14 DAY TRIAL // Intel’s as well as AMD’s processors have been counterfeited for a long time now, and most recently a user on the Intel forums has reported that he has received an LGA 775 processor that was marked as a Core i7-990X chip.
The provenience of this CPU was not detailed, but just looking at the processor reveals that it comes in a different packaging, which is significantly smaller than the one used for LGA 1366 parts.
Despite this, the processor heatspreader bears the same markings as those found on the Core i7-990X, including its clocks speed, amount of Level 3 cache memory and QPI speed.
These markings were apparently enough to fool the user, who bought it thinking he actually got a Core i7-990X, although anyone knowledgeable about processors would know this chips wasn’t genuine.
Unfortunately, not every consumer out there has the ability to spot a fake CPU, so fakes like that can easily be sold on eBay and other outlets for a huge profit.