Resellers hit streets with antiscam plan
Fraud Dealers unite with scheme to combat bogus Pentium IIs.
A group of US resellers has launched a programme to prevent users and dealers being sold counterfeit Pentium IIs, after it released a preliminary specification aimed at describing how genuine chips are badged and boxed.
The group, which subscribes to a newsgroup at www.pro-desk.com/inside, noted that re-marking is rife.
Two weeks ago, the Taiwanese police arrested individuals who had set up a massive counterfeit scam on the island.
According to the group, a genuine Intel processor comes in a sealed box.
The shrinkwrap has Intel Corporation printed on it multiple times, while there is a square hologram on the front, which should show a clear and sharp picture of a right hand holding a Pentium II.
There are also numbers printed on the box. BX80522P300512E is printed on the box, while there is a white barcode label on the right-hand side with a product code similar to BX80522P300512ESL2xx.
Inside the box, the Pentium II will have an attached heatsink/fan assembly with a small, round Intel Corporation hologram on the fan in a plastic container moulded to accommodate the fan.
Other elements inside the box include a Pentium II metallic logo, heatsink support assembly, a three-wire cooling fan cable and a booklet entitled Certificate of Authenticity and Three-Year Limited Warranty, along with another book giving installation notes.
If buying bulk Pentium IIs, the group notes that all 300MHz parts come with ECC level two cache. It warned that 'smart remarkers' already know how to bypass Intel regulators within the processor.
When installing a 300MHz processor, the Bios program should allow enable/disable ECC options for 512Kb level two cache if the 300MHz part is genuine.
The reseller group explained that although a programme devised to detect fake chips was useful, dealers should keep in mind that 233MHz and 266MHz parts with ECC level two cache also exist for SL268, 269 and 2HE series, as well as the SL2HF series.