PC arrived somewhat broken when shipped with UPS, seeking advice

[dpepper509]

Hello,

So I recently spent $1300 on building my first PC. I shipped the computer insured for $1000 with UPS, taking nothing out but my GTX 970 which I shipped separately (thank God). It arrived at my university a couple days ago (the reason I had to ship it in the first place) seemingly OK, but when I looked through my case window my heart dropped. My non-overclocked i5-4690's stock cooling fan had come detached, resting on the other side of my case. I filed an insurance claim with UPS, but who knows if anyone there will understand what happened. My main concern isn't the fan itself but the damage it may have done to my motherboard and other components while it was being thrown around in my case in transit. When I find out what UPS will do about my claim, should I attempt to scrape the thermal paste residue off, get a new cooler and some more paste, and attach that and call it a day? Or should I take it into a PC shop to have someone more experienced install the cooler and also inspect the rest of my PC to make sure nothing else got damaged? I've never applied or taken off thermal paste before, I just want suggestions on how best to handle this whole situation.

Thanks

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I would reapply the thermal paste (not too hard), put in the 970, and boot up the PC. Chances are everything is fine - PC components are more durable than people think, especially the motherboard.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Also, was your cooler ever secure in the first place? Even with a lot of bumps, a cooler should not come out like that so easily. Those stock cooler fans with the Haswell Intel processors can be very confusing as to knowing if they actually are locked in place. The arrows on the pushpins point to (I'm quite sure) how to unlock it.

 

[eatmypie]

It probably wasn't shipped properly.Even if you meet their shipping expectations or have them package it. You or whoever shipped it most likely didn't put a this side up arrow on the package, if that's the case it's kind of both you and the shippers fault. It most likely got shipped with the motherboard not facing up at some point during shipping. If you shipped everything in just the box the case came in that can also cause an issue. You always want to double box any system if it's getting shipped.

 

[Reyaz123]

I wouldn't touch it at all if calling for a replacement. That could breach their "terms" and cost you money to replace it instead of being free

So, try to wait until you get a response back from UPS. If they won't replace it, go ahead.

 

[dpepper509]

I would reapply the thermal paste (not too hard), put in the 970, and boot up the PC. Chances are everything is fine - PC components are more durable than people think, especially the motherboard.

Ok, but I still think I need to get a new cooler now. current one looks bent up in parts from being tossed around the case in shipping. Are there any 3rd party coolers that don't need additional mounting brackets? because I'm definitely not comfortable taking my MOBO out.

 

[dpepper509]

It probably wasn't shipped properly.Even if you meet their shipping expectations or have them package it. You or whoever shipped it most likely didn't put a this side up arrow on the package, if that's the case it's kind of both you and the shippers fault. It most likely got shipped with the motherboard not facing up at some point during shipping. If you shipped everything in just the box the case came in that can also cause an issue. You always want to double box any system if it's getting shipped.

It was in its original case box with foam inserts, double boxed in a much larger box with packing peanuts, and then fragile was written all over it. I don't see any other visible damage, so you think I would be ok just getting a new heatsink/cpu cooler?

 

[eatmypie]

It still might of gone with the motherboard down. Just take a flash light and look around for any scratches on the motherboard or anything that looks off. You need to remember intel's mounting system is just some plastic push pins, so they aren't that secure to begin with, so it doesn't take much force to knock it off. I would just install it again if its possible and try booting it up. I would take pictures of everything first or make a short 1min video of it when you file a claim. But really if it boots up fine and if you can run some benchmarks and other tests like memtest on it, you should be just fine. The old thermal paste should be fine as long as you don't overclock it.

 

[dpepper509]

It still might of gone with the motherboard down. Just take a flash light and look around for any scratches on the motherboard or anything that looks off. You need to remember intel's mounting system is just some plastic push pins, so they aren't that secure to begin with, so it doesn't take much force to knock it off. I would just install it again if its possible and try booting it up. I would take pictures of everything first or make a short 1min video of it when you file a claim. But really if it boots up fine and if you can run some benchmarks and other tests like memtest on it, you should be just fine. The old thermal paste should be fine as long as you don't overclock it.

Can anyone confirm that this would actually be ok with the old thermal paste and all? The old cooler looks like it might have been bent in a few spots too and one of the smaller screws (not the mounting ones) has come loose. But if this could at least be a temporary solution, I'm all for it.

 

[eatmypie]

Google

 

[dpepper509]

UPS is giving their response to the claim today. Regardless of if they accept it or not I'll still want to get my PC fixed, so what's the best way to go about this considering my relative lack of experience and the possible additional damage?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Actually the push pins are quite strong, I have a feeling the cooler was loose in the first place.

 

[eatmypie]

Made out of plastic that cracks and breaks easy = not strong.