In a bizarre instance, the user who ordered an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D from Amazon received a fake CPU, and that too, in a sealed box.
User Discovers FX 4100 CPU After Peeling Off the Film From the CPU Heat Spreader, Had Ordered AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Originally
Fake CPU shipments are rare but have been documented previously, and can be shipped even from the most reputable retailers. Last time it was the Ryzen 7 7800X3D that turned out to be fake, but it was bought from a third-party seller. However, this time, it was Amazon itself that sold a fake Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
Aris from Hardware Busters reports that he bought an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D from Amazon. When the user opened the box, he saw a CPU with pins underneath. If you know about Ryzen 9800X3D or any other AM5 processors, you must be aware that these processors don't have any pins underneath as the AM5 platform has transitioned to an LGA design.
Nonetheless, it was already a big red flag from the very start, but the processor itself revealed a different IHS and design that one could easily identify by comparing it to another Ryzen 9800X3D CPU. There was a plastic film on top of the IHS and when he removed it, it exposed the "FX 4100" CPU.
One would think this was some scammer seller on Amazon who wanted to get rid of such fake CPUs, but the user says he bought them directly from Amazon, and they were sold as NEW. Initially, I thought it could be due to a return with a customer sending a different one than the original, but the user says it was a sealed box, which means this was fake from the very beginning.
Who did that, and how did it happen? It remains a mystery as of now, but it's a serious issue as somebody in the supply chain is able to get away with this. Hopefully, Amazon will investigate this and find if there are any more such fake CPUs in the inventory, because it's likely that someone has been able to do this more than once.
News Source: Hardware Busters
