Is this CPU damaged ?
Is this CPU damaged ?
A pre-owned i7-8700k just arrived from eBay described as in perfect condition. Yet the gold plates seemed quite grey. I cleaned with 99% ISO in the event it was oil or paste and a lot of it came off except a few plates where the gold has actually seems to have physically come off and is showing the nickel underneath. The surface feels slightly different with a Q-tip and won't clean back to gold.
The backside wasn't in the sale photos so I'm guessing this might have been a known issue.
I'm still waiting on my motherboard so can't test it yet. I get the feeling this might boot up ok but maybe cause some issues if I were to start gaming or stress test it.
Would you see this as ok and wait to see how the build turns out on stress testing, or is this a problem enough to just return as broken straight away and order from someone else?
The main concern is the lack of photos for that side of the CPU. It's clearly not in perfect condition, yet you're asking why it's not included and acknowledged as such. I would keep it if it didn't become a problem later. I've given them an opportunity to explain, but I sense I'll return it anyway. It's in the same price range as some others with gold plates.
Maybe the buyer didn't realize about the damaged contacts. Was it marked as a verified purchase from another source or as part of the seller's personal items? It doesn't really matter, it might have been overlooked either way. Looking at the images, it seems like foreign material is sitting on top of the gold coating. A mild abrasive cleaning, done carefully to prevent static damage, could help.
Ebay seller protection lets you exchange the chip because it clearly isn’t in great shape.
Not every pad will definitely be needed, so even if it’s damaged it might not affect you.
It’s hard to predict whether those pads will work later.
For instance, if 8gb RAM is fine at first, you could face issues with 16gb later.
There should be other 8700 models available.
I believe I should return it.
It doesn't appear to be a blemish. I managed to remove the other issues, but these look like possible delamination of the gold. The seller replied, mentioning his old PC was functioning when last used. He advised testing it in a new machine since it's hard to confirm damage without testing, before blaming me. Luckily I recorded a video of opening the package and saw it immediately. It might just be that he didn't inspect it properly, though only a few damaged contacts were visible on the VCCGT pins. It could still be okay.