Touching the CPU

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sdgeiger

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Oct 31, 2014
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I am in the process of a system build, but had some damage to the mobo so I'm waiting for the replacement. Due to the damage to the mobo, I never got to test if the CPU was working correctly. While installing the CPU, I am fairly certain that I touched the bottom of the CPU (an i7-4700). Everything I've read since (and even Youtube videos) say NEVER touch the bottom of the CPU.

Well, I did. Now what? Does this mean that the CPU won't work? I suppose the only way to know for sure is to test it out when I receive the replacement mobo, but if I'm 100% certain that it won't work, I might go ahead and order a new CPU.

Could I just clean the bottom of the CPU with alcohol and a qtip or something?

What are your thoughts?
 
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The pins on the bottom of the processor are delicate...so we have to handle it properly....If any one of the pins get bend or just damaged,it will not fit into socket and the processor(CPU) will not work......
 
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You really never should, but don't worry you are okay probably. I played with an old G530 Celeron CPU I had before and didn't care about. I had kept it with little regard, dropped it a few times, touched it, and eventually decided to test it and it worked fine without issue.

It is directly related to your CPU and has the same bottom, so results should be similar. Not saying you should play with yours, but I think you should be alright. Worst comes to worst, if it has some dirt on the bottom or something, use a cotton swab and a little rubbing alcohol to clean the bottom and let it dry.
 
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As far as im aware the biggest issue with touching the bottom of the CPU is the dangers with bending the CPU pins. I'd say if you didn't bend any of the pins you'll be in good shape. You can check this by looking down the pins to make sure they are streight. If not you can use a razor or CC to bend them back (be careful!). However, if you have awefully greeasy hands I guess this could cause a problem. IMO, I'd try it either way, if it doesn't work send it back and claim that the part was faulty to begin with :).
 
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Thanks guys. Yes, I was going to say that the Intel CPU doesn't have pins. I build an AMD machine back in 2007 and I remember that it had pins and I had to be extra cautious.

This time, my problem was that the Mobo pins were bent, so I RMA'd it. 3 weeks later, I still don't have a replacement mobo (probably not buying from NewEgg again). The CPU looked fine but I held it in my hand (with the bottom of the CPU sitting in the palm of my hand).
 
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Just bit a little 91-99% alcohol (not rubbing alcohol 60%) on a Q-tip and lightly go over the bottom if you think it is dirty, can wipe with a coffee filter to get any residue off after that. That is what is used to clean water residue after a leak in a loop, you should be fine

 
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Not much danger here. Aside from getting some oil from your skin on there, all the contacts are gold plated, so they won't tarnish.

You could wipe the bottom of the CPU with a 90% or greater solution of isopropyl alcohol to clean it. But that does risk a bit of static discharge (but then again, so does practically any handling)
 
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