Buying a Used CPU Can Get You Ban from This Game

Buying applied PC hardware can come with an unusual risk: the previous owner's anti-cheat ban may follow the component.

Key points

• A Reddit user notes they installed a second-hand AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and were immediately kicked from Valorant the first time they rolled out the game.
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• That means a Valorant hardware ban does not automatically block other Riot games such as League of Legends or Teamfight Tactics.
• CPUs normally expose model information to the operating system, but one Ryzen 7 5800X3D is not easily distinguishable from another identical chip using that information alone.
• An update published in June 2026 relaxed Vanguard's traditional autostart requirement for some systems.

Meanwhile, a Reddit user notes they installed a second-hand AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and were immediately kicked from Valorant the first time they rolled out the game. According to the user, Riot Backing afterwards confirmed that the processor had previously been linked to a player caught cheating. Hardware Ban Can Last Up to Four Months.

Riot's anti-cheat system, Vanguard, can apply hardware bans in serious cheating cases.

According to Riot anti-cheat head Phillip Koskinas, these hardware bans can last for up to four months and only apply to the game where the cheating occurred. GTA 6 Won't Run on Jailbroken PS5s. Gebrauchte CPU erlaubt kein Valorant byu/After-Cartoonist-196 inPCBaumeister.

For context, the Reddit user remarked Riot would not manually remove the block, so they may have to wait until the hardware ban expires before playing Valorant on that system. How Vanguard Identifies Hardware Is Unclear. It is not publicly clear exactly how Riot identifies individual processors.

One possibility is that Vanguard uses a broader hardware fingerprint based on a number of system components or identifiers. Another possibility is the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). It vanguard can access as part of its security checks. These methods have not been confirmed by Riot. PlayStation Controllers Could Shortly Secure Tap-to-Pay Feature. Vanguard Runs Deep Inside Windows.

Vanguard normally runs at the Windows kernel level, giving it deep access to the system to detect cheating software.

Riot has long argued that this level of access is necessary to detect cheats that additionally operate deep inside Windows.

Meanwhile, an update published in June 2026 relaxed Vanguard's traditional autostart requirement for some systems. Players can now start it alongside a game session if features such as TPM, Secure Boot and memory protection are enabled.

For context, the case highlights an extra risk when buying applied gaming hardware: even if the component works normally, it may still be associated with a previous owner's anti-cheat punishment. Stay Connected with ProPakistani.

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For now, buying a Used CPU Can Get You Ban from This Game remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.