The Ryzen 7 9800X3D, AMD's fastest CPU to date for gaming, remains a tough one to locate in most markets as scalpers and supply limitations rule the roost in both North America and Europe with prices north of the $600 mark being the norm with most third-party sellers. For context, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an MSRP of $479 at retailers when (sparingly) in stock.
This has, however, had a somewhat unexpected effect in China, where consumers are increasingly encountering fakes of AMD's 8-core gaming juggernaut, much like earlier iterations of the popular 7800X3D in prior years.
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT Is Heavily Discounted For AM4 Holdouts In 2025
One of AMD's recently launched AM4 CPUs is trading at a large discount on Amazon!
Fake units are essentially quite hard to spot given that they offer similar designs, coming with a matching integrated heat spreader (IHS) and the same pinout as the genuine article. This makes it hard to check for a fake short of identifying units via their serial numbers or buying from trusted retailers online.
While the 7800X3D had fakes that varied in quality, often getting IHS placements and PCB colors wrong, making it easy for most system builders to spot the difference between a real and a fake unit, the 9800X3D's copies are markedly better, taking fewer liberties when it comes to design, essentially making for a harder time for gamers and PC builders to spot the difference at a glance.
Why Are There Counterfeits Of The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D?
Counterfeiters generally focus on fast-moving goods that sell for a good price, focusing on high-ticket items when possible, and the principle seems to have carried over when it comes to gaming CPUs. Both the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and its predecessor, the 7800X3D are highly-sought after CPUs that have been short in the first few months of their launch resulting in users in both China and abroad willing to shell out above-market prices to source one.
The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D positioned below a counterfeit copy of the same (Source: Chiphell)
This has also resulted in users opting for third-party sellers, many of which do not have established businesses or trading history, allowing unscrupulous sellers to take advantage of consumers desperate to score what is essentially the best CPU that money can buy currently.
Sellers operating on chat services, apps like TikTok, and community groups on social media groups are generally where one would potentially encounter these, but some users might be out of luck simply due to return scams resulting in retailers restocking some units.
This is not, however, something that remains restricted to a single region as one consumer found out by purchasing a unit on Amazon a few months ago, which means that it always helps to have a receipt or an unboxing video ready, even as you should avoid some deals that are too good to be true.
The adage holds here: If it is too good to be true, it probably is.
Nvidia's RTX 5090 And RTX 5080 SKUs Show Up In Force On Newegg
Due to supply-side limitations, the highly-anticipated new Blackwell-based GPUs are expected to be short at launch, but Newegg has them ready to go.
Finding Stocks Of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D In 2025
While the Ryzen 7 9800X3D remains notoriously hard to find in North America, retailers in the UK and EU seem to be getting more stock of late, which should indicate that supply issues could ease in the short to medium term, even as AMD plans to push out its 16-Core Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 12-Core Ryzen 9 9900X3D later this quarter.
The NZXT N7 Z790 Is Trading At An Impressive Discount
NZXT's N7 Z790 motherboard is trading at an attractive price for what it offers on Amazon currently