Can bent pins damage cpu?

[SticKx911]

Being an intel noob (and a little bit of a moron too I guess), I did not realize how delicate the pins were in the socket. I slightly bent a couple in the corner when trying to re-install my cpu. I was unsuccessful at straightening them out so I'm off to buy a new board. Is there a risk that I damaged the cpu internally as well in the process? (no physical signs of damage) In other words...should I be ordering a new cpu too

 

[kindasmart]

Being an intel noob (and a little bit of a moron too I guess), I did not realize how delicate the pins were in the socket. I slightly bent a couple in the corner when trying to re-install my cpu. I was unsuccessful at straightening them out so I'm off to buy a new board. Is there a risk that I damaged the cpu internally as well in the process? (no physical signs of damage) In other words...should I be ordering a new cpu too

Bending pins on your new board sux, I've been there, but don't worry just yet.

Did you power the board up, it didn't boot, so you figured the pins were NOT fixed, or did you just physically install the cpu then removed it and saw bend pins? If you applied NO power your CPU should be fine. And if you did power it up and it didn't work the CPU is not necessarily fried. Try to straighten the pins first/again.

I bent 3-4 pins on my ITX board but was able to fix them. Get yourself a POWERFUL magnifying glass or better jewellers loupe (6x or so) especially if our close up vision isn't the best and some micro screwdrivers or a straightened out paper clip. TAKE YOUR TIME and you should be able to re-bend the pins and/or move then back into place. As long as the pins are good/straight enough the pressure from the CPU will hold them in place.

Look at your CPU under magnification, or take a good digital photo and blow it up on a computer screen, you should see small indentations on the CPU pads where they contacted the pins. This will let you know if the pins are making contact with the pads.

Good luck.

 

[SticKx911]

powered on and no boot is how I knew something was wrong (it was working before I thought it was a good idea to upgrade the thermal grease). the bent pins were pretty hard to see, I had to tear the whole thing down to even find out what the issue was. I tried to straighten them, but I didn't have much luck. I don't have the best eyes or steady hands. I plan to get a magnifying glass and give it another go. I might just order a new board and sell this one as-is "fixable" to recoup some of the cost. It might not end up being too bad. Thanks for the kind words though, it might be worth putting a little more time into it before giving up.

 

[RamonGTP]

As to the original question of whether or not it's possible for the CPU to get damaged, the answer is yes, it's possible. If a pin, especially one that caries voltage makes contact with a pad that it shouldn't make contact with, that could easily fry the processor.