AMD Ryzen 5 7600X engineering sample shows up on a Chinese black market

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X sample with 4.4 GHz base clock

As we get closer to the launch of AMD next-gen desktop CPUs, the engineering samples that are no longer in use start showing up on the black market.

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X ES, Source: Goofish

Alibaba’s Goofish is probably the first place where one should look for Intel and AMD engineering samples. We have already seen a few processors sold through this platform, but these are only useful for a small group of people.

An alleged Ryzen 5 7600X sample is now offered for sale. The seller provides basic information on the CPU, such as the base clock of 4.4 GHz, which is 300 MHz lower than the supposed final clock of 4.7 GHz. This 6-core CPU is expected to boost up to 5.3 GHz in a retail form.

Just last week, we had a chance to see a retail version of Ryzen 7 7700X 8-core CPU, which unlike this engineering product offered final specs and probably fewer bugs. This sample carries no SKU name, but the OPN code of 100-000000593-20 is clearly visible. The first retailer listing confirms that this is indeed the 7600X SKU.

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X ES, Source: Goofish

The sellers put a price of 9999 RMB which is more than 1456 USD, but this is not the price as the seller requests direct contact before purchasing the item. One probably did not expect a placeholder price for an engineering sample, yet here we are.

Naturally, we do not recommend buying this processor for a few reasons. First, we are just a week away from the official introduction of the new series, and around 4 weeks before they launch in retail. Furthermore, there are no AM5 motherboards available yet, which renders this CPU useless because it needs a new socket to work. Finally, this sample is sold illegally, and it is technically still a property of AMD, who can request it back at any time.

Source: Goofish via @9550pro