When a product becomes popular, it generates demand, and that’s when the trouble starts. In the case of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, you can come across some very well-made counterfeits. This is happening in the European Union itself, in Romania to be precise. Der8auer, via a contact, was able to obtain one of these ‘ fakes ‘.
Ryzen 7 7800X3D: fakes on the loose!
Once received, Der8auer showed us all the differences between this fake processor and a real one. First of all, there’s no glue on some of the capacitors on the PCB – the original models have it. Another difference is the colour of the PCB, which is not quite right. On this counterfeit, the printed circuit board is blue in colour, whereas it is green on the real thing… In addition to being too thin compared to the originals.
As for the IHS, there’s also a lot to complain about, since there’s a world of difference between the shape and what’s written on it. In fact, the IHS has the same shape on all its Ryzen models, the aim being to avoid any incompatibility problems. However, in this particular case, the different legs of the heatspreader are thinner than on the real thing. Otherwise, the engraving on the capsule doesn’t match either: wrong location and wrong font.
Finally, during the uncapping process, to see what the dies look like, a little surprise awaits the overclocker : there’s nothing under the capsule. In fact, the IHS has been manufactured to reproduce the dies normally found on the processor, but that’s all.
In short, a very well executed counterfeit, even if you focus on the differences, it’s very easy to be fooled. To tell you the truth, even the serial number on the box matched the one on the processor. In short, the best way to avoid scams is to buy new via authorised dealers. Otherwise, in this kind of situation, the best thing to do is to meet the seller and see the hardware working before your very eyes.
