Fake AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPUs Doing The Rounds Online, Die-Less Package & Visually Different IHS

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPUs are the best-selling gaming chips right now but some scammers are taking advantage of its popularity by making fake versions of this chip and selling them at 3rd party outlets.

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU is the one chip that can be seen on top of every major retail outlet and their "Top Selling" list. This chip is hugely in demand and recent price cuts have made it a much better option than the recently launched Ryzen 9000 options such as the Ryzen 7 9700X. However, this insane hype & popularity around the 7800X3D has also caused it to become a victim of online scams.

As reported by Der8auer, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPUs being sold off by individuals are now susceptible to fake versions of the chip. A buyer in Romania bought the CPU from an online 3rd party seller known as OLX which is quite popular in Asia. The CPU was sold for around 300 Euros which matches the pricing of the CPU in the current EU marketplaces. The user tried booting it up but the chip didn't work which is when he tried using a volt-meter to find a connection or trace on the PCB from the gold contact pads on the back but there was nothing. Der8auer found this to be rather intriguing and bought the chip from the individual to give it a spin himself where a lot more than expected was discovered.

These chips might look like the actual product at first glance since they come with the same box packaging as the 7800X3D chip but there's a lot wrong. The serial number of the box is mentioned which matches the one listed on the IHS.

Fake 7800X3D vs Real 7800X3D Height Differences (Source: Der8auer):

Starting with the chip itself, several aspects of the CPU differ from the original chip. The labels on the CPU are washed out and they are in a different position. The CPU also has a thinner PCB and measures 0.964 mm versus the 1.308-mm height of the original chip. This means that the AM5 socket loading assembly won't push the chip into the socket with enough pressure as the original chips.

Fake 7800X3D vs Real 7800X3D IHS Differences (Source: Der8auer):

The IHS or integrated heat spreader is also different, featuring reduced thickness across the 8 arms and Der8auer also noticed that the capacitors on the front side of the PCB are lacking the glue residue which is used as a protective coating and is featured on most of the standard Ryzen 7000 and Ryzen 9000 offerings. The capacitors are positioned in the same layout as the original chip but the missing protective coating gives away the fakeness of the chip.

Upon booting the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D on his AM5 testbed, Der8auer got no boot, and that led to the next process, which was to delid the IHS from the package. As soon as the chip was delidded, the culprit was found and the package featured no chiplet. The original CPU comes with one CCD with a singular 64 MB stacked 3D V-Cache layer and a single IOD with none of these included on the fake CPU.

The one thing that stood out for this fake reincarnation of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D was the custom CNC-milled IHS which has heightened contact areas for where the CPU's CCD and IOD sit. These aren't used by the retail 7800X3D CPUs as they come with a flattened base that connects to the dies. I mean this is a lot of effort for something that is a fake product whereas this is an actually useful design that could provide better cooling if it was implemented on the real chip but alas, it's just a fake component of a fake product.

This is a good finding by Der8auer as it highlights these scamming tactics to a lot of users who might be unaware of fake products. Given how much the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is in demand, a lot of PC gamers are buying these chips, and not everyone has access to another chip that they can use for comparison against the fake counterpart.

As always, make sure that the product you are buying is from a verified seller or a proper retail outlet. These third-party resellers are mostly not moderated well or don't have protection plans for individuals. Furthermore, users mostly deal off-site in which case, neither the outlet nor any company (AMD, Intel, NVIDIA) should be responsible so as a simply advise, don't fall for attractive prices offered by shady sellers or suspicious outlets.