Hi
I purchased an Asus Sabertooth P67 motherboard (B3 revision) 2 days ago alongside an Intel Core i7 2600K CPU (Sandy Bridge).
I have been working in the IT industry since 2003 so I am well-seasoned with computers which makes this issue/concern even more alarming and validates it as a genuine problem area on Asus' behalf.
While installing the CPU I ensured that it was facing the correct direction and that it was seated correctly into the socket (2 CPU notches aligned with the 2 socket notches). I then closed the clamp and ensured that it was caught underneath the catch pin protruding from the motherboard. Last but not least I closed the lever arm to and hooked it under its securing catch.
The concern I had was the amount of force that had to be used to secure the clamping mechanism. I won't say it was enough force to break anything but definitely more force that say an LGA 775 socket would require. I did notice online that other people have experienced this issue too. Here is an example: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=918765&page=142
I installed the cooler thereafter and eventually booted up the PC and installed the OS without any issues. Only after closer inspection did I notice that the CPU temperature was a bit higher than what I would have expected (60-70 degrees Celsius) with average load. I decided to remove the cooler and inspect it as well as the CPU and socket too.
I could not immediately see an issue and thus decided to remove the CPU to clean the thermal compound to reapply the compound and install everything else again.
This is when I noticed the issue. The socket clamp pushes down on the left and right side of the CPU using 2 contact points (flanges) on the clamp. These contact points (flanges) from what I have seen in the past generally only gently "scrapes" the CPU and leaves a faint mark on both sides of the CPU. In my case it left 2 clearly visible notches/dents on both sides of the CPU's metal protective cap.
The CPU is still functional and everything but it is concerning that the clamp that is used on my specific Asus Sabertooth P67 motherboard somewhat "damages" the CPU. I have read online that a couple of people have experienced this issue as well. After closer investigation I did confirm the clamp on the socket as the culprit. By inspecting close-up pictures online I noticed that Asus uses different manufacturers (e.g. Foxcon, Lotes etc) for the CPU socket, clamp & clamping mechanism.
The one that I have has a very narrow "flat" side on the 2 flanges in comparison to other photos I noticed that have a broader "flat" side on its flanges' contact points to the CPU. These narrow flat contact points on my motherboard's clamp flanges basically "chews" into the metal cap on the CPU because of its small/narrow contact point instead of just gently "scraping" the CPU's metal cap as the broader flat contact point would do using another manufactured (say Lotes) socket clamp.
I think my supplier Asus themselves may assist in exchanging the motherboard for another one that the clamp is different, however I doubt that the supplier or Intel will replace the CPU with those 2 notches/dents on it caused by a problematic CPU socket clamp.
I have included pictures to illustrate what I explained
What am I to do? Please help or assist in any way. Thank you in advance.
I purchased an Asus Sabertooth P67 motherboard (B3 revision) 2 days ago alongside an Intel Core i7 2600K CPU (Sandy Bridge).
I have been working in the IT industry since 2003 so I am well-seasoned with computers which makes this issue/concern even more alarming and validates it as a genuine problem area on Asus' behalf.
While installing the CPU I ensured that it was facing the correct direction and that it was seated correctly into the socket (2 CPU notches aligned with the 2 socket notches). I then closed the clamp and ensured that it was caught underneath the catch pin protruding from the motherboard. Last but not least I closed the lever arm to and hooked it under its securing catch.
The concern I had was the amount of force that had to be used to secure the clamping mechanism. I won't say it was enough force to break anything but definitely more force that say an LGA 775 socket would require. I did notice online that other people have experienced this issue too. Here is an example: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=918765&page=142
I installed the cooler thereafter and eventually booted up the PC and installed the OS without any issues. Only after closer inspection did I notice that the CPU temperature was a bit higher than what I would have expected (60-70 degrees Celsius) with average load. I decided to remove the cooler and inspect it as well as the CPU and socket too.
I could not immediately see an issue and thus decided to remove the CPU to clean the thermal compound to reapply the compound and install everything else again.
This is when I noticed the issue. The socket clamp pushes down on the left and right side of the CPU using 2 contact points (flanges) on the clamp. These contact points (flanges) from what I have seen in the past generally only gently "scrapes" the CPU and leaves a faint mark on both sides of the CPU. In my case it left 2 clearly visible notches/dents on both sides of the CPU's metal protective cap.
The CPU is still functional and everything but it is concerning that the clamp that is used on my specific Asus Sabertooth P67 motherboard somewhat "damages" the CPU. I have read online that a couple of people have experienced this issue as well. After closer investigation I did confirm the clamp on the socket as the culprit. By inspecting close-up pictures online I noticed that Asus uses different manufacturers (e.g. Foxcon, Lotes etc) for the CPU socket, clamp & clamping mechanism.
The one that I have has a very narrow "flat" side on the 2 flanges in comparison to other photos I noticed that have a broader "flat" side on its flanges' contact points to the CPU. These narrow flat contact points on my motherboard's clamp flanges basically "chews" into the metal cap on the CPU because of its small/narrow contact point instead of just gently "scraping" the CPU's metal cap as the broader flat contact point would do using another manufactured (say Lotes) socket clamp.
I think my supplier Asus themselves may assist in exchanging the motherboard for another one that the clamp is different, however I doubt that the supplier or Intel will replace the CPU with those 2 notches/dents on it caused by a problematic CPU socket clamp.
I have included pictures to illustrate what I explained
What am I to do? Please help or assist in any way. Thank you in advance.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram