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Used CPU Concerns

Collider

Collider

Senior member
So I decided to upgrade my CPU. I have a 1366 socket mobo so I opted in for a X5650 Xeon 6 core, which is a great upgrade from my i7 920 D0 and is about the performance of 2014 i7s. Once I compared the benchmarks, I am now convinced buying a 1366 mobo was one of the best investment PC upgrades ever, with Xeon I wont have to upgrade for another 2-3 years and its a 5 yr old board as of now.

The issue is that the company I bought from Amazon sent me a used CPU. They listed as new OEM but there were visible wear and installation signs on the CPU heatsync and one of the pins is darker which is likely the power pin.

They apologized and refunded in full, and also asked me to keep the item.

So this leaves me in a dilemma, whether to try to install this CPU. I've never purchased a used CPU and the fact that its a Xeon tells me that it was likely a workhorse and who knows how hard it ran. Additionally that darkened power pin has me concerned.

Kind of worried about damaging the board. Should I try to install the CPU?

Thanks.
 
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I wouldn't be that concerned. CPU's last long. A used X5650 Xeon for free isn't bad at all. If it comes to the worst, it will just go bad by itself, it will not hurt the mobo. I have never seen a cpu that damages the mobo. So, try it and enjoy your free CPU.
 
avp2306 said:
They apologized and refunded in full, and also asked me to keep the item.
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Mmmmm, yeah...that says "we know we sold you some used shite, in fact it is prolly so bad that it isn't even worth asking you to send it back so we can try to sell it to some other dupe".

Try at your own risk, but when the seller puts a "zero dollar value" assessment on the CPU that is about as big of a red flag as you are ever going to get.

Ignore that red flag at your own peril.
 
Vendors worry about their feedback ratings and do this often. I got my first lga 1366 board the same way. Refunded in full because some bent pins. My son's still using that board with a $12 X5550 @ 3.67 for gaming. Pop it in and fire it up. 🙂
 
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Decided I wouldnt want to risk it. Plus I have one of those oversized Noctua coolers and with all the cable management its a bit of a "job" to take out and re-install the heatsync, not something I want to do twice.

Found another vendor for the same price. Called them first, they promised that the CPU is new OEM and not Bulk / Fresh Pulls / or used. Even asked if I would like a picture, I said I'll take their word for it and placed the order. Keeping my hopes up for this one.

Now, does anyone want to buy a used X5650 ? 🙂
 
A CPU either works or it doesn't just cause some smuck posted that one took out his board means nothing.
Nothing to lose you got a free CPU, try it!!!

WOW THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING!
 
Maximilian said:
Somebody with bigger balls than the OP buy his CPU and test it. Satisfy our curiosity pls... does it work? 😀
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I'll take it! For $0.06. A penny per core is my must-buy threshold.

I love used CPUs. You want some rookie electrons messing with your calcs or seasoned vintage electrons that have made FB/google/twitter what they are today? Oh...wait...
 
I could be "naïve;" I could merely be ignorant, and the more I learn about hardware, the less I think I know.

However. I'm of the opinion that a bad CPU is just not going to destroy a motherboard.

As for the "darkened" pin. Are these Xeons discussed here -- socket-1366 -- made with gold-plated contact pads? Is this what the OP means by "pin?"

Some will remember last fall a thread I started, pertaining to a brand-new retail-box i7-2700K. I just happened to inspect the processor with a magnifying glass. And -- yes -- it was brand-new in the sealed Intel box -- purchased from Rakuten.

There was a "dark" pad, or one that seemed bereft of half the gold-plate.

We were able to determine from the Intel documentation's pinout diagram for the processor that it was either a "common ground" pin-out or simply an unused one. An Intel employee posted on the thread, explaining that nothing goes into a retail box without three thorough tests, and a visual inspection follows. I apparently got a processor with a visible flaw that slipped through the visual inspection. But it had already passed muster.

I say -- try that sucker. Find another Socket-1366 board for less than $100. You could get one from a reputable refurbisher who obtains them as "corporate IT assets," so it would likely be well-tested. Oh, the $100 is a gamble. But then, you've "saved" your current board, you have two processors and two boards; you'll likely find out what the score is on the CPU for which you have doubts.
 
BonzaiDuck said:
I could be "naïve;" I could merely be ignorant, and the more I learn about hardware, the less I think I know.

However. I'm of the opinion that a bad CPU is just not going to destroy a motherboard.
Click to expand...

I had a bad cpu destroy not just one, but two mobos. Why? Because after the first mobo died I refused to believe it could be the CPU. So I tried it in a second mobo. Which proceeded to die. So then I sent in the cpu for RMA, it was dead.

Anything electrical can be shorted out. I wouldn't put known unknowns in my mobo unless I valued the known unknowns more than I value the mobo.

In the case of the OP, the value of his known unknown is zero. Even the reseller didn't want it back, placing a zero-value assessment on the chip.
 
Just to let the op know the x5660 that I got USED from ebay has a few darkened pads also. Almost like a small burnt spot on the back? I've been running it at 4.2ghz for a few months now. No problems whatsoever. Very stable. I'm not too worried about it.
 
Idontcare said:
I had a bad cpu destroy not just one, but two mobos. Why? Because after the first mobo died I refused to believe it could be the CPU. So I tried it in a second mobo. Which proceeded to die. So then I sent in the cpu for RMA, it was dead.

Anything electrical can be shorted out. I wouldn't put known unknowns in my mobo unless I valued the known unknowns more than I value the mobo.

In the case of the OP, the value of his known unknown is zero. Even the reseller didn't want it back, placing a zero-value assessment on the chip.
Click to expand...

A valid point, and your opinion is highly respected. The OP's processor and the reseller's actions leave the field littered with unknowns and uncertainty.

On the other hand, a lot of the resellers I've used who deal in "Tray-processors" and "pulls" usually test the product before unleashing it for sale. May be that the OP stumbled across one less scrupulous than the others.

But the OP COULD check the pinout diagram for the Xeon to see if the darkened pin or pad is totally irrelevant to anything . . .
 
Idontcare said:
I had a bad cpu destroy not just one, but two mobos. Why? Because after the first mobo died I refused to believe it could be the CPU. So I tried it in a second mobo. Which proceeded to die. So then I sent in the cpu for RMA, it was dead.

Anything electrical can be shorted out. I wouldn't put known unknowns in my mobo unless I valued the known unknowns more than I value the mobo.

In the case of the OP, the value of his known unknown is zero. Even the reseller didn't want it back, placing a zero-value assessment on the chip.
Click to expand...

Still, it is very rare. I wouldn't worry about it myself.
 
avp2306 said:
Decided I wouldnt want to risk it. Plus I have one of those oversized Noctua coolers and with all the cable management its a bit of a "job" to take out and re-install the heatsync, not something I want to do twice.

Found another vendor for the same price. Called them first, they promised that the CPU is new OEM and not Bulk / Fresh Pulls / or used. Even asked if I would like a picture, I said I'll take their word for it and placed the order. Keeping my hopes up for this one.

Now, does anyone want to buy a used X5650 ? 🙂
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
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