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AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D: the new king of gaming you don’t need
by Kevin Hofer
AMD responds to CPU fraud: Chuwi – and other manufacturers – sold older processors as newer ones
19/3/2026
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Instead of a Ryzen 5 7430U, several notebooks from Chuwi contained a Ryzen 5 5500U. However, this fraud has spread to other devices not made by Chuwi – and AMD’s annoyed.
Anyone who bought a Chuwi – not this one – CoreBook X thought they’d find a current AMD Ryzen 5 7430U in it. The actual CPU inside: a Ryzen 5 5500U. It’s a significantly older and weaker CPU from the Zen 2 generation, while the 7430U is based on Zen 3 architecture. That alone would be enough to make you angry. What makes the case explosive is that the fake chip was being deliberately camouflaged. The packaging, BIOS, Windows and earlier versions of CPU-Z identified the device as a 7430U. The scam only crumbled if someone opened the notebook and physically inspected the processor.
At time of writing, at least three Chuwi products are affected: the CoreBook X, the CoreBook Plus and the Chuwi Ubox. All marketed with the Ryzen 5 7430U, but partly equipped with the older 5500U.
AMD distances itself – and threatens legal action
AMD has now made its first official statement to Hong Kong’s Techmedium HKEPC. The main statement: the company never approved this practice, wasn’t involved in the labelling or marketing of the devices concerned and simply knew nothing about it.
At the same time, AMD isn’t offering a software solution that would make detecting incorrectly labelled chips easier in the future. Another tool will have to fill this gap.
CPU-Z now recognises the scam
CPU-Z 2.19 now correctly labels the affected systems with a Ryzen 5 5500U instead of a 7430U as before. If you own one of the suspicious devices, you can quickly check what’s under the hood by updating the popular system tool – no need for a screwdriver.
Not just Chuwi
Here’s what raises the case’s profile beyond a simple manufacturer faux pas: according to reports from Computer Base (article in German), the Chuwi CoreBook Plus and at least one copy of the Ninkear A15 Pro share the same circuit board. All traces lead to Emdoor Digital, a contract manufacturer that apparently supplied several brands with the same, incorrectly assembled board.
This shifts part of the responsibility to the supply chain. Maybe even Chuwi didn’t know what was in the device. This would explain why the company even sent its affected notebooks to testers who uncovered the discrepancies.
But that only relieves Chuwi to a limited extent. Anyone who sells products under their own name is responsible for what’s inside. A simple quality check would’ve shown that a Zen 2 chip was in place instead of a Zen 3.
First retailer recalling devices, Digitec Galaxus unaffected
A Hong Kong retailer has agreed to take back affected products. But it remains to be seen if and when other markets will follow suit. We sell Chuwi products too. However, none of the affected devices were ever sold.
Lessons learned
The case shows how deeply rooted hardware fraud can be in the modern supply chain and how difficult it is to detect. A false chip pretending to be something else in the firmware and software isn’t a simple error, but deliberate deception. We still don’t know how many devices came from the same production chain and which other brands are affected. For Chuwi, the damage is already considerable.
Update, 26.03.2026: Chuwi has now commented on the case in a statement. The company apologises for the fact that some of its devices were inadvertently equipped with the wrong CPU. All affected customers can return their device and get their money back.
Header image: Chuwi
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
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