Hi Guys,
There is no reason to throw out your old hardware with counterfit FTDI chips. You just need to purchase a standalone programmer. Check out this one https://www.tindie.com/products/Earth_People_Technology/the-visiport2-compact-arduino-programmer/. It uses a legitimate FT232RQ chip, has selectable 5V/3.3V power, and has selectable Arduino reset RTS/DTR.