A customer recently discovered a fake Ryzen 9 9900X3D CPU, prompting an investigation by the Japanese retailer PCONES. Upon inspection, the store found that the processor was a non-functional shell completely lacking internal components on the substrate.
The delidded unit revealed a total absence of core dies under the Integrated Heat Spreader. While a legitimate Ryzen 9 9900X3D features dual CCDs and a single I/O die, this counterfeit version lacked all three, featuring only a mismatched font on the IHS.
This discovery follows a similar incident in 2025 where inspected a fake Ryzen 7 9800X3D. These sophisticated physical counterfeits highlight growing risks for hardware buyers, as the exterior closely mimics authentic high-end AMD processors.