The LGA pins are damaged.
The LGA pins are damaged.
TUF GAMING z690-plus wifi d4 cpu socket pins caused misalignment when removing thermal paste. The damaged pins affect the DRAM light, preventing RAM detection. Microcenter and a local IT shop reported they can't assist. Consider checking alignment carefully or using a different method to remove the paste.
There are two possible situations. 1. The pins might have been taken out or shifted out of position. If this is true, it’s sad. 2. This seems more common because I’ve noticed personally—pins aren’t straight and proper anymore. They’re bent somewhere. I always fix this with 100% success. You’ll need a sharp flat card like stiff iMeT or something similar that can slide through the pins to straighten them. Before doing that, grab a good pair of tweezers and a good magnifying glass or use your phone’s zoom if you have a decent camera. I’ve done this many times with my phone. Hold the phone in one hand and the tweezers in the other, trying to straighten the pins. Then shift the phone aside to check the pattern with your eyes—see if it reflects light correctly without any breaks. Slowly run the sharp card through it in both directions to confirm everything is fine. Finally, plug it in and hope for the best. P.S.: A needle won’t work because you need the tweezers’ grip to grab and move the pins.
Sometimes it doesn't work and honestly, if your hand isn't steady it can backfire. I prefer tweezers when necessary but usually a toothpick helps push pins that have shifted. If the pin is bent and twisted, tweezers might be useful—but you'll need patience. Work gently because a quick move increases the chance of breaking the pin. Be slow and methodical, just like it should be.
I managed to set everything up for my computer to work. However, there remain some problems. When I turn it on, the DRAM debug light appears briefly before it returns to normal operation. In actual use, Task Manager shows the 16GB RAM is installed, yet even with only a few thousand MB in use, it reports 40% utilization. It seems the connections were adjusted well enough for detection but not fully optimized for proper usage.
I've acquired several boards with LGA socket issues, and as long as there were no other problems, I could get them to function reliably each time. You'll need precise tweezers and considerable patience. A helpful suggestion is to slightly elevate the bent pins—since the CPU will still be pressed against them. As long as the tips line up correctly on both axes, you're in good shape. Avoid low pins or pins that are bent out of place.