Buyers Beware: Counterfeit AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPUs Appear in China

[AleksandarK]

A fake AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor was recently discovered through AMD's after-sales service inspection in China after a customer reported their CPU wouldn't boot. The counterfeit unit revealed several technical discrepancies that distinguish it from genuine processors, though these differences are difficult to spot without detailed examination. While authentic Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors use PCB number 33050, the counterfeit unit featured PCB number 32546—a designation typically associated with Ryzen 7000 series R7 or R9 processors. This suggests the counterfeiters may be repurposing older generation chips or PCBs to create fake 9000 series processors. The physical appearance of the counterfeit unit showed additional inconsistencies.

Genuine Ryzen 9000 series processors feature a distinctive blue PCB, while the fake unit displayed a dark green coloration characteristic of older models. Component patches adjacent to the PCB also failed to match the standard configuration of the Ryzen 9000 series. In a notable error, some counterfeit units were mislabeled as "Ryzen 9 9800X3D"—a model number that doesn't exist in AMD's product lineup. For comparison, legitimate Ryzen 7 9800X3D units can be identified by their blue-tinted PCB, while older models like the R9 7900X and R7 7700X feature dark green PCBs. The information was initially shared on Chiphell by sources within the PCB manufacturing industry, who provided side-by-side comparisons of authentic and counterfeit units. AMD's after-sales service has confirmed that processors purchased outside official distribution channels will not receive warranty support or service protection. Buyers should buy CPUs only thought official sale distributors to avoid such cases.



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[Daven]

This is why I buy direct from Newegg and not the unknown third party sellers.

 

[dia6olo]

Purchased mine from Overclockers UK on the day of release, I missed out on the available stock and had to wait 3 weeks for delivery but was fortunate enough to pay the UK retail price of £449.99.

 

[yfn_ratchet]

The sequel arrives! And even faster than the fake 7800X3Ds this time. Maybe because they had prior experience this time, lol.

 

[_roman_]

Again? Was there not a video or forum post from the company boss from thermal grizzly about counterfeit am4 or am5 cpus?

 

[Caring1]

Again? Was there not a video or forum post from the company boss from thermal grizzly about counterfeit am4 or am5 cpus?

His name is Roman, surely you could remember that?

 

[Kapone33]

This is nothing. Does anyone remember the "Intel" stores in China? That was wild. The 9800X3D has been turned into a unicorn. If China sold us Laptop 4090s on GPU PCBs as 4090s how could we not expect this to happen. I learned my lesson already anyway.

 

[bug]

You make it in China, they will sell clones/counterfeits. Isn't that the law?

 

[ymdhis]

Counterfeits appearing in China is about as much news as McDonalds restaurants appearing in the USA.

 

[ZoneDymo]

This is why I buy direct from Newegg and not the unknown third party sellers.

yikez, even after that GN video?

 

[Wirko]

This is why I buy direct from Newegg and not the unknown third party sellers.

Just make sure The Egg itself is genuine.

Bad Eggs: Another Fake-Food Scandal Rocks China | TIME.com

In the latest food scandal to emerge in China, customers are being duped by fake eggs made out of resin, starch and pigments.

newsfeed.time.com

 

[Kapone33]

Just make sure The Egg itself is genuine.

Bad Eggs: Another Fake-Food Scandal Rocks China | TIME.com

In the latest food scandal to emerge in China, customers are being duped by fake eggs made out of resin, starch and pigments.

newsfeed.time.com

Would you believe I watched a Doc where they faked toothpaste. The video that shows them making pasta from plastic is highly disturbing like the Fish made from Sponge.

 

[xorbe]

This is why I buy direct from Newegg and not the unknown third party sellers.

Fake products do work into Newegg and Amazon supply chains, it happens.

 

[Chrispy_]

Anything valuable enough will be faked.
Scammers love items in high demand and low supply because people are more inclined to stray from the usual trusted supply chain in desperation.

 

[cerulliber]

don't buy from there. problem solved.

 

[Wye]

don't buy from there. problem solved.

"there" being?
I'm pretty sure the scammers are advertising themselves as authorised distributors.
The distribution tree is quite big, what is the way to verify a seller is ok?

Fake products do work into Newegg and Amazon supply chains, it happens.

Funny thing, neither Amazon or Newegg are authorised AMD distributors:

https://www.amd.com/en/partner/about-partners/authorized-distributors.html

AMD only lists partners that sell in bulk. Hint: you will not purchase your one CPU from them.
How is an end customer supposed to verify an "authorized" seller that sells to end customers?

 

[Scrizz]

Funny thing, neither Amazon or Newegg are authorised AMD distributors:

https://www.amd.com/en/partner/about-partners/authorized-distributors.html

AMD only lists partners that sell in bulk. Hint: you will not purchase your one CPU from them.
How is an end customer supposed to verify an "authorized" seller that sells to end customers?

Distributors are not retail

https://www.amd.com/en/where-to-buy/processors/ryzen.html

You'll see that both Amazon and Newegg are "official"

 

[Ruru]

Wonder what's under the IHS.

Anything valuable enough will be faked.
Scammers love items in high demand and low supply because people are more inclined to stray from the usual trusted supply chain in desperation.

Yeah, for example, I remember counterfeits being sold back in the 1st gen i7 era.

And before I got into PCs, even the first Pentiums were faked in the 90s:

 

[Wirko]

Distributors are not retail

https://www.amd.com/en/where-to-buy/processors/ryzen.html

You'll see that both Amazon and Newegg are "official"

It's funny that Mindfactory isn't on the list. They're supposed to be one of the largest retailers in Germany. They were the exclusive seller of the 7600X3D initially, for example.

 

[bug]

It's funny that Mindfactory isn't on the list. They're supposed to be one of the largest retailers in Germany. They were the exclusive seller of the 7600X3D initially, for example.

I keep saying Mindfactory is a tiny company (~200 employees). It has become a reference over here because it publishes sales figures. But it's really not representative of anything. Even in Germany, I expect more people get their parts from amazon.de.
And it's not a retailer either, it's an on-line seller.

 

[Falck]

Importing companies doesn't necessary mean selling to market. I.e. in my country the biggest online retailer is not listed, but the import company is.

 

[529th]

I was wondering why I was the only one with a 9950X3D already, hmm, thanks