How to tell when pins are broken and what can't I touch the metal base on CPU where thermal paste goes

[careyes1027]

How will I know if my CPU pins are broken. I have an i5 7600k. And also have another question. Why can I not touch the part where the thermal paste goes. What happens if I already touched it on accident,I did not touch it a lot
Thanks for the info 😉

 

[volkgren]

The CPU pins on the motherboard are in a very uniform fashion. If one is broken or bent you would notice it out of order. You may have to look from multiple angles to see if all the pins are straight.

You can touch the top of the CPU (IHS/Integrated Heat Spreader), but before you install it you will want to clean off the oil your fingers left behind before installing the thermal paste because it could prevent optimal cooling. Unless you are super serious about overclocking and getting the absolute best temp it's not a huge issue.

 

[TJ Hooker]

The CPU doesn't have pins, the motherboard does. You'd need to look at it carefully, possibly with a magnifying glass, and see if you can spot any pins that look bent or broken. Do you have any reason to think that there are broken pins?

What happens if you touch the top of the heatspreader? Nothing really. I guess the oils of your skin could interfere with paste application/heat transfer a bit, always best to a have the surface as clean as possible before applying paste.