New fear dropped: Amazon scammer seems to have delidded an $889 AMD chip, transplanted it on old Intel chip, and got it through return inspection

I've never been stung by Amazon, but I've heard enough stories for it to be a worry. Amazon can take returns and list them again as new products if they pass inspection, which can open the door for scammers if something slips through inspection. And it's tales of this happening with expensive components that really give me the heebie jeebies, such as what seems to have happened to one Redditor with the incredibly expensive AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2.

The picture they share shows what are supposed to be two Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 chips, but they look different. The pin layout on the underside is different, and on the top there is a distinct lack of caps jutting out from under the integrated heat spreader (IHS).

Those familiar with AMD chips will know that that lack of capacitors on top is a giveaway that it's not, in fact, a new Ryzen chip under the IHS—those caps, or surface-mount device (SMD) components, …