Pretend Intel CPU packages, particularly the Intel Core i9 14900K, have been discovered on sale in China which might be utterly lacking a silicon chip beneath their heatspreader. The CPUs have been being bought as “unfastened” chips packaged solely in a transparent plastic container, however with a legitimate-looking safety sticker suggesting they have been the actual deal.
Nevertheless, as soon as one purchaser received what ought to have been among the best gaming CPUs dwelling and tried to make use of it they discovered the supposed Intel CPU didn’t work in any respect. Upon additional investigation, together with the elimination of the heatspreader, they found the entire lack of an precise CPU die – there wasn’t even a faux die or clean slice of silicon. Simply skinny air.
The invention has been reported by Hong Kong tech website, HKEPC on its X/Twitter account. The website describes how Korean overclocker SoonHo Jeong – often known as safedisk – instructed the location in regards to the discovering after buying the chip and attempting to get it to work.
The positioning paperwork the invention with compelling pictures exhibiting the unopened CPU, then a delidded model the place there clearly isn’t a CPU die the place there must be one. The underside of the chip, the place all of the LGA1700 socket connections are housed, can be proven, alongside an actual model of the CPU. The similarity is putting, so it’s straightforward to see how consumers may very well be fooled into shopping for one in every of these fakes.
It’s not totally clear why there are such a lot of photos of the CPU earlier than being opened or delidded, and one of many photos (high proper within the picture under) clearly exhibits the highest of the CPU being utterly clean relatively than having the same old CPU title and different markings on it. As such, the total story about what occurred here’s a little unclear. It’s attainable the entire scenario has been faked, or that safedisk has shared photographs of a number of CPUs with out all the small print.
Nevertheless, what is evident is that you need to make sure to solely purchase your CPU from trusted retailers to keep away from this kind of purchasing nightmare. Often, a rogue actor can intercept your buy earlier than it will get to you, even when shopping for out of your favourite retailer, however normally there’s a considerably decrease probability of this taking place than when shopping for direct from mainland China.
After all, the opposite issue to contemplate right here is that the 14900K isn’t truly the CPU we’d suggest most PC avid gamers purchase anyway. It’s a bit overpowered and power-hungry, whereas providing decrease efficiency in lots of video games than the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The latter is the chip we suggest shopping for as a substitute, although nonetheless be sure to purchase from a trusted retailer.
