Overclockers

Having watched this whole thing unfold has been quite a ride. It seems that, yes, D&H had every right to be PO'ed at the websites smearing their name across the internet and I can't really blame them for their actions. D&H is apparently big time to be part of Intel's main distribution network so of course their lawyers, instead of their PR men, would take the lead here. That's called "prudence".

And speculation of Newegg throwing IPEX to the wolves, so to speak, is just as crazy. There ARE liable laws out there and that would be a pretty blatant violation by a huge company (Newegg) - I just don't see that happening. If it were D&H that shipped those fakes I'm sure they'd take the blame, show where the problem arose, help with the investigation, and move on. Eventually the source of the fakes will come out and even if it's never made public the affected companies will be kept in the loop. There's no way IPEX will "take the fall" if they didn't do it (unless they get VERY well paid) and I'm sure Newegg knows this.

In the end, regardless of my dislike of Intel, I hope they catch the SOBs that did this but I doubt the logistics system will change because of it. The criminals in this matter seemed to be quite aware of that system and how to fool it. After all, if the shipping crate was marked correctly and weighed correctly who would open it up until it gets to retailer? - and by then it's too late.

If "Authorized Intel Distributor" means the same as it does in many other industries that's just a term for companies who get bonuses and/or price reductions for keeping a high volume. Maybe CPU distribution works differently than other wholesale systems? - but I doubt it. That doesn't mean I'd give IPEX a sweeping clean bill of health (without proof), or that Newegg shouldn't be more careful where it gets it's product, but I wouldn't call it "gray market" by any stretch. There's a great tool store down the road from me, been in business for decades. They only sell quality stuff (Bosch, DeWalt, Porter Cable, etc.) and I'd bet none of their stuff comes from "Authorized Distributors" (too small a store) - but I wouldn't buy my power tools anywhere else!

Big Business doesn't necessarily imply good business and small business doesn't mean it's shady.
That applies to wholesalers as well as retailers ...

Did they just grab D & (?) out thin air? Random guess? I find that hard to believe. D&? probably asked newegg to say that so they do not get hit with a scandal or bad press, which technically already happened. The damage is already done. Something this big should not be kept quite. This should be posted publicly. Just not fair for other distributors, hopefully history will not repeat itself...

The problem here is very simple. Even if all those companies opened their books and inventory to the public (ain't gonna' happen - and not for the reasons you might think) then the conspiracy theorist's would just claim those were doctored as well. You can shout for 100% disclosure all you want but in the end that wouldn't be enough to satisfy, either.

This whole series of speculations was apparently started by ONE guy making an assumption, which he passed on to someone else as fact. Or maybe the second guy decided to accept at as fact and run with the ball - who knows? Either way, passing on unconfirmed information in any situation is commonly known as "spreading gossip", "rumor mongering", and many other popular phrases, none of which are good ...

Heh, I think thats a bit of extravagant conspiracy theorization... That's what got Kyle in trouble in the first place.

[H]/Kyle didn't assume tho, they were told by their secret source at Newegg that it was D&H. D&H is a supplier to newegg, and they likely do a much larger amount of business with Newegg processors than IPEX - D&H is an Authorized Intel Channel Partner, which means they are a much larger and well established organization. It isn't a stretch to guess that Kyle's contact wasn't even aware Newegg did business with IPEX, and made an inaccurate guess based on the fact that most of Newegg's processor supply may come from D&H.

Having unofficial, undisclosed sources is common-place amongst popular "newsy" websites like [H], Anandtech, and Tom's Hardware... So that doesn't make me very suspicious.

I need to stop, I'm being sucked into the speculation whirlwind. I'm more comfortable dealing with solid facts.

IPEX Infotech's statement:
http://www.overclockers.com/ipex-inf...ewegg-i7-cpus/

Ipex corroborates Newegg's statement, noting that the fake processors were provided by an unnamed supplier. I suspect that unnamed supplier will never be made public by IPEX.

Intel Authorized Distributors buy direct. Not sure who else, but I assume OEM's probably buy direct also.