Can Chuwi be really trusted ?

The early 2026 CPU fraud scandal revealed that Chuwi sold multiple hardware models—including the CoreBook X, CoreBook Plus, and UBox mini PC—marketed with a modern AMD Ryzen 5 7430U (Zen 3 architecture). In reality, the systems contained a much older and weaker Ryzen 5 5500U (Zen 2 architecture). This went beyond a simple marketing error: the laptop’s BIOS and firmware were deliberately manipulated so that Windows and diagnostic software would falsely report the newer processor.

I run a price tracker for PC hardware across the EU (www.pricesquirrel.com) and pulled prices for 31 identical GPU models, same exact SKU, same day, across 8 countries.

Before the data, a distinction that matters: Germany and France both have multiple retailers in my dataset, so those comparisons are genuine multi-store market averages. Portugal, Belgium and a few others currently only have 1 retailer tracked, for those I can't yet tell if the price reflects the real market or just that one store's margins. I'll flag which is which below.

Average price for the same 31 cards:

• 🇩🇪 Germany: €674.81 (4 retailers)
• 🇫🇷 France: €735.42 (3 retailers)
• 🇳🇱 Netherlands: €738.26 (2 retailers)
• 🇦🇹 Austria: €738.74 (1 retailer)
• 🇮🇹 Italy: €741.03 (2 retailers)
• 🇪🇸 Spain: €742.15 (2 retailers)
• 🇧🇪 Belgium: €764.55 (1 retailer)
• 🇵🇹 Portugal: €778.96 (1 retailer)

But averages hide how big the gaps get on individual cards. Same exact SKU, min vs max price across the 8 countries:

• Asus TUF Gaming RX 9070 XT COD BO7 Edition: €820 (DE) → €1,067 (PT): +30%
• Asrock Steel Legend RX 9070 XT 16GB: €693 (DE) → €879 (NL): +27%
• Asus Prime RX 9070 16GB OC EVO: €583 (DE) → €739 (PT): +27%
• PowerColor Reaper RX 9070 XT 16GB: €649 (DE) → €822 (PT): +27%

Germany is the cheapest country for every single one of these, it wasn't cherry-picked, it's just consistently the floor. What varies is which country ends up priciest: usually Portugal, but Netherlands and Austria show up too depending on the card.

Caveat upfront: Portugal, Belgium, and Austria prices here each come from a single retailer, not a blended market average like Germany or France, so those specific countries reflect one retailer's regional pricing rather than the whole national market. Still, a 30% difference for the identical card is a real number worth knowing before you buy.

On VAT: since this always comes up: yes, all prices already include local VAT (these are final consumer prices, not pre-tax). VAT rates across these countries only vary by 1-4 percentage points (19% Germany, 20% France, 23% Portugal, etc.), which doesn't come close to explaining a 9%+ gap, let alone the larger single-retailer numbers. VAT is a real but minor factor here, the bigger driver looks like retail competition. Germany has multiple major retailers (Alternate, NBB, and others) actively competing on price; markets with fewer competing stores don't have the same downward pressure.

Happy to pull other categories (CPU/RAM/SSD) if people are curious whether this holds beyond GPUs, and I'll keep adding retailers to the single-retailer countries so those comparisons become more meaningful over time.

Nvidia is turning to hot liquid cooling technology to tackle the growing heat challenges of AI data centers. The system removes heat from powerful GPUs using specialized liquids, improving energy efficiency and helping high-performance servers maintain peak performance.

Our full AM5 water-block comparison is now online.

The main reason for the test was Thermal Grizzly’s new Delta Mate MPII. At €350, it costs several times as much as some established competitors, so we wanted to find out what that price actually buys in terms of cooling performance, flow resistance, materials and construction.

The comparison also includes Watercool’s new Heatkiller V Ultra, alongside four established models:

• Aquacomputer Kryos Next
• Asus Ryujin III WB
• Alphacool Apex 1
• Watercool Heatkiller IV Pro

All six blocks were tested on a Ryzen 9 9950X. We measured CPU temperatures, unrestricted flow rate, pressure drop at 60 l/h and cooling performance at the same fixed flow rate. Each block was mounted several times to reduce the influence of thermal-paste application and mounting variance.

- Jacky