Cleaning the pins of a processor....?

[Pr0d1gy]

I bought an AMD 3500+ from someone at PCperspective & have had nothing but problems with the computer it is in since I built it. I noticed when I got the CPU that it had some white stuff on the pins that kind of looked like glue. I asked the seller about it & he said it was thermal paste and wouldn't cause a problem. I took him for his word but I am starting to wonder as I have used this processor in 2 computers and both had odd problems. If anyone has done this before or has any idea about what I should do, please do share, thanks.

 

[Aenslead]

Never buy in that store again because it is attended by ignorant idiots.

There is a liquid specially to clean electronic parts; Any respectable electronic shop should have this.. you must use a very, very thin napkin with a little of this liquid on it and use a toothpick to move it around the dirty pins. You must do it SLOWLY and carefully.

Also, it is VERY, VERY possible your motherboard's socket is dirty too, and I have no friggin idea on how to clean that. You might just have to get another mobo.

 

[RichUK]

Are sure that the white stuff is not dielectric grease that is used with promie setups (aka people that do extreme overclocks) .. you might find that if this is the scenario, then the weird things you are experiencing is from the extreme voltage and speed that was used.

but then again i doubt some one would use a 3500+ on a promie/vapo, thats just a waste

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Actually I think that is exactly what it was. So you're saying the processor might just be fubarred altogether? I'm pretty sure that's exactly what this stuff is because the guy does volt mods & stuff for people. I think this stuff was in the socket of the mobo I bought from him & not actually on this processor, but I don't really remember at this point.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: Pr0d1gy
Actually I think that is exactly what it was. So you're saying the processor might just be fubarred altogether? I'm pretty sure that's exactly what this stuff is because the guy does volt mods & stuff for people. I think this stuff was in the socket of the mobo I bought from him & not actually on this processor, but I don't really remember at this point.

Yeah it could quite well be dielectric grease, as you most probably know its is used to prevent condensation and corrosion on the CPU pins, which will in turn fry the CPU if the condensation causes a short, what they do is just smear it all over the socket then just insert the CPU, if this is the case, when you took the CPU out it would have had all of that grease on the pins, and that is what you can see now. The Grease is not conductive as that is the sole purpose of the grease to be a non conductive barrier, so you don't have to worry about that. I hate people that sell hardware like that and dont tell you what they used it for before they sell it :| This mainly happens with mobos as it wont degrade the mobo, it is just annoying to have the grease in the socket that gets all over the CPU (although the over volting could also cause harm to the MOSFETS over time as well), but i dont know in your case if your bought the CPU as well as the mobo from the same seller, if you did then its probably a fvcked chip after been running on a promie :|

Anyways there is a chance that your chip is fubarred as it might be unstable doing certain tasks because certain parts of the processor have been stressed to far, having been run a those extreme conditions. Have you tried to run prime @ stock to see if it is stable at stock settings?

 

[Pr0d1gy]

I've had this system run Prime95 for 14 hours without an error at stock settings, but if I changed my RAM timings the test hit errors pretty quickly.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: Pr0d1gy
I've had this system run Prime95 for 14 hours without an error at stock settings, but if I changed my RAM timings the test hit errors pretty quickly.

what timings/OC-configuration are you trying to run.

you might find that the memory controllers on the CPU are not up to par, therefore impeding you OC.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

I haven't really tried to overclock, but when I tighten the timings on my Patriot XBL RAM, it won't pass Prime95, usually failing within the first hour. It sounds like you've hit this right on the head & it's unfortunate I was unlucky enough to get this processor.

 

[cbehnken]

Get a can of starting fluid and spray the bottom of your CPU clean. It leaves no residue, but it is EXTREMELY flammable, so do it outside away from any fires.