Intel CPU Warranty.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:35 am

hi, i was wondering if anyone here has ever had there CPU replaced due to thermal issues. Apparently we failed to install the heat sink on my CPU correctly which ultimately resulted in it burning out.

Apparently you had to apply enough pressure on the 4 pins for a very loud 'CRACK' noise to be heard and the motherboard should end up bent (buckled?) around it. We only applied enough pressure till we heard a click for each pin and tested and found the heat sink to sit snug.

the CPU heat sink must have fallen off (well it hung loosely) recently because it would explain the severe jump in CPU temperature i noted in diagnostic tools (jumped from 27 degrees up to 40 degrees Celsius).

who here has been in a similar situation and needed the part replaced under warranty? was it hard getting it replaced? how did you go about to get it replaced?

thank you for (attempting to?) reading this.

funkyass · Post by **funkyass** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:11 am

you voided your warranty by improper installation.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:19 am

install book says to apply pressure to the 4 pins till you here a crack... how do you determine what a crack noise is?

Truth Unknown · Post by **Truth Unknown** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:01 am

I think the question is, "How do determine a crack sound from one of a good connection and of a break of the board, brackets, clips etc?" Because the sound of a crack isn't really a nice term to use on something that is somewhat breakable. But as funkyass said, you voided the warranty.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:06 am

well i failed at installing properly due to inferior instructions provided.

Tallgeese · Post by **Tallgeese** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:53 am

Questionable instructions in computer part manuals are not exactly uncommon from what I understand, considering that if I recall most of them these days are manufactured in Eastern Europe or Asia for looser laws.

Post by **odditude** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:41 pm

Like everyone else said - if the heatsink was loose, you screwed the pooch.

I've done a bunch of LGA775 stock hs installs, and I've never heard a loud "crack" sound... but there's definitely a solid "click" when the pin (finally) engages properly. And yes, the motherboard will flex slightly around the socket. That cooler puts an absurd amount of strain on the motherboard.

Contrary to Intel's instructions, though, I find it MUCH easier to install the heatsink BEFORE you mount the board in the chassis. Plus, that allows you to visually inspect the pins and make sure they're fully engaged beneath the board.

casualsax3 · Post by **casualsax3** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:19 pm

The chip should not have fried - Intel speedstep should lower the clock speed to horrifically low numbers to prevent meltdown.

Post by **odditude** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:03 pm

Dangling heatsink + fragile mobo components like VRMs and capacitors = all sorts of damage potential.

Not to mention possible stress fractures to the PCB.

funkyass · Post by **funkyass** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:52 pm

I don't think any modern chip, regardless of super-duper power management, would be able to run without a heat-sink - the entire purpose of a heat sink is to increase the area of the CPU to dissipate heat.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:20 am

ive spoken to some people and they say that the CPU should be fine. i know that my PC still boots with the chip installed.

i believe the chip worked fine even while extremely hot (it worked for 3 days straight at the high temp lol). i think the majority of problems ive been getting are from the video card being stuffed for like over a year now (well its been my suspicion for over a year) and i've found out my power supply could do with being replaced.

both my video card and power supply are 4 or more years old so they definitely served there life pretty well so im happy about that. im just concerned about the CPU chip but i have good hope that it isnt damaged.

whicker · Post by **whicker** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 4:56 am

franpa, in your first post, you said it burnt out. now it's working again?

As long as the heatsink didn't actually fall off completely (still resting on top) I don't think there would be any damage at all.

If my CPU burnt out within warranty, I would return it regardless if it was "improper" installation or not.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:41 am

ah my fault there, on another forum i discussed it and found it was just the thermal grease i was looking at lol...

yes it never exceeded 50 degrees which is the limit for the core2 DUO processors so it appears to be fine and dandy. (only time will tell for certain tho)

so at the moment if the processor indeed works great over the course of the week i will then look into a new power supply/case which will reduce the CPU, Motherboard and Graphics Card heat. thus making it a hell of a lot better environment for it all to work in.

DOLLS (J) [!] · Post by **DOLLS (J) [!]** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:07 am

The suggested max operating temperatures are actually ~60°C for TCase (a single thermal diode between the cores), and ~72°C each for TJunction (one inside each core).