Newegg sold counterfeit Intel Core i7 CPUs

It's not often that a reputable retailer is duped into passing on dodgy goods to customers, but it seems that Newegg managed to end up with counterfeit Intel Core i7 920 CPUs in its supply chain.

HardOCPbroke the story:

After talking to several sources on this, it seems that Newegg was in fact selling counterfeit Intel processors.

A fake Intel Core i7-920 was delivered to the hands of HardForum user Vincent Waller in Oregon, AKA "Nix." He reported his find to other HardForum users Thursday afternoon.

Note the dodgy hologram and the type ("Sochet") on the label above.

Here's another typo:

And a fakey manual ... all blank!

Here's the latest word from Newegg (via their PR firm DBA Public Relations):

"Newegg is aware of a shipping error that occurred with certain recent orders of the Intel Core i7-920 CPU. After investigating the issue internally it appears one of our long term partners mistakenly shipped a small number of demo boxes instead of functional units. Our customer service team has already begun proactively reaching out to the affected customers. In line with our commitment to ensure total customer satisfaction, we are doing everything in our power to resolve the issue as soon as possible and with the least amount of inconvenience to our customers."

However, Intel's Dan Snyder seems to indicate that these aren't demo boxes but fakes:

"Intel has been made aware of the potential for counterfeit i7 920 packages in the marketplace and is working to how many and/or where they are being sold. The examples we have seen are not Intel products but are counterfeits. Buyers should contact their place of purchase for a replacement and/or should contact their local law enforcement agency if the place of purchase refuses to help."

I have to say that the demo boxes argument is a weak one. The typos on the box, the genuine-esque label and the fakey manual inside the box seem to rule out this being a demo box in my opinion. Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to make this seem like a genuine CPU right up until you open the box!

Note: Several people have asked me for details as to how these CPUs were counterfeit. Basically they were non-functional units that looked like the real thing. These CPUs weren't functional as CPUs in any sense of the word.

There are more reports of fake CPUs over on Overclockers.