As I reported last week, Newegg shipped out counterfeit Intel i7 processors to customers, where customers received a clay mold of a heatsink, and even a piece of scrap metal as the processor. Intel will investigate why there was counterfeit processors shipped out to customers and exactly how many were shipped:

The fake processor, sold as a standalone or "boxed" chip, came with an instruction manual comprised of blank pages. In addition, sticker on the outside of the box misspelled the word 'socket' as 'sochet' and other words on the box were spelled incorrectly -- subtle but clear indications that the contents inside were not genuine.

It was not immediately clear how the counterfeit chip ended up for sale at Newegg. HardOCP reported that when notified of the problem, Newegg shipped a genuine processor to the affected customer. Newegg could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a brief statement, Intel acknowledged the existence of the fake chip and said it was investigating. "Intel has been made aware of the potential for counterfeit i7-920 packages in the marketplace and is working to identify how many and/or where they are being sold," said Nick Jacobs, an Intel spokesman, in an e-mail. "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," he wrote.

Update: Gearlog features an interesting article (with images, of course!) of the unboxing of a fake Intel Core i7-920 processor which was purchased from Newegg.com. Apparently many people ordered the dupe, which turned out to be a piece of plastic which resembles a fan.