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have i destroyed my cpu? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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hi. i have broken my cpu by incorrectly plugging it into the socket (socket 1200). is it slightly bent in two different corners, as seen in the photos - https://imgur.com/a/Id3LH3T

at first i wasn't getting any reaction from the power button at all. after realizing what happened and correctly repositioning the cpu, the motherboard now starts, , fans and harddrives spool up, but i am not getting any signal on the on-board graphic card.

was anyone in similar situation? am i done and do i have to throw it away? is there a chance to fix it by forcibly bending it back?

thank you for any tips.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

If it's not responding when plugged in correctly, you are almost certainly fucked. I have never seen this level of physical damage to a CPU and had it still be functional. This is severely bent for a PCB, it has a visible crease in it, which means a break. You have likely broken circuit traces and/or solder connections between the silicon and the PCB. I doubt you'll be able to return it with this level of damage, so I guess you might as well try bending it back, but you will probably just break it further. The bend is preventing the contact points in the ball grid array from touching the corresponding contacts on the motherboard, so there is a very slight chance that if you bend them back so they all touch when you clamp it down, it could work, but I would keep my expectations low.

It's a shitty way to learn the lesson about taking your time and paying close attention when assembling your computer, but hey, now you know and hopefully won't do it again. All PC components are made to fit only in the correct orientation, and forcing them to fit in the wrong orientation will usually destroy the component, the motherboard or both.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

The amount of pressure to cause that amount of bend has a good chance of cracking the die anyway I would think.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

thank you for your reply. all the cpus i have had experience with in the past had normal pins going down into the socket, so there was no doubt about whether the cpu is plugged in correctly or not. this is first time i have seen something like this and it surprised me.

that being said, i have found that the cpu actually does work with external graphic card. the question indeed is how long it will last and if there are some micro fractures that will get worse in time.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I've heard of people bending pins back with playing cards, but I'm not sure that would fly with those types of pins. Couldn't hurt to give it a shot before trying the trash can.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

In addition to what is already said, I have had success with carefully bending back bent pins with tweezers and a magnifying glass.

That being said, the lifespan of that motherboard was curtailed when I rearranged my cables.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

All 1200 pins in the socket need to make contact with all 1200 pads underneath the CPU in order for it to have full functionality.

The socket pin arrangement is flat, so the CPU also has to be flat.

From the pictures, it looks like the CPU substrate might be cracked and I would be surprised if this processor ever processes again.

There’s a high probability that, in addition to the damage to the CPU, pins in the socket on the motherboard were also bent or broken.

You can get away with certain specific pins breaking or not making contact, but many are absolutely critical.

TL;DR Outlook not so good

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

All 1200 pins in the socket need to make contact with all 1200 pads underneath the CPU in order for it to have full functionality.

as i wrote in the neighboring comment, i was at least partially lucky. i found the cpu can work with external graphic card, and cheap graphic is way cheaper than new cpu, so there is at least that.

question indeed is how permanent that solution is and if there are some micro cracks that will get worse in time.