Poor Newegg. They said yesterday they are dropping one of their suppliers after they inadvertently sold a bunch of fake Intel Core i7-920 processors.

[H]ard|OCP, the site that first reported the story, says that Newegg is sending the following letter to people who may have bought the fake processors:

Dear Valued Customer,

It’s been brought to our attention that you may have received a Demo Version of the Intel Core i7 Processor you recently purchased. We would like to first and foremost apologize for any confusion this may have caused you. Please take a moment to examine the product you received thoroughly to determine if you in fact received the wrong product. The Demo Version of these CPUs were purchased between March 1, 2010 through March 4, 2010 and will have FPO/BATCH# 3938B006 printed on the product’s packaging. Additionally, the Part Number on the heat sink will read CNFN936612 and there will be no wiring on the heat sink itself. If you have determined that you received the wrong product, please except(sic) our deepest apologies. To resolve this matter immediately, simply forward this email to both Aaron.A.Aragonez@newegg.com and Scott.A.Renwick@newegg.com and state which of the two following options best suit you: Full Refund – We are more than willing to issue an RMA for a full and complete Refund. Replacement for the Correct Product – If you are still interested in the product, we will issue an Advanced Replacement RMA to get the product to you immediately. We would like to once again extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience and we appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Kindest Regards.

Once You Know, You Newegg.

Your Newegg.com Customer Service Team

The company also announced on their Facebook page that they would be dropping the supplier that sent the fakes, and that later called them “demo units.” Intel says they are investigating where the so-called “demo” units came from.

A series of photos posted on the overclockers.com forum show what appears to be a fairly well executed fake. We especially like the part where they printed the “factory sealed” stuff on the actual box and just put clear tape over it. (Shown above)

Anyhow, the moral of this story appears to be: Don’t buy stuff with typos on it. It’s a pretty good indicator of a fake product. Not that this would have helped people ordering stuff on the internet — but you can apply this knowledge to like, toothpaste at the dollar store.

Newegg Sticks with “demo boxes” – Intel Counters [[H]ard|OCP]
Newegg probes shipments of fake Intel chips [CNet]
Reported fake Intel CPU sold at Newegg [Overclockers]

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