A Reddit user has claimed that he was sold a fake Core i9-13900K CPU on Amazon U.K. The user, who goes by the name Much_Designer_8417, said that he bought the processor in April for £585 (around $736).
When the user received the CPU, he discovered that it was actually a Core i7-13700K. This is a less powerful chip that costs around $180 less than the Core i9-13900K.
Much_Designer_8417, the user in question believes that he was the victim of a scam. He noted that someone may have bought the Core i9-13900K, removed the integrated heat spreader (IHS), and stuck it on their own Core i7-13700K. The scammer then returned the less powerful chip to Amazon for a refund.
Much_Designer_8417 shared a photo of the processor he purchased from Amazon U.K. in April. The price tag, £585 or approximately $736, didn’t raise any red flags, as it seemed in line with market rates for the Core i9-13900K.
Previously, in 2020, there were reports of counterfeit Intel chips in China being sold as i7-8700K CPUs when they were actually Celeron D 336 chips.
Also, in 2017, someone bought what looked like a Ryzen 1700 when it was really an LGA-based Intel processor with the markings scrubbed off and replaced with Ryzen markings.
The sources for this piece include an article in TechSpot.