Have I ruined my CPU?

[jamesftw]

Sorry if this is a bit of a noob question, but I'm new to building computers, and afraid I might have destroyed my CPU by touching it with my bare hands. I later found out about electrostatic discharge. And as a followup question, is it safe to test it in the motherboard, or will that ruin the motherboard as well? Thanks.

 

[GhislainG]

Unless you got a serious electrical shock when you touched the pins, it will be fine.

 

[blacksci]

even a serious shock would have to hit something pretty sensitive- in most regards static worries are pretty minimal.

 

[jamesftw]

Alright, thanks for the replies.

 

[rds1220]

It's probably ok but you should avoid touching the top of the CPU with your bare hands and you want to avoid touching the pins. When you pick up the CPU you always want to handle it from the sides. The bigger problem with touching the pins and mis-handling a CPU is bending a pin.