I dropped my CPU on the floor

[tomi19]

I wanted to change the thermal paste on my Phenom II X4 955 BE but when I was trying to take the heatsink off, the cpu was glued onto it, so i got the CPU and the heatsink without even unlocking the socket.

I tried to detach the CPU from the heatsink by applying heat with a hairdryer, then I twisted the CPU, it came out but it fell from my hand to the ground from about 2.5 feet. I quickly picked it up and to my surprise only 5~ pins were slightly bent.

I slowly straightened the pins with a credit card, put everything back in and the PC works fine now.

My question is: even though my PC is working fine now, should I be worried about something? Could the CPU be damaged but I don't notice it? May sound like a stupid question, but can performance be affected by the fact that I dropped it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Warfighter]

I have done this before but i never had any kind of issues. but i am no professional

 

[JackMDS]

There is a remote possibility that its life will get shorter and at a certain point it will die.

However, as long as it works you can use, it Not like it will work and do a "Bad Job".

.

 

[Erazor51]

I wanted to change the thermal paste on my Phenom II X4 955 BE but when I was trying to take the heatsink off, the cpu was glued onto it, so i got the CPU and the heatsink without even unlocking the socket.

I tried to detach the CPU from the heatsink by applying heat with a hairdryer, then I twisted the CPU, it came out but it fell from my hand to the ground from about 2.5 feet. I quickly picked it up and to my surprise only 5~ pins were slightly bent.

I slowly straightened the pins with a credit card, put everything back in and the PC works fine now.

My question is: even though my PC is working fine now, should I be worried about something? Could the CPU be damaged but I don't notice it? May sound like a stupid question, but can performance be affected by the fact that I dropped it?

Thanks in advance.

You don't have to worry, it wont effect the cpu performance in anyway. CPU's have no moving parts and unless something broke off you don't have to worry about performance, bsod or it dying on you.

I had my fair share of cpu's falling over and pins bending over the years and they've all worked 100% file.

 

[corkyg]

Seems like the 5 second rule applies here also.

 

[mfenn]

It's theoretically possible that bending the pins back to straight will cause the CPU's lifetime to be decreased because they are now conducting electricity slightly differently than they used to due to the resistance being altered.

HOWEVER, we're talking about a difference of months or days on a part that can easily last 10 years or more. So don't worry about it.

 

[wangotango]

I would run prime 95 for a couple of hours. Bent pins can be a real issue. I a have super high powered and well lit magnifying viewer that I would use to fix a bent pin. Many times, under magnification, you can really see what's going on. Normally people break the contact when trying to get it straight or it cracks at the base when it hits the ground. I use a mechanical pencil, micro tweezers, patience, and a Hail Mary when someone brings me one. If it passes prime 95 for 2 hours and no blue screen, your good to go.

 

[audiemurphy06l.]

Seems like the 5 second rule applies here also.

 

[audiemurphy06l.]

Ive seen people smash the transistors off them and simply resolder a replacement that was from a scrap chip. Should be ok if apperars undamaged. You should also be aware of dangers of static discharge from your body too. thats why its recommend to touch an earthed piece of metal before going intoa comp

 

[mistersprinkles]

Ive seen people smash the transistors off them and simply resolder a replacement that was from a scrap chip. Should be ok if apperars undamaged. You should also be aware of dangers of static discharge from your body too. thats why its recommend to touch an earthed piece of metal before going intoa comp

Those aren't transistors. Those are pins. Modern transistors are so small you need a powerful microscope to see them. You smash 1 transistor off a CPU (by damaging the die in some way) and that CPU is gone forever. If you bend a pin, however, often times things are ok.

OP- I wouldn't be too conderned. As was mentioned, stress the CPU with something like P95 for several hours to check for errors, but I dropped a Pentium 4 Prescott in 2005 and bent a couple of pins. That CPU still works to this day. Mind you, not OC'd, never has been, but it works.