Beware! MSI warns of counterfeit AMD 9800X3D CPUs

AMD’s X3D series of CPUs with game-boosting cache has quickly become the go-to choice for system builders, and none are more popular than the latest Ryzen 7 9800X3D. And, predictably, it looks like there are already some fakes spreading around — not just fake product listings, but counterfeit physical chips as well.

Reports from a Chip Hell forum post (machine translated, spotted by Uniko’s Hardware and Tom’s Hardware) show an MSI China alert warning retailers that some customers have been swapping out CPUs with different lids. Swapping the CPU lid could make a much cheaper AM5 CPU (like, say, the $200 Ryzen 5 7600) look nearly identical to the more expensive and in-demand Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

A scammer could buy a Radeon 9800X3D, then return the lid-swapped cheaper hardware and sell off the actual 9800X3D on the gray market. An unsuspecting retailer might then resell the counterfeit chip, leaving the next purchaser in a lurch with a much less powerful machine. It’s a process that’s already been documented with other AM5 CPUs.

It’s possible to spot a swapped CPU by carefully examining the information printed on the circuit board, but that’s a tiny detail that most buyers (and even a lot of retailers) wouldn’t think to check. The more likely scenario is that the fake wouldn’t be discovered until the final end user examines their system info in the BIOS or Windows, at which point the original scammer would be long gone.

While the issue seems limited to the Chinese market at the moment, the alert coming from a source at MSI indicates that it’s common enough to be a legitimate concern. As always, be careful of online listings for in-demand hardware, especially on sites like eBay and Walmart that allow third-party sellers with minimal verification. We’ve already seen fake listings for this exact processor on Amazon late last year.