Has anyone ever messed up putting a cpu on a mobo

[agentsmith101]

Is there a high chance of messing up in putting cpu on mobo? I heard the thermal goop part can be hard. Has anyone messed up while doing this?

 

[JMWarren]

I'm sure people have screwed it up but if you follow the proper prcedure its not hard. Especially with heatspreaders now as opposed to the bare core of yesteryears.

Mike

 

[xsilver]

just be careful where you point the screwdriver, you can damage traces on the mobo.... as I've done before

 

[piasabird]

A lot of the newer CPUS have a flat metal part on top of the CPU to spread out the heat better. It makes it a lot easier to apply a heat sink.

It is possible to crack an Athlon XP series processors if you put too much pressure on the processor. However there are rubber pads on AMD processors so if you apply even pressure (Not at an angle) it is pretty hard to crack the processor. This is why I suggest you put the heatsink on the processor while the motherboard is outside of the case. Once you have the motherboard inside the case there is less light and it is that much harder to do. I also recommend putting the memory on the motherboard first also. Once you get it inside the case and attach all the wires everthing is just in the way.

It only takes a little drop of Thermal Grease to get good thermal transfer to the heatsink. Maybe a little more if the processor has a large heat spreading surface already. AMD has this thing against thermal paste with metal in the compound like Artic Silver. They claim it may be conductive and cause damage if it gets on the rest of the CPU. The CPU is mounted on a little square board and it has other circuits on it as well and AMD is worried that the Artic Silver may be conductive because it has silver oxide or something in it that may be conductive.

I have not damaged a processor yet, but it is always a slight possibility. I just make my own computers so I have only done this about six times.

 

[GoatHerderEd]

Originally posted by: xsilver
just be careful where you point the screwdriver, you can damage traces on the mobo.... as I've done before

oops

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If you're worried about the screwdriver, but a credit card under where you're aiming. If you slip, the card will get the damage not the board.

I've built about 10 computers and have done about 15 CPU sittings probably since my first XP 1800+ and have never had a problem.

I just installed my first A64 a few days ago and I was a lot less worried about it with the metal cap on the CPU.

I wouldn't be worried about it. Just go slow and follow the directions.

 

[Shirow]

I just built a 64 bit AMD yesterday. The CPU just falls into place when you line everything up. I locked it in place and put the Heatsink up. After installing everything else, I turned it on and the system would turn on for 5 sec's then turn off.
I didn't know why. Search the net, found out it was cpu related. When I went to take the heatsink off.. the CPU came with it!! Luckly it was not damaged, just didn't fully lock in place I guess.. tried again and everything is working fine, cpu running at a cool 30c.

Take your time and you will be fine

 

[Googer]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1563671

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=27&threadid=1478247&enterthread=y

 

[mlc]

1) as mentioned...I would strongly suggest you mount the HSF prior to placing the mobo in the case...
2) folks have been known to mount these backwards.. so doublecheck that .. or sometime they dont fully engage the clips.. which can cause a gap.. which causes heat and CPU failure.. or simply no Post
4)most common error is probably using too much thermal paste.. just put a drop or two and spread it fairly thin across the entire dye...
5) the clips for the xp's can be very frustrating ....so be patient !!! and use the largest screwdriver you can to minimize the chance of slippage when pushing the clips on
6) i always give the hsf a little wiggle after its mounted to be sure the contact is good... (very little wiggle!!!)

technically it really is a fairly easy process... and most mistakes are simply due to folks being in a rush or carelessness.. If you still are unsure .. look for some step by step photos of installs out on the web to give you a warm fuzzy feeling...

 

[Brian23]

One time I tried to put a CPU on a motherboard, but my hand wouldn't work right and it accelerated into the motherboard. The processor impacted with a force no less powerful than being ejected from a plane and my hand went through 3 capacitors!

 

[robcy]

I broke a ddr slot while putting some memory in, it just went side ways.

 

[Ausm]

I have built 100's of PC's and have fried my share of them One time I accidently dropped a blank on a motherboard that was plugged in and it shorted it out. Another time I hosed three perfectly good motherboards because a brand new P.S. I was using was faulty.

My Cat jumped up on my workstand and tip a liter of Pepsi into the vents on my Monitor a big huge cloud of smoke came out and my monitor was fried

Ausm