No surprise that you would like to see: A sticker on the supposedly new CPU hides the fact that it is actually a model that is over 14 years old. (Image: Reddit user Nico1300)
Players repeatedly report unexpected occurrences when purchasing hardware in forums in this case from Reddit.
Although they are only directly relevant to the people and retailers affected, such contributions often still generate great interest. This is illustrated by almost 21,000 upvotes and 885 comments.
What exactly happened?
- The post creator's friend bought an Intel Core i7 14700K from Amazon, which currently costs around 400 dollars.
- When unpacking it, it quickly becomes clear that something is wrong with the powerful gaming CPU from the end of 2023: different text shines through under the supposed label.
- This is due to a sticker that is attached to the processor. After removing it, the Core i7 with 20 cores finally turns out to be a 14-year-old Core i5 760 with four cores.
This CPU the first Core
-Generation from Intel from 2010 is now hopelessly outdated, which is also shown by corresponding offers on Ebay: The Core i5 760 is often listed for single-digit euro amounts and only rarely for more than 20 dollars.
You can find out what we thought about the release of the Core i 14000 generation in the following video:
18:55
Intel unpacks the crowbar: What can Intel Core i 14000 do?
Is the Reddit post real? It can never be said for sure, but we have no reason to doubt its authenticity. On the one hand, the creator of the post has been registered on Reddit for a long time and is active in many different forums. On the other hand, the photos of the hardware look authentic. Since such cases of fraud occur from time to time, we assume that the case happened as described on Reddit.
How can something like this happen?
This is intentional fraud that was not detected by Amazon.
- The basic process is as follows: You order expensive goods and exchange them before returning them so that the fraud is not noticeable at first glance and when weighing the goods.
- If you are familiar with CPUs, the only thing that is noticeable is the inappropriate shape of the processor: While the old Core i5 is square in shape for socket 1156, the current Intel CPUs including the Core i 14000 models are for socket 1700 in greater in height than in width.
- The double labeling should be noticeable at the latest, but this only works if the dealer takes the time to check accordingly.
Can something like this be prevented?
Ultimately, only retailers can ensure real security by always checking returned goods very carefully.
Especially when buying expensive goods, you can also film yourself unpacking them in order to have an additional argument in your hand if the retailer should object to a complaint.
Please let us know in the comments whether you have already fallen victim to such a scam and, if so, whether you got your money back without any problems.
