According to PC Gamer, fake CPUs have started to infiltrate the supply chain, causing widespread concern among consumers and retailers.

A recent report from the Chinese hardware forum Chiphell revealed a supposed AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D returned by a customer, which turned out to be a reworked AMD Ryzen 7000-series processor disguised as the 9800X3D. Glaring abnormalities were noted upon inspection, including differences in "components on the edge of the PCB."

One key indicator was the dark green board on which the chip was built, contrasting with the blue substrate used for the Ryzen 9000 series. The lid had been replaced, but scammers could not tamper with the substrate without risking damage to the chip.

This is not the first time the 9800X3D has been at the heart of a scam. In November, fake 9800X3D chips were found listed on Amazon. These fraudulent CPUs were misleadingly priced and claimed to be for the Amiga 500 from 1987. However, the current scam is notably more sophisticated.

Consumers are advised to exercise caution when purchasing from major online retailers like Amazon and eBay. While many large retailers are trustworthy, the sheer volume of products on such platforms allows occasional malicious actors to slip through.

Additionally, AMD is facing challenges in other areas of the industry. Despite having excellent processors and the upcoming Z2 Extreme poised to enhance some of the best handhelds, the company is struggling with its next-generation GPUs. The release of the much-anticipated Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, with RDNA 4, has been delayed to March.