Fully counterfeited CPUs now also as "Ryzen 9800X3D"
A fake of AMD's top seller has emerged in the USA, which was manufactured according to a known pattern and is non-functional due to a lack of dies.
Lots of glue, no chips – Complete fake of a Ryzen 9800X3D.
(Image: Gamers Nexus / YouTube - Screenshot: heise online)
Nine months ago there were complete fakes of AMD's Ryzen 7800X3D, now the 9800X3D has also been caught. As was the case back then, the new counterfeit processor is not a relabeled old CPU, but a specially manufactured product that is not noticeable at first glance. Another part of the current scam is that there is no silicon under the heatspreader.
The founder of the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, Steve Burke, bought the fake from a viewer. According to his own statements on Reddit, the viewer had purchased it from Amazon in the USA four months ago, from the company itself and not from a marketplace retailer. Burke then offered to buy the fake from the viewer to examine it. The user had not yet tried out the supposed processor because he did not have the right motherboard.
Gamers Nexus made up for this. As was to be expected, the test setup did not even start. No wonder, because after removing the heatspreader – which was much easier than expected – the familiar picture emerged: the two chips (IO-Die and CCX), which actually make up a 9800X3D, were not under the metal cover. Therefore, there was no indium solder, but simple glue. Proof of a complete fake was provided.
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PCB and heatspreader from our own production
As with the alleged 7800X3D, the counterfeiters had not reworked an existing CPU – this had already happened with the 9800X3D, but had apparently produced the fake entirely themselves. It consists only of the circuit board, a heatspreader, which differs from the original, and the contact pads on the underside. Incidentally, these protrude slightly compared to a real 9800X3D, making it difficult to remove the fake from the socket, reports Gamers Nexus in its video.
There are also other external features that are very similar to those of the 7800X3D fake. The SMD components on the top are different in number and orientation, and the serial number on the heatspreader does not match the one on the packaging. These are the two clearest warning signs for this type of fake, which you can easily verify yourself. Small inscriptions and dot markings on the circuit board that do not correspond to the original or are missing are difficult to check.
(Image:Â Gamers Nexus / YouTube)
And even the data matrix code on the fake, if scanned with a smartphone app, for example, does not provide a result. The result should be the serial number and model number of the processor. If you look at the real processor and the fake side by side in direct comparison, you will also notice that the font of the fake is different and the laser engraving is partially blurred. The heatspreader is not coated with gold, as is the case with AMD, and has protrusions on the underside where the dies usually sit. Even when viewed from the side, the fake is not immediately noticeable. One last detail: the fake weighs 30 grams, whereas a real 9800X3D weighs 39 grams.
Source of the fakes still unknown
There is one clue as to how the fake ended up on Amazon: presumably via a return scam. The viewer who bought the fake reported on Reddit that there was a return label on the box, which had apparently already been opened. So it appears that the incoming inspection of the return shipment failed. However, this is speculation, and it remains completely unclear where these counterfeit parts come from. They seem very rare so far, with Gamers Nexus reporting a single-digit number of known fakes of this type. However, the fact that one has now apparently landed on Amazon in the USA indicates that they can also be sold intending to fraud.
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In the case of this fake, things turned out well and the customer received his money back from Gamers Nexus. He would probably have received goodwill from Amazon even without dismantling the fake due to its external characteristics. However, especially when reselling privately, you should now pay more attention to obtaining detailed photos of a processor before processing – and not symbolic images from the manufacturer's website, for example. With this type of fake, not all the deviations mentioned need to be present.
If a supposed processor looks strange in any way, it is also advisable not to install it in a mainboard. It cannot be ruled out that there are also fakes in which the contact surfaces are wired in such a way that they short-circuit the computer, which can then cause damage to numerous components, including the risk of fire.
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