Fail build is fail. Screw up at work.

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
44
91
I'm a little new to recommending system builds to people and made a mistake at work the other day. I put together a system for a customer (who was having a friend build it for him) which consisted of an athlon X3 CPU, mobo and RAM. The rest of the components he was going to recycle from his old build. Unfortunately I neglected to notice that the CPU was AM2 and the mobo was AM3. He took it home and his friend put it together but the system would continually just shut off and on. He brought it back and of course what had happened is that when they installed the CPU in the (incorrect) socket the socket had sheered off some of the pins on the CPU. Luckily my manager seems to have taken it mostly well, not that he was happy of course. I'm not nearly as used to AMD systems as Intel systems. Oh well that certainly won't happen again. :oops::oops:
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,001
10,486
126
That's why pros build with Intel :^P

Fuck it, live and learn. Anyone who says they don't make mistakes at work is either lying, or unchallenged :^)
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,260
14,689
146
Geezus...I hope you're better at this than you are at driving...(or spelling) :p
 

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
44
91
That's why pros build with Intel :^P

Fuck it, live and learn. Anyone who says they don't make mistakes at work is either lying, or unchallenged :^)

Yeah. While I'm knowledgeable enough about computers I have only put together a few of my own systems and while I read up on tech on a daily basis it's a different mater when dealing with the details of specific components. The devil is in the details of course. I'll learn as I go.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,779
882
126
cus he chose the wrong cpu for the motherboard

Yea, I saw that after reading it again.

Fixed it to be true but seriously how does one not know it doesn't fit these days.

Slot A does not fit component B unless you jam it in hard enough.

I guess the person never did a jigsaw puzzle.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Yea, I saw that after reading it again.

Fixed it to be true but seriously how does one not know it doesn't fit these days.

Slot A does not fit component B unless you jam it in hard enough.

I guess the person never did a jigsaw puzzle.

Well I give them the benefit of the doubt cus AM2 and AM3 look so similar.
 

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
44
91
Well I give them the benefit of the doubt cus AM2 and AM3 look so similar.

This. It was my fuckup for recommending the wrong board. However the two socket types are similar enough that one can fairly easily force one CPU into the other socket type. I think AMD should have changed the packaging a little more to make it even harder for this to happen.

am3vsam2.jpg
 

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
44
91
I used to work at home depot and people returning some things, you'd just wonder how they got them attached.

Would be fun to hear some stories from the returns counter at IKEA.

Customer: "Umm yeah I bought this china hutch but it doesn't hold any dishes! I WANT MY MONEY BACK!"

You: "WTF How did you build a helicopter with that!?"
 

Ancalagon44

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2010
3,274
202
106
When I built my new PC at the beginning of this year, I bought an AM3 board and an Athlon II 620. I installed the CPU - with the lever in the down position. And couldnt get it out.

I should have left it there, but instead I tried for a few hours to get it out. I finally did, with a small screwdriver, but noticed I had now bent the pins. So, I tried to straighten them with a credit card. Ended up breaking 2 or 3 off. So I bought a new one. Yes, massive waste of money. At least it wasnt a Phenom II 965!

What are the chances of it still working? And, if it is broken, what are the chances of it causing permanent damage to another component such as the motherboard? Just wondering if its worth seeing if I cant do something with it other than using it as a paper weight.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,001
10,486
126
It depends on which pins you broke. I've heard of cpus running fine missing pins.
 

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
44
91
When I built my new PC at the beginning of this year, I bought an AM3 board and an Athlon II 620. I installed the CPU - with the lever in the down position. And couldnt get it out.

I should have left it there, but instead I tried for a few hours to get it out. I finally did, with a small screwdriver, but noticed I had now bent the pins. So, I tried to straighten them with a credit card. Ended up breaking 2 or 3 off. So I bought a new one. Yes, massive waste of money. At least it wasnt a Phenom II 965!

What are the chances of it still working? And, if it is broken, what are the chances of it causing permanent damage to another component such as the motherboard? Just wondering if its worth seeing if I cant do something with it other than using it as a paper weight.

How did you manage to install it with the lever in the down position? I wouldn't think the pins would even fit in the socket let alone make contact. I doubt there is much you can do with it. It's not exactly something you can solder back on.
 

jackace

Golden Member
Oct 6, 2004
1,307
0
0
Sorry to hear that OP we all make mistakes from time to time.

Not sure why the person installing the CPU was forcing it in place. This person must have had a bad day or was inexperienced, because I don't know anyone who forces a CPU into place. If it doesn't just drop into place something is wrong, and you should find out what it is and fix it not force it.
 

Ancalagon44

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2010
3,274
202
106
Dont worry about it mate. Shit happens. move on. Forget about it.

Yeah, that was months ago. I replaced it with another one and havent looked back. However, I still have it, and my friend is using an Athlon X2 5600 +. If he could get a free upgrade to a 620, it would be pretty cool for him.

How did you manage to install it with the lever in the down position? I wouldn't think the pins would even fit in the socket let alone make contact. I doubt there is much you can do with it. It's not exactly something you can solder back on.

Uh I just put it in. I think I then raised and lowered the lever, and that secured the CPU in such a way that it could not be removed. Cant remember exactly but it was something like that.

So yeah, next time I made sure to raise the lever first!
 

zCypher

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2002
6,115
171
116
I bent some pins once when I was but a wee lad, it was one of them PS/2 connectors and I didn't bother looking to see how I was plugging it in. So after fumbling it for a while I look at the connector and see these bent pins. lol

I learned my lesson about bending pins with that at a young age... Haven't had a problem since. Always been somewhat paranoid about CPUs too, so I've been careful.
 

Numenorean

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2008
4,442
1
0
Yeah. While I'm knowledgeable enough about computers I have only put together a few of my own systems and while I read up on tech on a daily basis it's a different mater when dealing with the details of specific components. The devil is in the details of course. I'll learn as I go.

You're obviously NOT knowledgeable enough about computers.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
4
81
Wish I could get a job doing stuff that I didn't really even have the basics down for. No seriously like someone hire me at a physics think tank or something; it'd be fun : ) That probably sounds harsher than I want it, but seriously getting the right socket is pretty much as basic as things get.