[SOLVED] Will any scratches/cosmetic defects on memory sticks affect performance?

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Sorry there's no scratches on it at all, I'm just pointing at the parts that I'm referring which I'm asking may or may not have any affect on performance if it were scratched there.

I see; well, to answer that question, then as I said before it depends. On the gold pins, it depends on how deep the scratches are. The top of the chip itself should be fine so long as it's not a huge gouge on the top of it. Scratches on the PCB itself should be fine, again depending on the scratch depth. You can touch RAM modules pretty much anywhere other than the pins themselves, but even then that should be fine as well so long as your hands are clean.

For example, if you washed your hands and dried them with a towel, I'd wait a few minutes to...
Nov 3, 2021
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It's possible depending on where the scratches are and if they're deep enough to interfere/interrupt the traces of the module itself. Same with the pins; depending on how deep those scratches are, it may not have any affect at all. The picture you attached is kinda blurry, so I can't make out scratches anywhere other than the ones that are on the PCB of the module itself.

It looks like the PCB scratches are on solder joints for some of the chips; could you take a different pic that's focused better?
 

ShangWang

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Mar 26, 2021
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It's possible depending on where the scratches are and if they're deep enough to interfere/interrupt the traces of the module itself. Same with the pins; depending on how deep those scratches are, it may not have any affect at all. The picture you attached is kinda blurry, so I can't make out scratches anywhere other than the ones that are on the PCB of the module itself.

It looks like the PCB scratches are on solder joints for some of the chips; could you take a different pic that's focused better?
Sorry there's no scratches on it at all, I'm just pointing at the parts that I'm referring which I'm asking may or may not have any affect on performance if it were scratched there.
 
Nov 3, 2021
50
8
45
Sorry there's no scratches on it at all, I'm just pointing at the parts that I'm referring which I'm asking may or may not have any affect on performance if it were scratched there.

I see; well, to answer that question, then as I said before it depends. On the gold pins, it depends on how deep the scratches are. The top of the chip itself should be fine so long as it's not a huge gouge on the top of it. Scratches on the PCB itself should be fine, again depending on the scratch depth. You can touch RAM modules pretty much anywhere other than the pins themselves, but even then that should be fine as well so long as your hands are clean.

For example, if you washed your hands and dried them with a towel, I'd wait a few minutes to let your fingers air out. Though if you're that concerned about it, you could also wear a glove; just be sure that it's made out of anti-static material.
 
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ShangWang

Respectable
Mar 26, 2021
616
2
1,885
I see; well, to answer that question, then as I said before it depends. On the gold pins, it depends on how deep the scratches are. The top of the chip itself should be fine so long as it's not a huge gouge on the top of it. Scratches on the PCB itself should be fine, again depending on the scratch depth. You can touch RAM modules pretty much anywhere other than the pins themselves, but even then that should be fine as well so long as your hands are clean.

For example, if you washed your hands and dried them with a towel, I'd wait a few minutes to let your fingers air out. Though if you're that concerned about it, you could also wear a glove; just be sure that it's made out of anti-static material.
Thank you, sounds good. One more thing: in general a bit of dust isn't an issue with these connections? It'll probably just get pushed in and won't interfere?
Edit: What do solder joints do on a memory stick?