Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Mark Tyson Social Links Navigation News Editor Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
LordVile Admin said: Five lawsuits were filed in Texas this week, putting some of the biggest names in PC tech under an uncomfortable spotlight, as their components are still being found in Russian weaponry. AMD, Intel, and TI are ‘merchants of death’ says lawyer representing Ukrainian civilians — five new suits complain that Russian drones and missile… : Read more I don’t see what they’re expected to do. They can’t control chops being smuggled illegally after being purchased legitimately. Reply
call101010 So are chemicals in bombs , metal in body , fuel , Radio parts , etc how about chasing the suppliers of everything ? Blame Putin ! Reply
Notton I wish the best of luck to the Ukrainians, but IMO this is a huge stretch. From what I could gather, the chips in these Russian weapons are at least a decade old. They aren't shooting a 5800X3D or i5-1135G7, but more like chips that are in IoT devices. Chips like TI WL18MODGB, Xilinx XC6VLX130T (PS3, Xbox One), or in a Google nest, LG TV etc. They are, literally, reusing our e-waste to make weapons. And if you think about it, it makes sense. The technology to accurately guide homing missiles has existed since the 50's. It's been 75years since then. Reply
bill001g They have to know that the technology was designed in the USA but almost none of it is manufactured in the USA. There is already massive amounts of parts manufactured and sold on the grey market that these companies have no knowledge they were even manufactured. Most of tiny amount of stuff that is manufactured in the USA by say texas instruments is in group of things they do not even admit exist. They sell these to other defense contractors so its not like these are ever exported except maybe as final weapon systems. They have showed ukrain stripping parts out of ewaste to make weapons and they don't think russia is doing the same. Reply
Pierce2623 Wait…..they’re accusing companies of wrongdoing over their parts being resold on the grey market? Thats just stupid. Reply
3tank Seems like a silly accusation considering they're passively ok with the parts being used for that purpose depending on who is making use of them. I'm not justifying Russia but we've heard nothing but constant lies from the other side justifying the war led by a corrupt puppet regime. BlackRock has been more invested in the conflict than any of these part makers from the very beginning and these same advocacy groups say jack about it. This is all marketing and propaganda Reply
valthuer I’m with most people here: blaming chipmakers for how commodity silicon ends up in weapons is a stretch. Modern CPUs, MCUs, and analog parts are everywhere — cars, washing machines, industrial controllers. You can’t realistically police every downstream resale without breaking global trade. What this really exposes isn’t "evil tech companies", but how ineffective sanctions are against gray markets and third-party intermediaries. If anything, it’s a policy failure, not a silicon one. Expecting AMD or Intel to solve geopolitical enforcement problems that governments themselves can’t, feels unrealistic — and risks turning export controls into theater rather than actual protection. Reply
nrdwka lol. if even weapons in destination of that region can be easily found in mass on black market, what do they expect from some electronic components Reply
-Fran- LordVile said: I don’t see what they’re expected to do. They can’t control chops being smuggled illegally after being purchased legitimately. There's some hypocrisy on the top hardware makers, and there always has been. They're willing to spend millions pursuing lawsuits and getting, even, regular people in jail before making sure their hardware is not used for illegal things. It's all a matter if a govt where they do business is willing to enforce or pursue them for allowing "tech going to their enemies", but alas, we know that won't happen. IBM walked scot free in the 40s, so we know how that plays out among the political clout. Regards. Reply
LordVile -Fran- said: There's some hypocrisy on the top hardware makers, and there always has been. They're willing to spend millions pursuing lawsuits and getting, even, regular people in jail before making sure their hardware is not used for illegal things. It's all a matter if a govt where they do business is willing to enforce or pursue them for allowing "tech going to their enemies", but alas, we know that won't happen. IBM walked scot free in the 40s, so we know how that plays out among the political clout. Regards. It’s more they can be ripping them out of a landfills/ewaste, they could be stolen or they could be people from another country skimming items from legitimate orders and selling them under the table. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/amd-intel-and-ti-are-merchants-of-death-says-lawyer-representing-ukrainian-civilians-five-new-suits-complain-that-russian-drones-and-missiles-continue-to-use-high-tech-components-from-these-brands#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- New fabric speakers use flexible electronics to be thin, light, and flexible — AIST Japan's latest breakthrough; audiophile ready, or only suitable for cloth ea
- New 1.4nm nanoimprint lithography template could reduce the need for EUV steps in advanced process nodes — questions linger as no foundry has yet committed to n
- Sapphire rep predicts DRAM prices will begin to stabilize in the next 6-8 months, but warns 'it may not be the prices we want' — GPU vendor says memory crisis i
- Intel appoints Trump economic advisor as head of government affairs — announces broader leadership shakeup, new interim CTO
- The data center cooling state of play (2025) — Liquid cooling is on the rise, thermal density demands skyrocket in AI data centers, and TSMC leads with direct-t
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.