Intel Investigating Case Of Newegg Counterfeit Core i7s

Last weekend details of a major snafu at Newegg began to emerged, at the core was inforamtion that several people who had purchased Core i7 processors from Newegg.com had instead received fake chips in the mail. Newegg originally stated that the company had received as many as 300 fake Core i7s in a shipment of 2,000 chips from one of their distributors, IPEX, with whom the company has now severed ties.

Reports were that Newegg originally claimed the fakes were actually demo units sent from D&H Distribution via Intel but more recent reports have Newegg now laying blame on IPEX.

Newegg's Statement Via PC MAG
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.

On Monday Intel confirmed the reports and said the company is investigating the issue thoroughly!

"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," a spokesman told PC Mag Monday. "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."

At question were images and videos posted by several customers. Including the video posted by Overclockers.com forums, user Dreadlok

As you can see from the video this is clearly not a case of demo models being shipped. For anyone who received one of the defective units, you can contact Newegg's customer service right here.