Should I get a replacement?

Berticus

Distinguished
Jul 30, 2006
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A few of the pins on my processors were bent, and all I did was bend them back.

I requested an RMA from the vendor because it was a less than a week past the warranty, and I just wanted to see if I could get an RMA number. I got the number, and I'd like to get an answer by tonight.

So should I return it for them to test and possibly get a replacement? Or should my processor be fine?
 

RichPLS

Champion
A few bent pins can easily be straightened using a .7mm mechanical pencil, remove lead and slip tip over the pin and straighten. Should not damage the soft metal of the pin and be good as new.
 

RichPLS

Champion
A few bent pins can easily be straightened using a .7mm mechanical pencil, remove lead and slip tip over the pin and straighten. Should not damage the soft metal of the pin and be good as new.
 

mulciber

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Jul 1, 2006
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I have repaired a lot of processors with a mechanical pencil and a credit card. Interestingly enough, I only break pins when I use a pin.
 

sailer

Splendid
Your processor may be fine, it may not. I've bent a couple pin sin the past and had the cpu still work after bending them straight. At the same time, since you managed to get an RMA number, I'd go ahead and use it. Then you get a new processor and you won't be wondering, "Will it Work? Will it still work in a week?" If you don't RMA it and it dies next month, the company might tell you "Tough luck".
 

Eviltwin17

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Feb 21, 2006
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if the processor works then it should be fine, use some benchmark programs and play some games or something to see if it is working up to speed. If not then send it back and get a replacement. We bent back the pins on my friends 3500+ a while back and his is still running great.
 

Berticus

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Jul 30, 2006
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Well I tried some benchmarking tools at benchmarkhq (all free), but those weren't good comparisons.

fps in Doom 3 demo was 61 max (mostly 60), in Quake 4 demo it was also 60. However in UT2004, fps was ~130 for the most part (fluctuated a lot). But that was with the highest graphics settings, winrar running in the background compressing 2.3 GB with a normal compression level, and prime95 running in the background as well. There were times when it reached over 200 fps. Far Cry demo outputted ~80 fps for the most part. I think max was 93 in game, while in the menu it was over 230 fps.

So Far Cry looks all right. But the ID Demos don't look so hot... UT2004 looks great (some noise from either the processor or graphics card, not sure)!

I did some thinking while playing these games. I think I'll just go for the RMA. I paid for the AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+, and I'm going to make sure I get the full performance of the AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+. Even if it means I'll have to dish in some money to ship it back for just some testings.