A couple of days ago I was installing a new AMD X2 CPU and I noticed that my thumb was touching the side of the pins. I find it very difficult to hold the CPU by the edges without my fingers touching the sides of the pins as well.

Anyway, I've read that the oil from your hands will damage the cpu, or mess up the contacts or something. All the manuals and guides say to never touch the cpu pins - this is becuase of ESD and potentially bending the pins right?
Does oil from your skin really mess up any connection?

Should I try to take the CPU out and clean it?, or do you think that it's even a problem...

nope. i've had thermal grease on mine (newegg shipped me a brisbane with 4 or 5 bent pins) and i straightened them out and it works great to this day.

It should be fine as long as the CPU pins are not bent. I would go ahead and try it. I'm pretty sure it will work. Go ahead and try it first before you mess with the CPU. If it aint broke, don't try to fix it.

I fired it up, and it runs with no problem. What bothers me is that people say touching the pins will cause them to corrode over time and eventually it will damage the connection in the socket. Is there any truth to that?

Yes. Science proves that having finger oils on contacts will cause corrosion. Science in a lab is like an accelerated test to show 5 years of corrosion in 30 days etc. The real world is different.

As long as you didn't have your fingers covered in peanut butter or 'Unkle Bob's Super Corrosive Finger Goop' you'll be fine.

Any truth? Maybe a tiny shred. But in all my years of PC repair going back to 93 I have never seen such a thing and I assure you many a pin has been fingered. Forget about it.

Awesome, thanks for putting my paranoid mind at ease

Immediately destroy this machine. Your processor is now modifying the DNA found in skin cells amidst those finger oils and it will e-mail corrupted copies of your DNA to all 5,000 lonely old women. When using their mouse wheels, it will generate an electrical static charge which will impregnate them and your corrupted DNA will be merged with that of an alien life form's DNA code stored on Norton's next signature file update. Then, 7.247 months later 5,000 babies will be born that look like a pink eyed albino love child of Michael Jackson and Joan Rivers.

Hurry up !! your processor is sequencing your DNA as you read this !!!!

Alternately renew your Norton AntiVirus subscription at twice the normal fee before the next full moon will sterilize everything and the world will be saved.

lol, exactly. Just decided to burn my CPU instead... OIL'S GONE!!

It might cause corrosion after a while but should last a while Thats why I am glad Intel went to the BGA (Ball Grid array) where the connectors are in the socket not the CPU. Makes life easier.

How long do you think "a while" would be? Because this will only last me 2 or 3 years anyway before I upgrade again.

Wouldn't Intel's socket be worse though? Seem's much easier to mess that up, I mean you accidentally drop something on it, and it's screwed. Also, Intel says you can only install/uninstall the processor 15 to 20 times before the connection breaks down, and the processor won't work anymore. That's kind of crazy (if you actually take out the CPU that often).

lga beats the hell out of bent pins though. when i tried to straighten mine it took damn near 2 hours to get those suckers fixed.

Why did your new CPU have bent pins already?? Was it OEM or something? Man I would have RMA'D that sucker back to Newegg before trying to straighten those little boogers.

It won't corrode. You know that gold coloring of the pins? Well, that's actually gold. Gold doesn't corrode. It's there to provide good electrical conduction and prevent oxidation/corrosion. As long as the pins aren't damaged, it'll be fine.

yeah it was an OEM, i would've RMA'ed the thing if it didn't work. =]