Broken CPU pins

[DrSwizz]

That would be solder that's less that 0.5 mm thick. Not much strength there--and probably pretty difficult to get into a PGA socket hole. Better to tin a bit of 28 AWG copper wire, solder, then bend. Again, not much strength. size 7 bronze music wire has the requisite strength and stiffness. A no. 77 wire drill would make for a close fit. I used a no. 70 wire drill and size 11 bronze music wire because that's what I had on hand--it fit the socket snugly, but it fit.

It works perfectly fine with ZIF sockets (I am actually typing this a machine that has a CPU that I repaired in such a way

 

[Chuck(G)]

It works perfectly fine with ZIF sockets (I am actually typing this a machine that has a CPU that I repaired in such a way

No argument that it might work, but just like the guy on YouTube who simply sticks the broken-off pin the ZIF socket, i wouldn't count on it for many insertions and removals. Usually, I'm after something that's as durable as a new part.

Raven, if you want to salvage that mess you have, you can straighten whatever pins that don't break off, then get a regular PGA (not ZIF, but something like this) socket and squirt a bit of solder paste (solder+fux in a paste form) into each of the socket's contacts, insert the part, then use a hot-air pencil to reflow the solder. The result should be as reliable as a new part, just slightly higher in profile.

 

[carangil]

Just shoving the pin into a socket, hoping it makes contact, has worked for me with a hard drive. I accidentally broke a pin off a hard drive connector. I tried the drive without the pin, and it didn't work. I looked it up, and it turns out it was one of the data lines! So, I shoved a small piece of stranded copper wire in the hole in the IDE cable connector, and shoved that in the drive's connector. So, it seems some of the tiny strands of copper just gently smash into the stub of the pin. Worked fine for a couple years that way!

( This was when I was a student... I assure you as an adult I handle all my electronics in only the most professional manner possible! ;-) )

 

[james1095]

I don't think you'd want to take a crack at this for free, but how about in exchange for some "stuff"?

I don't wanna do dozens of them for free, but if someone asks me nicely and it sounds like an interesting project, I've been known to lend a hand. What goes around comes around, and sometimes karma/good will is worth more than "stuff".

 

[swaaye]

This thread is reminding me of the one little pin that I broke off of a Phenom II X4. It wasn't one of those not-so-important redundant ground pins, either. That was not a good day. I managed to solder a small bit of copper wire back on and then the pad itself came off of the CPU package. Fury.

Pins are so tiny now that it's easier than ever to mess them up.

The modern Intel sockets are another way to spend a few hours squinting and twisting your eyeballs if you bend one of those super tiny socket pins... You really need some very steady hands too.