‘Hundreds’ of AMD’s fastest CPUs are on sale on eBay with a staggering 70% discount, but why would vendors in China dump these 128-core EPYC processors?
AMD EPYC 9754 is selling for a little over $3500, with free shipping
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In June 2023,AMDlaunched itsEPYC “Bergamo” 9754server-grade processor from the EPYC 9004 series, a powerhouse featuring 128 Zen 4c cores and 256 threads, with a base clock speed of 2.25 GHz and a maximum boost clock of up to 3.1 GHz.
At the time of release, the EPYC 9754 had a suggested retail price of $11,900, which is still the listed price onAMD’s website.
Just weeks after its launch, however, we found itselling in the US for well under $9,500from retailers like Wiredzone and Tech-America, which seemed to be the standard asking price. If you thought you were getting a bargain back then, wait until you see how much you can buy it for now. On eBay, you’ll find the processor listed for just $3,525 - a discount of 70.38% off the official price.
Buyer beware
There are several listings for the “brand new” processor oneBay, and while the main ones are priced at $3,525, it’s available for a few dollars more from other sellers. All of the listings have one thing in common - the processors are coming from China with free international shipping.
For your money, you’ll get the processor without a box, although in some listings you can request the original packaging if needed. So, where are these processors coming from, and why are they being sold so cheaply? We reached out to a few eBay sellers but (unsurprisingly) haven’t heard back yet.
The obvious answer is likely going to be due to a variety of factors, such as gray market sourcing, surplus inventory, or sellers attempting to offload stock quickly. If you’re tempted to put in an order for a cut-price EPYC 9754, be warned that purchasing from these sources may come with risks like limited or non-existent warranties, potential counterfeiting, and (of course) little-to-no support.
The EPYC 9754 boasts 256MB of L3 cache, a default TDP of 360W, and supports a configurable TDP (cTDP) range between 320W and 400W.
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The CPU is designed for SP5 sockets and supports both single- and dual-socket configurations, making it ideal for high-performance server applications. Aimed at cloud-native workloads, AMD stated at launch that it would deliver performance gains of up to 160% compared to its closest competitor.
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Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.
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