This weekend, up to 300 Newegg customers who pulled the trigger on a new Intel Core i7-920 processor found themselves puzzling over a clever fake instead. Who's to blame? It's not exactly clear -- Newegg initially said that the processors were "demo units," but has now posted a statement to Facebook saying that supplier IPEX shipped counterfeit chips and has had its contract revoked. That's good news for D&H Distributing, another Newegg supplier that responded to an initial wave of finger-pointing by issuing legal nastygrams to sites covering the story, thus ruining whatever good vibes the truth's generated.



Finally, here's the statement Intel just sent us, explaining in no uncertain terms that these are counterfeit parts:



"Intel has been made aware of a limited number of counterfeit i7 920 packages in the marketplace, specifically Newegg, and is working to how many and/or where they are being sold. The examples we have seen are not Intel products but are counterfeits. Buyers should contact their place of purchase for a replacement and/or should contact their local law enforcement agency if the place of purchase refuses to help.



Intel is getting samples to inspect and until then we can say that everything in the package appears fake. Some of the photos of the processor look like it is a casting and not even a real processor of any kind. Newegg has moved quickly to replace the suspect units."

No matter who's at fault here, the damage has been done. We'll never build another PC without losing precious seconds carefully examining its CPU first.[Thanks, Cody C.]