Hole in CPU???

[dabbler]

I am in the process of (cheaply) replacing the wife's eMachines Imperial MB with a compatible one - a Biostar P4M80-4M. Her PC has a 2.6 Celeron 478 CPU - she surfs, plays Mahjongg, and keeps our photo album, so it is powerful enough.

I am replacing the MB because of these symptoms: frequent failure to power up/boot when power on, onboard NIC stopped working, and then PCI NIC no longer worked either. I also replaced the PSU as well.

Last night, I installed the new MB. When I went to put in her CPU, I noticed that it had a HOLE in the top of the CPU casing(?)!!! It does not go all the way through, and is probably slightly smaller than a BB. Unfortunately, I did not think to get any pics of the hole. I went ahead and put it together. So far, in my limited testing, the PC has been powering up and initializing flawlessly, but I will need to reinstall XP to get any further.

How concerned should I be about this hole?

My current inclination is to keep using it until I have a reason to not use it.

I should probably mention that this is the first time I have actually seen this CPU, so I do not know if it was always there or not.


Thank you!

 

[ajfink]

That? Designed that way.

 

[dabbler]

huh...I've just never seen one of these CPUs up close.


I guess I'll do more research next time before I post something like this.

😳


What is it - some sort of floating point compensator or an interface between AS5 and the CPU registers?

Wait - I have a better idea. It is a template hole for making a necklace out of the CPU - like to 30 pin SIMM I have on my key chain.

Thank you.

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

ajfink rocks

 

[ajfink]

huh...I've just never seen one of these CPUs up close.


I guess I'll do more research next time before I post something like this.

😳


What is it - some sort of floating point compensator or an interface between AS5 and the CPU registers?

Wait - I have a better idea. It is a template hole for making a necklace out of the CPU - like to 30 pin SIMM I have on my key chain.

Thank you.

No biggie. I think it surprises a lot of people the first time they see it. I'm actually not sure what it's exact purpose is, I'm sure someone here knows. Perhaps just a hole to keep pressure equalized between the IHS and HSF so things don't get shitty in a hurry when the CPU gets hot.

 

[m25]

This is a detail that first appeared in the tualatin P3 heatspreader:

and probably serves for ducting the excessive thermal paste applied on the heatspreader instead of spilling it over the package. However, it quickly disappeared, probably because it was largely ineffective; even the K6s channel all around the heatspreader was much more effective in doing this 😀

 

[apache_lives]

I am in the process of (cheaply) replacing the wife's eMachines Imperial MB with a compatible one - a Biostar P4M80-4M. Her PC has a 2.6 Celeron 478 CPU - she surfs, plays Mahjongg, and keeps our photo album, so it is powerful enough.

I am replacing the MB because of these symptoms: frequent failure to power up/boot when power on, onboard NIC stopped working, and then PCI NIC no longer worked either. I also replaced the PSU as well.

Last night, I installed the new MB. When I went to put in her CPU, I noticed that it had a HOLE in the top of the CPU casing(?)!!! It does not go all the way through, and is probably slightly smaller than a BB. Unfortunately, I did not think to get any pics of the hole. I went ahead and put it together. So far, in my limited testing, the PC has been powering up and initializing flawlessly, but I will need to reinstall XP to get any further.

How concerned should I be about this hole?

My current inclination is to keep using it until I have a reason to not use it.

I should probably mention that this is the first time I have actually seen this CPU, so I do not know if it was always there or not.


Thank you!

Totally normal and from what iv heard its to allow the glue to cure and air out during the manufacturing process.

As for your mobo - also check your psu