Hardware review portal Hardware Busters fell victim to a scam after reviewer Maris was sold a fake AMD Rzyen 9 9800X3D. They had purchased the “Zen5” CPU from Amazon “brand new” and even worse, the scammer wasn’t even bothered to make an effort to disguise their affront.
The first and most obvious telltale sign was that the “9800X3D” wasn’t even shipped out in its iconic octo-arm Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS). Instead, the reviewer got the cuboid-shaped CPU, complete with the PGA underneath it.
What really takes the cake here is that the CPU wasn’t even an AM4-based CPU: the processor was an AMD FX-4100, which is a 4-core AM3+ CPU that launched all the way back in 2011. That leads to the second telltale sign of the fake: a low quality sticker with alleged details of the intended CPU printed on it. And by low quality, it was easily peeled off.
After the 7800X3D, the 9800X3D is currently AMD’s most sought-after processor by gamers, which explains why scammers and unsavoury characters are trying to cash in on it, even if some of them are clearly half-arsing it at this point.
Hardware Busters’ Aris will reportedly receive a refund after they return the CPU but suffice to say, perhaps AMD and Intel may wish to look into the packaging of their consumer products.
(Source: Hardware Busters, Videocardz)
