to cause bottlenecking so I can be sure bad results are due to the GPU rather than the rest of the PC? Or can the GPU tests be run at almost any PC?

a heavy pc, like if it's real, it will perform. but i still think it sounds kinda sketch

[alkakxmmiq]

1 minute ago, LukeSavenije said:

a heavy pc, like if it's real, it will perform. but i still think it sounds kinda sketch

You are probably right. It makes no sense why would he sell it so cheap if he can ask 2-3 times the price and people would still buy it.

[TempestCatto]

1 minute ago, alkakxmmiq said:

What kind of PC do I need for it not to cause bottlenecking so I can be sure bad results are due to the GPU rather than the rest of the PC? Or can the GPU tests be run at almost any PC?

One you can't afford and don't currently have. Like X series CPU from Intel and fast ram with an nvme ssd. 

[alkakxmmiq]

4 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

One you can't afford and don't currently have. Like X series CPU from Intel and fast ram with an nvme ssd. 

Yeah. Best to invest the 1100 USD into a decent PC. I'm thinking about building one for a long time but I'm really indecisive and new tech always seems to be around the corner

I've almost posted on this forum about the build. I had written a nice post but I had it opened in browser overnight and when I hit send it logged me out and the post got lost so I am a bit angry now.

[LukeSavenije]

2 minutes ago, alkakxmmiq said:

You are probably right. It makes no sense why would he sell it so cheap if he can ask 2-3 times the price and people would still buy it.

well, 3 is the retail price, so that's a bit much. some people have reasons for it, but i personally won't take the risk. but in the end the choise is yours

[TempestCatto]

1 minute ago, alkakxmmiq said:

I've almost posted on this forum about the build. I had written a nice post but I had it overnight and when I hit send it logged me out and the post got lost so I am a bit angry now.

When I do that, I write what I'm gonna post in either Google Docs or even just Notepad, just to avoid that exact thing.

 

And honestly, I would just invest the 1100 bucks in a good PC like you just mentioned. That will get you much more mileage.

[alkakxmmiq]

1 minute ago, TempestCatto said:

When I do that, I write what I'm gonna post in either Google Docs or even just Notepad, just to avoid that exact thing.

 

And honestly, I would just invest the 1100 bucks in a good PC like you just mentioned. That will get you much more mileage.

I will do that but it didn't occur to me at the moment that it could happen.

 

Ok. I will post a brief version now and see where it gets me.

[alkakxmmiq]

4 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

When I do that, I write what I'm gonna post in either Google Docs or even just Notepad, just to avoid that exact thing.

 

And honestly, I would just invest the 1100 bucks in a good PC like you just mentioned. That will get you much more mileage.

WOW! I just went to the topic and the post is there just unposted! So I just posted it. All hail the LTT forums, they are the best!

[Kalm_Traveler]

36 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Her boobs will be made of silicone.

 

I kid.

 

But if it's Ebay, I'm just gonna assume it's a scam. That's all that place is right now in regards to GPU's. There's really no finding a real one for a decent deal. I really wish there was a place for used pc parts where everything is legit. Or if it exists, point me to it lads.

I sold all my mining cards on ebay this year, as well as a Titan V after I gave up trying to mod it to get NVLink working. 

 

In fact i usually have to sell my PC parts on eBay because there isn't much of a local market in terms of people who want to buy used high end parts. 

 

If you're careful with who you buy from, eBay is fine. 

 

As for the OP's $1100 Titan V, the price alone would have me sketched out. Should be more like double that even in today's crazy graphics card market.