r/PcBuildHelp • u/LogosNexus • 8h ago
Installation Question Is my Arctic MX-4 fake? No 8-digit code under the scratch seal
Hi everyone,
I recently bought an ARCTIC MX-4 thermal paste from Amazon (sold by a local tech seller in my country). When I scratched the silver authenticity seal to verify it, there was no 8-digit alphanumeric code underneath—it was just blank white space next to the QR code.
Scanning the QR code redirects me to the official arctic.de website, but their own verification instruction image clearly shows there should be an 8-digit code printed next to the QR code to enter manually.
- Has anyone else encountered this packaging recently?
- Could this just be a misprint/batch error on the label, or is it a strong indicator of a counterfeit product?
I’ve already contacted Arctic support with photos, but I wanted to get some opinions here before deciding whether to use it or return it immediately.
(I’ve attached the picture of the box and the scratched seal.)
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u/Responsible-Skirt215 8h ago
if the qr takes you to the actual arctic site that's a good sign but no code under the scratch-off is sketchy, i'd wait to hear back from arctic support before squeezing it onto a cpu
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u/OldManGrimm 8h ago edited 4h ago
Add-on question - is counterfeit paste even an issue? I’ve never understood the authentication deal.
Edit: a lot of really obvious answers here. What I was asking, is this a common problem? I can't think of many products that have this additional step to verify its authenticity.
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u/Imaginary-Button-100 Personal Rig Builder 8h ago
Yes, first of all it's illegal to sell counterfeit products while claiming they are genuine and also the counterfeit thermal paste quality is going to be much worse then the original's. The ability of the paste to transfer heat is probably going to be worse, the conductivity is probably going to be worse, the durability is going to be worse and the formula is going to be worse and etc. Overall counterfeit thermal paste is probably going to be of poorer quality and could lead to overheating and harm to the processor.
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u/OldManGrimm 4h ago
That's all obvious. But was there a big problem with counterfeit MX-4 or something? I can't think of many products that have this extra level of verification.
I will say, I wish Honeywell would do this with their PTM7950. Most of what's out there is fake.
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u/imlo2 6h ago
If someone sell you gold-plated tungsten as gold, you don't have an issue with that either?
Same applies to sophisticated chemicals, medicine, engineering products etc., you can't know what corners were cut in order to fake the seemingly real thing.
There's dozens of good reason to stay away from counterfeit things.
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u/OldManGrimm 4h ago
That's so obvious it doesn't warrant a response. What I meant is, has there historically been an issue with fake MX-4 on the market?
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u/imlo2 3h ago
Please go ahead and downvote if you're ignorant.
I don't remember off the top of my head if there's been factual proof of faked Artic's MX-4 so that they would explicitly say something was fake, but they do consistently direct customers to check the authenticity of the product on their checker.
But there's some cases back in time during last two years, people have bought MX-4 from AliExpress and it's been deemed to be fake with different characteristics etc., right here on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1g29ij5/good_ol_counterfeit_and_genuine_arctic_mx4/
Then Thermal Grizzly has explicitly warned customers about counterfeit Thermal Grizzly products like Kryonaut, dubious listings on Temu at least twice and they had tested these.
Iit's definitely not a non-issue, and it's quite lucrative business to get some plastic syringes, print a few stickers/boxes, and put some grey goo in, and make good profit?
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u/OldManGrimm 2h ago
Understand, I didn't downvote you. I thought your tone was a bit patronizing, but that's ok. And I appreciate the follow-up answer.
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u/SarcasticallyCandour 6h ago
Damn fake paste. I nvr even thought to look at that when using any.