a7n8x deluxe -- ZIF socket cracked--any remedy?

[stitch]

Here's a bummer...

My old KT7-Raid finally started giving up the ghost, so with great anticipation I ordered an a7n8x deluxe and 512 megs of corsair memory... got it Friday night, installed it saturday morning. Everything went together like a charm, although during CPU insertion there was a bit of stiffness and a "pop" as I lowered the ZIF socket arm back into position (this did NOT seem to require excessive force). Attached my SK-6 heatsink, finished installation...

...box would not POST. I tried just about everything (swapping out vid cards, removing all other cards, etc)--no POST. To try and get a better view, I started disassembling the thing again and discovered something interesting:

The ZIF socket was fractured along the "back edge" (with the lever on the right with the hinge at the top, the "top edge" is what I'm referring to). On the left and right sides of the socket, the "sliding carriage" was broken away from the rest of the socket structure, and the "back edge" cleat for heatsink attachment had entirely broken off (!), which was a broken edge the width of the socket.

Now, this makes it impossible to attach a cleat-mounted heatsink, but more importantly the ZIF "carriage" just slips freely, so there's no way to secure a processor in there. I've installed several CPUs over the years, but I've never seen this happen--and again, I never felt that I was applying excessive force at any point (either the CPU installation or the heatsink mounting).

I'd like to RMA it (and will try) but Newegg's RMA policy expressly states that "physical damage" isn't covered by RMA, so I'm not sure I have a lot of hope there.

Is there any remedy, or did I just wind up with the world's largest $145 paperweight? Has anyone else had a ZIF socket fracture like this unexpectedly?

Gah, what a mess...

-->Stitch

 

[CompSci]

Maybe! - if your lucky

I broke the cleat of the socket I'm currently using...
(the cleat being the little plastic piece the HSF clip catches under)

I used 2 part epoxy resin and put it back on - carefully..
And its been holding about two years now!!!

I used MarineTex, 2 part Epoxy - "Good Stuff"! But perhaps other good 2 part epoxy would work also...
Ya sorta have to make a "Jig" to hold the cleat in the correct position while the epoxy sets, and let it set at least over nite! Getting the cleat back on should be easy...

But the ' ZIF "carriage" just slips freely " is gonna be a challange!
For anything that moves - use wax-paper and slide it between the moving pieces - or use buttered paper. Buttering or Lightly oiling any pieces that ya don't want to stick together works pretty well.
If the major "Fracture" can be isolated somewhat with waxpaper under the sliding carrage, and epoxy can be gottin into the fracture, some weight placed on/or pushing it into place while it sets - ya might have a chance...
( any extra squeexe out/extra can easily be shaped or worked smooth with a emory board)

Be neat, rig something to hold/puch it in the correct position while setting up, and Hope! MarineTex Epoxy, found at almost any discount Marine store, is really great stuff, If anything's gonna hold it - MarineTex will!

 

[Quetzacoatl]

well...if all else fails, you could put the Athlon in the socket and epoxy the ah heck all around till it sticks. Btw, does the A7N8X have the 4 mounting holes around the socket? (i'm not familiar with that board). If it does, you could just buy a heatsinks that uses that instead of the 6 clips on the socket.

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...

 

[jimbo99]

It is a defect in manufacturing. It would be nearly impossible for an end user to create such a fracture. For that reason newegg.com should accept it back (doesn't mean they will). But....

All ASUS boards have a 3 year warranty. Just do the RMA directly back to ASUS if newegg.com gives you a problem. Then go to the ratings sites and give newegg.com a less then satisfactory rating.

 

[KWPLunchbox]

Jimbo is right. RMA to Newegg first, then ASUS. In addition to giving Newegg a lower rating if they give you a problem, let Asus know that Newegg wouldn't cooperate. Newegg scares me. I order from Monarch Computers.

<font color=purple>AMD XP 2200+, A7N8X, 512mb PC3200 Corsair XMS DDR, Geforce3 Ti-500, Audigy Platinum, TDK 48x CDRW, Lite-On 16x DVD, XP Pro, and more neon than a ghetto sled </font color=purple>

 

[jlanka]

why does newegg scare you? Have you had a bad experience with them?

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[KWPLunchbox]

My friend has had a couple bad experiences. Plus, it seems that a larger portion of defects that people talk about on here have bought them from Newegg. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't buy something from Newegg. I just have a bad vibe. It's probably coincidence. I ran across Monarch a couple years ago and everything I have ordered has been gold. The fact that they test and setup the motherboard, CPU, and ram together before shipping, at no extra cost, is great service not to mention it saves me time to just have to skim over the jumper settings instead of setting each one. When I bought my parts 2 months ago, I think the overall price difference was about $10, in Newegg's favor, on a $650 order. They're usually pretty close in price.

<font color=purple>AMD XP 2200+, A7N8X, 512mb PC3200 Corsair XMS DDR, Geforce3 Ti-500, Audigy Platinum, TDK 48x CDRW, Lite-On 16x DVD, XP Pro, and more neon than a ghetto sled </font color=purple>

 

[stitch]

Well, I called up NewEgg and explained the problem and they gave me an RMA number, so we'll see... package was delivered to them today (and I got the confirmation email) so we'll see their answer when they open the box and give me their opinion. I put a nice letter on the top explaining the situation and complimenting them on their customer service; every little bit counts. I also taped the broken off part (the bit of plastic with the three heatsink cleats) onto a 3x5 card. For humor's sake, I tried bending that piece with my fingers--not a chance. It would take a lot of effort to do the kind of damage it looked like it had suffered.

So we'll see, hopefully I will get my answer tomorrow. Kinda skeered, tho.

-->Stitch

 

[Lonemagi]

Probably just a freak thing with the plastic mold. Just a defect that didnt get seen until it got to you.

<A HREF="http://tekkoshocon.com/" target="_new">http://tekkoshocon.com/</A> Southeast Pennsylvania gets an Anime Convention!

 

[paulj]

Newegg has consistently scored better in reviews than Monarch for years. You hear so much about Newegg here because so many people use them.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>