Beware Buying Used Xeons on Amazon Marketplace

IceDigger

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How do you counterfeit a cpu?

Thanks to the guys at STH for bringing this to our attention.

There have been a couple of counterfeit xeons popping up on the Amazon Marketplace recently. So if you are upgrading your server/workstation beware.
“The ease of creating these kinds of counterfeits has been augmented by advancements in laser engraving. As a CPU only requires a very small working area, one would not require a large freestanding unit. DIY models, which are similar to hobbyist 3D printers in design, can be acquired for as little as $350 from AliExpress and larger assembled ones are still relatively accessible in the $2000 range.

The laser engraving is otherwise of reasonable quality. For someone who does not work with these processors regularly, they may not realize these CPUs have been re-marked until it is too late. It would be difficult to fool anyone that deals with this sort of hardware on a regular basis. To someone who rarely has hands-on with the parts, it would be very hard to tell, potentially risking damage to their server.” – STH

So beware folks and only buy from a reputable dealer!
 
I mean, it should be fairly obvious when you boot them up and they either don't have the correct number of cores, or are clocked lower than expected...

Or when the OS reads a different CPU ID string than expected...

Then you just file a complaint with Amazon, and it is taken care of.

I always buy used Xeon's for my servers on eBay, and have never had a problem.

Started with a used pair of Xeon L5630's, then got a good deal on a set of L5640's, and later a pair of E5-2620's and now a pair of E62650v2's.

Every time they have been a great deal, exactly what they claimed to be, and in perfect working order.

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I'd say that maybe the real targets for this are the people looking for those server grade cpu's on the cheap but to build budget gaming rigs. There have been quite a few youtube vids about that lately.
 
Why... why would you want to build a budget gaming rig in a workstation chassis. I mean unless it is actually something good.

+ if you're using a workstation motherboard why not buy two of the CPU's from a reputable seller. At least then you get twice the cores. (Of course you have to buy twice the ram to get the benefit but still.)
 
There's some quasi impressive $300-500 builds on youtube pullng off some nice 1080p stuff. You don't have to use a actual workstation chasis plus a number of x79 mobo's support xeons.

edit: Here's one:
 
Meh I'll keep my consumer grade motherboard with killer nic and discreet onboard audio processor that I don't use because I have a USB gaming headset instead. *nods*

though that might be a fun way to build out a home vmware host now that I think about it. If I didn't get to tinker with the dev cluster at work I would be more enthused.
 
Grimlakin said:
Meh I'll keep my consumer grade motherboard with killer nic and discreet onboard audio processor that I don't use because I have a USB gaming headset instead. *nods*

though that might be a fun way to build out a home vmware host now that I think about it. If I didn't get to tinker with the dev cluster at work I would be more enthused.
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I agree. I was thinking more of those without such resources working from scratch to build their own. I started out that way with PC building in the 90's after taking a hiatus from the industry. I Would piece together hand me downs for myself at a time when when I was barely making minimum wage. I've read a lot of stories in other forums of kids, people strapped for cash, and simply some trying to make do with less and these kind of scams would easily make victims of them.

In regards to Amazon. It's become a bit of scary place. Fake or impostor type products are everywhere these days. Couldn't even count the number of scams I read about with SD cards having been re-flashed to resemble a larger size. Recently I've read stories about GPU's as well. You know the old saying, if it looks too good to be true . . . .
 
Yeah, I've heard of fake EOTech's and all kinds of crap on Amazon.
 
ThreeDee said:
My wife is an Amazon whore .. me .. I'm an Ebay whore. She buys clothes, I buy electronic do-dads .. I wonder how many shirts she has gotten that were fakes!
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About the same for us but in reverse. If I don't get it at NewEgg then it's usually at Amazon. For her, and it's had it's issues, Ebay is like a crack addiction and she's experienced her share of fakes there too.
 
ThreeDee said:
My wife is an Amazon whore .. me .. I'm an Ebay whore. She buys clothes, I buy electronic do-dads .. I wonder how many shirts she has gotten that were fakes!
Click to expand...

A lot probably. I have had it happen twice.
 
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