Hot Take Exceptional fake SSD clone of Samsung 990 Pro is almost impossible to spot

[Parkinsond]

The box is the very first thing that catches your eye when you buy any product, and SSD counterfeiters are aware of this. They have poured more time and resources into perfecting the package to deceive even the most experienced customers. The box for the counterfeit SSD can be almost indistinguishable from that of the genuine drive. One subtle giveaway was that the fake box includes a header for hanging on display racks, a detail the original lacks.

The drive may look authentic on the surface, but a closer inspection reveals drastic discrepancies. For starters, the Samsung 990 Pro leverages the brand's proprietary Pascal SSD controller. The fake uses the Maxio MAP1602 SSD controller, which has a different design and is smaller than the Pascal controller. Tellingly, the rear of the counterfeit SSD even openly states the Maxio model number.

Another key distinction lies in DRAM and NAND. The Samsung 990 Pro features LPDDR4 memory, a component absent from the fake due to the DRAM-less nature of the Maxio MAP1602 SSD controller. As for the NAND, the original uses Samsung’s 176-Layer V-NAND TLC flash, while the type in the counterfeit remains uncertain. It’s likely QLC, though, since counterfeiters won't spend extra on TLC for a product whose primary purpose is to bamboozle the buyer.

Exceptional fake SSD clone of Samsung 990 Pro is almost impossible to spot — near-identical performance blurs the line between real and fake as AI crunch drives knock-off market

There are levels to SSD clones.

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