Core i5 2500K was scratched when putting in case.

[orange3]

I'm putting a build together and just a few hours ago I put the CPU in (I have an i5 2500K). The first time I put it in there was some resistance from the lever but this happened before with my Core 2 Duo three years ago so I thought nothing of it. It turns out that I used a bit too much thermal compound so I unhooked the heat sink, cleaned off the thermal compound, and tried again. While cleaning off the compound I unlatched the processor to get at the side of the heat spreader, which got some compound on it. When I latched it again it was pretty hard to do and made a scratchy/crunchy metal-on-metal noise. Terrified I opened the latch and saw two little marks on each side of the part of the heat spreader that's flush with the substrate. I don't think there are any bent pints (unless I missed one) and the chip was definitely in the correct way. Worried but knowing that this happened before I pushed firmly and latched the bracket shut.

I'm almost done with the computer; taking the heat sink off again would be a huge pain and would just increase the risk that I do (more?) damage. Anyway, is the terrifying scratching sound normal? Would it be better to just finish the build and see if the computer boots before taking the heat sink off again? If there is a bent pin, will anything specific happen when I try to boot Are my fears justified?

Thanks for the help.

Edit: Here's a picture of the areas that were scratched (circled in red).

Edit 2: Okay, the scratches may be a little bigger than that but you get the idea.

 

[AdrianPerry]

I built my first PC about a month-2 ago now and I nearly died when I heard the crunch noise of metal on metal when I inserted the CPU in the socket.

It does take a fair bit of force pushing the bar down on the socket. As long as you placed the CPU on the right way round (pretty hard to get it wrong to be honest since there's notches around the edges so it can only really go in one way) just let the ZIF socket do the rest.

Basically - dont apply any force to the CPU itself, only thing to force down is the bar on the socket which has to latch down. And dont worry about any crunching noise, although its probably not ideal, in my experience, it happens, and it more than likely unavoidable

I wouldn't recommend taking it out and having to place it in again, that's just asking for more trouble. Finish your build, boot up and see how it goes

EDIT: AS A LAST RESORT - IF for some reason there is problems when you boot and there ARE bent CPU pins, heres a small guide on how to straighten them http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-Bent-Pins-on-a-CPU

 

[dhicks19]

It will be fine, there is always some resistance when latching a cpu. continue the build, its fine

 

[AdrianPerry]

I'd take it out just to make sure there are no bent pins and everything is okay to avoid possible issues in the future, and of course peace of mind

Each time you remove and replace the CPU your increasing the risk of damage or problems. Resistance is very normal. On this basis just continue the build and only remove it if there's actually a problem.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

Some boards have a reputation of needing more effort to force the socket lever down, and they get scratches on those two places like yours. This is normal, and won't result in any bent pins unless you aligned the CPU incorrectly in the socket. The heat spreader is meant to take the damage like that, specifically so the CPU itself doesn't take any damage.

 

[AdrianPerry]

^ nicely worded

 

[orange3]

Thanks for the help; I can breathe a sigh of relief (at least until I power on the system lol). I'll report back with how everything went.