Damaged Processor?

[zigzag03]

I bought from a friend a barely used i7-6700K, and when it arrived it was loose in the box (not his fault). It was just bouncing around inside the box, altho there was loose packing material inside. It shipped from the midwest to south Florida via UPS as I recall. So while it was in a small box surrounded somewhat by loose packing material, it did have room to "bounce around" during its travel.
Now I'm having trouble getting it work, either in an Asus or a Gigabyte board. It will not POST, nor will it show any sort of video output. Both these boards have onboard diagnostics, and along with the same memory requirements, have diagnostic LEDs that during startup indicate that the cpu is not a problem, or at least the cpu LED is not where the process stops at.
I am using the same sticks of memory in both boards, and, similar to the cpu, the memory passes the LED part of the boot process as well. I've tried only a single stick, either stick, I've tried using the video outputs from the boards or from an add in card, DVI, HDMI and DP, with different cables. I can not get to the POST or BIOS with either board. It does seem to sense some sort of video output however, because when I shut it down the monitor displays the "no input" message, and it goes away as soon as I attempt another boot. I do not have more memory or another processor to try, at the moment.
So after all that, my question to the forum is; is it likely that the cpu could have been damaged by bouncing around inside its padded cell during transit? It has no pins to bend, and shows not the slightest physical damage. It seems unlikely, but one never knows I guess. Anyone got an opinion on the durability of a processor treated in such a fashion? Thanks zz03

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Unlikely but possible.

Were you observing proper ESD precautions during assembly?

 

[Crumpet]

Stupid question, have you cleared CMOS?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Compare pictures of the bottom of the CPU? Any of the caps / inductors break off?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The i7-6700K includes an Intel graphics processor. When he installed the processor in the board, it would have affected BIOS settings. I would check the BIOS to see if the proper graphics is selected: iGPU versus dGPU. The options would probably be "default" or "auto," the onboard iGPU, and "PEG" or the PCIE dGPU.

My experience with this confusion had the system boot to a blank screen, to which I would first conclude that the system "doesn't boot" -- more accurately, doesn't Post. Once resolved, I'm sure you'd find several "critical error Event ID 41" events in the log, unless you sorted out the problem after a couple resets and reboots.

Of course, that's just one possibility in the sieve of all possibilities. I could be wrong.

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

^ I agree. Certainly worth checking that but the OP does say he's tried with graphics cards too. So if it is the BIOS settings either on Auto/Default/IGFX one or the other should have displayed OK unless there's another problem or a second mistake was made too.

By that I mean forgetting the monitor was plugged into the MB output rather than the graphics card or vice versa. I may have made that error myself once.

 

[zigzag03]

Gentlemen! Thank you! Yes for sure I reset and also updated bios on the Asus board, haven't done so on the Gig board yet. One way or the other with the card or the board something must be set to work, but with no screen from which to work, it's only a guess. I don't see anything amiss anywhere physically with the processor.
So I started with the Asus board, updated the bios which can be done without even starting the machine. Based on the responses from the lights I believe it was successful. But no joy. So I have a DVI monitor, and DVI board and cable, got nothing. I have a DP monitor, and no joy. But I don't have an HDMI monitor. I try the same scenario with the vid card, a 960, same results. So I order another mb, the Gig, and an HDMI monitor, cheap one. First thing I do, still on the Asus, is just hook up the monitor with the cable that came with it to the card, and omg it comes up. Feelin better... So I look around the bios, setting sys date and such, and restart, and back to nowhere. Never repeated that result. Now I switch to the Gig board, move the memory and processor, cooler, plug all in, fire it up and same result. With or without card. HDMI or DP. That's where I'm at. Frustrated!

 

[aigomorla]

are you on the latest bios?

If its not posting, and its a used CPU im guessing the previous owner could of overclocked the hell out of the chip, and basically damaged it.

You said Event ID 41 shows up on LCD?

Another dumb question... your not trying to put the 6700K inside your Z97 board correct?
You got a Z170 board to put that cpu in?

 

[.vodka]

Plug in a speaker in the corresponding place on the motherboard, note down the beeps when it tries to POST and look them up alongside what motherboard you used. It should tell you what the problem is or at least point you in the right direction.

What motherboards do you have to try the processor in? As aigomorla said, I hope you're not trying to force that 6700k into that Z97 board.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Some boards have an "Auto" feature for choosing default boot with iGPU or dGPU as active monitor. One might also try with either graphics connection, especially if you can set to "iGPU" or "PEG" before shutting down, cabling the monitor and rebooting.

But all said and done -- yes -- reset the CMOS.

Aigomorla would know whether you have the symptoms of a damaged processor. But just bouncing around in a cardboard box? No, I don't think so. The biggest risk would be electrostatic charge, and I don't see how paper and cardboard pose such a risk.

Make sure you test everything including monitor and cables before you order new parts as you did. I hope you get all this squared away.

 

[aigomorla]

well thats the biggest problem with used processors.

Once u give a chip too much voltage it damages the chip to the point where it will require more voltage to post.
Hence since your board / system is already overclocked, the chip will post in the current setup, however move it over to a new system where bios is set to auto, it will not post.

The only solution to this would be for the user to get another cpu, set the vcore higher, and then replace the cpu to get the chip to post.

If you return the chip, make sure u have the seller post a picture of the cpu posting in bios with current voltage in bios monitor.
Because as i said, it will post in a old board with higher voltage, but wont post in "stock".

And just to let you know OP, i would never buy a "K" cpu on ebay, because too many people these days hammer the hell out of cpu's with no care of voltage.

Hell i never sold a used CPU i have personally had hands on because i knew it was damaged goods.
Gillbot would call each cpu he got from me as playing russian roulette. It will either work, or it will not.

A non K cpu, would be a different story as they are locked.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I've only bought used processors from online resellers who get "pulls" from surplus OEM boxes among other sources. Ascendtech tests all their stock, and they have the ability to replace soldered IC chips on motherboards. They get a lot of stock from corporate IT asset management turnover and they have a lot of new "surplus" parts they acquire.

I don't think I'd BUY a used processor from an unfamiliar party on EBay or elsewhere; I'd either buy or sell one from/to someone I know. I just follow my own rules of thumb. But I did buy a processor in a mobo-with-RAM bundle through Ebay from a party 100 miles north of here, and it was a totally unabused i5-3570K in perfect condition. I had really wanted just the motherboard, but that's another story -- the processor and RAM alone were worth more than I paid . . .

Just be careful . . .

 

[zigzag03]

This processor was bought for diagnostic purposes by someone well known to me, and was not in use for more than 15 mins, and certainly not overclocked. He only popped it in, saw that the problem was not solved, took it back out and installed the original, which is in the machine currently. I believe it to be just fine when it was shipped. It was not an Ebay purchase.

I jury rigged a speaker to the Asus board (Z-170 Maximus 8 Gene), and the beep code indicated a mobo problem. After a number of reboots, the speaker stopped working, Could have been my cobbled speaker that failed, but not sure. In any case, the brief moment of POST that I did have came AFTER the beep codes came and went. I haven't put it on the Gig board (Z-270 Aorus K5) as yet.

The Q-code that the Asus usually stops at is A6, but I've seen others.

I want to thank everyone for their input and welcome all thoughts. Time seems to be my biggest enemy, it's been hard to get on it and stay on it, and I'm kinda throwing stuff at the problem as I walk by on my way to the rest of my life!

 

[sm625]

I bought from a friend a barely used i7-6700K, and when it arrived it was loose in the box (not his fault).

If it is loose in thebox, it is his fault. A competent shipper will place the CPU inside a static bag, with a small amount of dessicant. That package then gets placed either

a) inside a padded bag, which then gets placed between two pieces of cardboard and then placed inside a padded envelope.
b) inside a tightly packed and padded box in which it cannot move.

 

[zigzag03]

I would agree with sm625, and ultimately, if the thing proves to be damaged, then it's on him. He was originally going to return the chip to Newegg, but agreed to sell it to me for $300, which was ok with me. He says, and I do not doubt him, that he had it in its original Intel packaging, which besides the box, is a clear plastic container that the chip fits snugly into. He gave it to the ups store, they put it in a box with paper cushioning, and when I opened it, it was loose, with the plastic housing snapped shut and still in the box. I more suspect gross carelessness or malfeasance on the part of the ups store employee, and I'm pretty sure my buddy won't ever do that again... It's a shame, if indeed it turns out to be damaged. I'm thinking, now that I have a second mobo, I may just as well get another 6700k and eliminate it once and for all. Hate to spend the cash, but as I said, time is almost more important than money, and spinning my wheels without knowing is dumb.