Of course, but me personally, all I need is enough to get me by..not enough to go to federal prison. And here in my state..they will FUCK you for years if they find anything out..I know 3 guys right now that got a year and a half for 4 plants after they were caught by the virginia state police. Growing in the woods a mile from our house.
Those are harsh sentences. I live in a country where its illegal throughout, but the punishment is tame, likely a fine and a slap on the wrist. Worse thing for small time grower is getting equipment confiscated.
In your situation I can see the attraction to cheap LEDs. They do grow, the key is to keep your plant canopy realistic to the true power of the light and not buy into the wattage in the title which is only the diodes size multiplied by diode count and means nothing apart from a misleading title.
There is always the risk of failure with cheap lights made with minimal quality control and cheap parts though.
For me over here prices are different, a vipar 450 is 200 real watts and will cover a 2x2 space. It costs £119
Where as a HLG 135w kit covers the same space and cost £134 with taxes on top because I need to import from USA.
So price is not much different in small grows, at least not for me.
But I know from my own experience I can pull 8oz off that 135w quantum board with the right veg time and training.