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Best Practice for fixing bent pins on a cpu socket

Celstorto234

Celstorto234

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Feb 25, 2025
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So I was having memory issues with my motherboard which started around the time I put in my new cooler and I must've bent a pin during the installation. Is there any good practices/tips on trying to put it back in its correct place. (AM5 Socket)
 
be a surgeon, and remember the pins are really brittle. (lol)

i have used a pin, and nerves of steel to fix.(oh, not a surgeon, lol) the light pattern shining on the pins (intel mb) gives an indication that they are all “ straight”
 
I once used a nail file to lift the pins and make sure they're all in a straight line in each row.
 
Celstorto234 said:
started around the time I put in my new cooler and I must've bent a pin during the installation
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How?
Shihab said:
Is this something you have visually confirmed or just a hypothesis?
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I wonder the same thing as Shihab. The pins should not have been exposed as there is no reason to pull the CPU just to swap out coolers.

Celstorto234 said:
Is there any good practices/tips on trying to put it back in its correct place.
Click to expand...
For the tool, I use precision jeweler's needle nose or tweezer-nose pliers. For the practice, always, as in EVERY SINGLE TIME, practice ESD prevention precautions to ensure all static electricity in body is discharged BEFORE coming near the motherboard, CPU or other ESD sensitive devices. And yes, those anti-static tweezer-nose pliers are worth the investment if you are a tech.

Do note those pins are not expected to, and therefore are not designed to endure any stress. So [obviously] they are not designed to be bent. Therefore the metal alloys are not flexible. This means "metal fatigue" will start to set in the very first time the pin is bent and will only get worse each time it is bent (or unbent).

"IF" lucky, your pins can be bent twice (bent and unbent) before breaking. If not, the pin will break when trying to straighten it again. So be careful and do it right the first time. And triple check to make sure you have the processor oriented correctly before mounting so you don't bend any more pins, or worse, the same pins again.
 
Get a magnifying glass, it'll help.
 
Use the tip from a mechanical pencil.

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Empty out and eject all the lead then slide the tip over the pin that is bench and gently nudge it back in place.
 
mechanical pencil without the lead.
 
lol can’t see the pin tip? If it’s gone, you could use a wire( in its place). My eyes maybe bad, the pin looks cooked(burnt).
Try a sowing needle, gonna need a steady hand and good eyes. I have replaced pins with a wire just to make them work, 1 wrong move and poof it can all be gone.
 
jaggerwild said:
lol can’t see the pin tip? If it’s gone, you could use a wire( in its place). My eyes maybe bad, the pin looks cooked(burnt).
Try a sowing needle, gonna need a steady hand and good eyes. I have replaced pins with a wire just to make them work, 1 wrong move and poof it can all be gone.
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I think its just bent upwards.

For LGA pins, I like to use a sowing needle, and just super lightly brush/feather the top of the pin back into position.
 
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