AMD Ships Out Ryzen 5 3600 CPUs in Ryzen 3 3200G Packaging

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Ryzen 5 3600 in Ryzen 3 3200G box
(Image credit: HKEPC Facebook)

In China, AMD is shipping some Ryzen 5 3600 CPUs in packaging meant for weaker chips, according to a recent Facebook post from Chinese hardware site HKEPC. 

Ryzen 5 3600 in Ryzen 3 3200G box

(Image credit: HKEPC Facebook)

In a Facebook post yesterday, Chinese hardware site HKEPC posted photos of a Ryzen 5 3600 they recently ordered that came in a Ryzen 3 3200G box. AMD had placed a sticker seal on the box indicating that the product inside was indeed the Ryzen 5 3600, but everything else on the packaging pointed to the weaker Ryzen 3 3200G.

A Hardware Times story from earlier today elaborates that this has affected a whole batch of Ryzen 5 3600 CPUs bound for customers in China. The story attributes the incorrect packaging to Ryzen 5 3600 sales figures breaking expectations during the recent Chinese mid-year sale in June, leading AMD’s Chinese team to use old packaging instead of waiting for additional, more accurate boxes to come in. Of course, it's also entirely possible that the situation is the result of a simple mistake during packaging.

Ryzen 5 3600 in Ryzen 3 3200G box

(Image credit: HKEPC Facebook)

Even though these boxes did have the processors they ordered, we have to imagine customers were pretty confused. It’s not uncommon for mix-ups to happen when ordering components online- I’ve had to return CPUs to Newegg twice in a row after they accidentally sent me the wrong parts- so this is just another reminder to always double check what’s in the box (and what your system reads as installed) before you wrap up your latest build.

Michelle Ehrhardt
Michelle Ehrhardt

Michelle Ehrhardt is an editor at Tom's Hardware. She's been following tech since her family got a Gateway running Windows 95, and is now on her third custom-built system. Her work has been published in publications like Paste, The Atlantic, and Kill Screen, just to name a few. She also holds a master's degree in game design from NYU.

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7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • InvalidError
    If it was intentional, I would have expected someone to cross out the "Radeon Graphics" part of the box. Then again, advertisement standards are a whole lot more lax in China and the box not matching content in multiple aspects may not be a remotely significant issue.
    Reply
  • hateyeee
    People usually can't use Facebook, Twitter etc. in China.
    Those photos were from HKEPC's Facebook.
    Therefore please use "Hong Kong media" instead of "Chinese hardware site".
    Although Hong Kong is a part of China, there's different.
    Reply
  • lampuiho
    InvalidError said:
    If it was intentional, I would have expected someone to cross out the "Radeon Graphics" part of the box. Then again, advertisement standards are a whole lot more lax in China and the box not matching content in multiple aspects may not be a remotely significant issue.
    This actually happened in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong is not China". Basic law Cap. 362 Trade Descriptions Ordinance requires that labeling of the goods be accurate. If this was in a store, it could violate that law.
    Reply
  • urbanman2004
    If only it were the other way around where he had received a R5 3600 instead of a 3200G then this probably wouldn't have been a story.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    Admin said:
    Perhaps due to higher-than-expected sales, AMD is shipping out some Ryzen chips bound for Chinese customers in packaging meant for different products.

    AMD Ships Out Ryzen 5 3600 CPUs in Ryzen 3 3200G Packaging : Read more
    If they had higher-than-expected sales how did they have left-over boxes?
    What is said in the article makes more sense,it was a logistics issue were china had more CPUs of one type than they had boxes of that type.

    InvalidError said:
    If it was intentional, I would have expected someone to cross out the "Radeon Graphics" part of the box.
    And the big 3 that's on the box instead of a 5.
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    urbanman2004 said:
    If only it were the other way around where he had received a R5 3600 instead of a 3200G then this probably wouldn't have been a story.
    They received a Ryzen 3600 in 3200G packaging with a 3600 label on the box. A 3600 is what they ordered, so they got what they paid for, just in a box intended for another processor.

    TerryLaze said:
    If they had higher-than-expected sales how did they have left-over boxes?
    Obviously, that would imply that the higher-than-expected sales were for the 3600, not the 3200G. And that makes some sense, considering the Ryzen 3600 has been one of the top selling processors at retail since it launched, and demand is undoubtedly higher than for the 3200G.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    cryoburner said:
    Obviously, that would imply that the higher-than-expected sales were for the 3600, not the 3200G. And that makes some sense, considering the Ryzen 3600 has been one of the top selling processors at retail since it launched, and demand is undoubtedly higher than for the 3200G.
    Yes but still someone made more boxes for the 3200g as there are 3200g CPUs to put in them or fewer 3600 boxes then there are 3600 CPUs,that's a logistics problem.
    Unless I am very mistaken you make as many CPUs as you think and put all of them into boxes to send them out to retailers,you can also sell tray versions that don't need boxes at all you don't need to put them into wrong boxes.
    Reply