Sep 02, 2024 16:00:00

Reports of fake AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processors circulating on the second-hand market

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D , released in April 2023, is a popular CPU among gamers at the time of writing due to its high performance relative to its price and power consumption. Roman Hartung, a tech YouTuber known by the handle der8auer, reported that he purchased a second-hand Ryzen 7 7800X3D and found it to be a well-made fake.

Beware! Fake Ryzen 7800X3D CPUs are being sold - YouTube


'Mindblowing' fake AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D chip investigated — buyers beware | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/mindblowing-fake-amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d-chip-investigated-buyers-beware

Mr. Hartung was caught by a fake Ryzen 7 7800X3D at a Romanian online outlet called OLX. The price was 300 euros (about 48,000 yen), and when he bought it, he thought it was a bargain, about 100 euros (about 16,000 yen) cheaper than the market price.

But when Hartung put the CPU into the motherboard, it didn't work, so he hooked it up to a multimeter and discovered the chip was completely dead.

In fact, Hartung had noticed some suspicious points even before the actual product arrived. For example, the color of the circuit board in the photo on the product page was bluer and less green than the real thing. However, this could have been a problem with the photo being taken, so it would have been difficult to notice without seeing the real thing.

Comparing it to the disassembled genuine product (left), you can see the difference in the color of the circuit board. You can also see that the capacitors on the genuine product are covered with protective plastic, whereas on the fake product they are exposed.

I also noticed something odd when setting the CPU onto the motherboard.

This is because the genuine board is 1.308mm thick, while the fake one is only 0.964mm thick, so it did not fit snugly into the socket.

By taking photos of the real and fake products and overlaying them, they also found subtle differences in the shape and engravings on the metal heat spreaders.

To top it off, when we removed the heat spreader there was nothing there.

Behind the heat spreader are holes of unknown purpose, which Hartung speculates are likely screws for plating.

Because the outer box looks exactly like the real thing and the heat spreader and other components are very well made, Hartung speculates that the counterfeit chips are the work of 'professionals.'

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