Question Corrosion on Ryzen 7 3700X ?

[ewrc]

While troubleshooting my PC which would "wake" monitor but display no output, I managed to get a "CPU fan header error" POST when replacing the PSU.
Then upon putting on a cooler system went back to no POST, so I took the cooler off to reseat the CPU and well, the CPU came off with the cooler, and first thing I noticed was that the pins have some sort of corrosion on them.

This hardware is probably 18 months old at most. The motherboard is the same age, so it's strange, I'll be replacing the motherboard because I doubt the corrosion occurred because of the CPU but the MOBO probably did something...

I have squirted it with isopropyl but as you can see, it's still there, it's probably on more pins, just hard to see. Not sure what to do here? I plan on just putting it in the new motherboard while trying to get it to POST.

 

[CountMike]

While troubleshooting my PC which would "wake" monitor but display no output, I managed to get a "CPU fan header error" POST when replacing the PSU.
Then upon putting on a cooler system went back to no POST, so I took the cooler off to reseat the CPU and well, the CPU came off with the cooler, and first thing I noticed was that the pins have some sort of corrosion on them.

This hardware is probably 18 months old at most. The motherboard is the same age, so it's strange, I'll be replacing the motherboard because I doubt the corrosion occurred because of the CPU but the MOBO probably did something...

I have squirted it with isopropyl but as you can see, it's still there, it's probably on more pins, just hard to see. Not sure what to do here? I plan on just putting it in the new motherboard while trying to get it to POST.

Probably just some discoloration. pins are gold plated.

 

[ewrc]

Probably just some discoloration. pins are gold plated.

Yes, my thoughts too, but I guess the gold might've been stripped and then the brass...? I highly doubt it, hopefully just a motherboard issue but it looks the same as other corrosion that has been fixed with isopropyl

 

[CountMike]

Yes, my thoughts too, but I guess the gold might've been stripped and then the brass...? I highly doubt it, hopefully just a motherboard issue but it looks the same as other corrosion that has been fixed with isopropyl

But,.....but ..... but...... alcohol can't get corrosion fixed. Acid is needed or a strong base.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Yes, my thoughts too, but I guess the gold might've been stripped and then the brass...? I highly doubt it, hopefully just a motherboard issue but it looks the same as other corrosion that has been fixed with isopropyl

If the gold plating was stripped away (not unlikely since consumer products are VERY lightly plated) it would expose the brass. The brass is fairly resistant to corrosion...but it does. When it does corrode it forms the patina of oxidized metal we call tarnish. Highly prized in antiques, it's not really harmful but it is an oxide and non-conductive.

About all you can do is what you did...don't do any more. Just put it back in and put it to use. Being only 18 mo's old it's still in warranty. In fact, I'd say gold plating failure is a reasonable warranty claim. Instead of taking any more chances with a bent pin or other damage from cleaning that will void your warranty, get it replaced by AMD instead.