[SOLVED] I bought a new (sealed) Ryzen 1600 but it looks used

matteusr

Prominent
Dec 28, 2018
21
0
520
I have just got a Ryzen 5 1600, a new one (made in 2016), sealed box with amd sticker intact on top and bottom.

The problem is that it looks kind of "dirty" and the copper plate on the heatsink looks oxidated.

Is it normal?

The thermal compound also looks bad, but, well, it's from 2016, it was expected.

Best pictures I could take:
https://imgur.com/a/FX03G8l

the finger mark on the thermal compund is mine, I was checking if it was dry (it was)
 
Solution

Aluminum forms a strong oxide layer almost immediately on contact with air which protects the rest of it from further oxidation and most chemicals. A few minutes or a few decades makes very little difference.

The patterns in the aluminum cross-section are from a combination of how aluminum grains get deformed while the aluminum is being extruded into the heatsink shape and how that extrusion gets sawed then machined into individual heatsinks.

Where the somewhat dirty-looking IHS is concerned, it is made of steel so I'd expect it to rust orange-brown starting from where info got laser-etched into it. I'd guess that's just dirt of unknown origin.

@OP most pre-applied pastes...

matteusr

Prominent
Dec 28, 2018
21
0
520


Brazilian store called 'Cissa Magazine'. It's probably on shelf since it was made.
The pins looks good, the CPU itself only has these darkish points/dots
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator

Aluminum forms a strong oxide layer almost immediately on contact with air which protects the rest of it from further oxidation and most chemicals. A few minutes or a few decades makes very little difference.

The patterns in the aluminum cross-section are from a combination of how aluminum grains get deformed while the aluminum is being extruded into the heatsink shape and how that extrusion gets sawed then machined into individual heatsinks.

Where the somewhat dirty-looking IHS is concerned, it is made of steel so I'd expect it to rust orange-brown starting from where info got laser-etched into it. I'd guess that's just dirt of unknown origin.

@OP most pre-applied pastes are almost clay-like consistency and that is perfectly fine. The main reason why human-friendly pastes are so goopy is for ease of application: the average person would be incapable of pasting a uniform thin layer of very high viscosity paste on something without the specialized tools that factories have. The paste's solid components have ~10X the thermal conductivity of silicone oil and provide the bulk of the paste's thermal conductivity. The oil also serves the secondary function of preventing the fine solids from turning into airborne particles.
 
Solution

mgallo848

Commendable
It doesn't look like it's been used but it does look as if there was a small hole in the plastic wrapping somewhere and sat in a humid environment (like Brazil)for 2 years.

Install it, check to make sure it is a 1600 in BIOS and also download CPU-Z to confirm it is a 1600
 


He was talking about the copper as was I. Copper will eventually oxidize.

That said I think the entire thing is fine although I would probably change the paste out just as a precaution but thats just me.
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator

The visible copper looks fine to me apart from looking like a somewhat rough cut. The important part is the area covered by paste and that isn't going to oxidize by any meaningful amount any time soon.