As Neowin reported during the weekend, Newegg shipped out counterfeit Intel i7 processors to customers, where customers received a clay mold of a heatsink, and even a piece of scrap metal as the processor. Intel will investigate why there was counterfeit processors shipped out to customers and exactly how many were shipped, according to PCWorld.
Intel has confirmed that there is at least one case of these counterfeit processors, and according to Engadget, Newegg’s long time partner, D&H Distribution, accidentally got a hold of 300 fakes in a batch of 2,000. It doesn’t seem that everyone believes Newegg when they say they received “incorrect inventory.”
Engadget even mentions that the company has started to send out cease-and-desist letters to websites that publishes the news.
An Intel spokesperson confirms the existence of the fake Intel i7 chips in an email, "The examples we have seen are not Intel products but are counterfeits." This contradicts the press statement issued by Newegg over the weekend, claiming the chips are “demo units”:
“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.”
Update: Newegg has has confirmed the existance of these counterfeit Intel i7 chips, and have discontinued their relationship with the supplier in their statement:
Newegg is currently conducting a thorough investigation surrounding recent shipments of questionable Intel Core i7-920 CPUs purchased from Newegg.com.
Initial information we received from our supplier, IPEX, stated that they had mistakenly shipped us "demo units." We have since come to discover the CPUs were counterfeit and are terminating our relationship with this supplier. Contrary to any speculation, D&H Distributing is not the vendor that supplied us with the Intel Core i7-920 CPUs in question.
Newegg’s top priority is to proactively reach out to all customers who may have been affected to ensure their absolute satisfaction. We have already sent out a number of replacement units and are doing everything in our power to resolve the matter promptly and with the least amount of inconvenience to our customers.
We have always taken pride in providing an exceptional experience for each customer, and we apologize for any inconvenience to our valued customers. We take matters like this extremely seriously, and are working in close cooperation with Intel and the appropriate law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident.