P6X58D-E Motherboard damaged by CPU installation??

[skyeclipper]

Hi all

Well that's what Newegg said. I RMA'ed a bad ASUS P6X58D-E mobo back to Newegg and this is what they said:

Motherboard was received with apparent end-user caused physical damage to CPU socket contact pins.

Yikes. This is the 15th computer I have built and I don't usually make this sort of mistake. Could I have done this damage inadvertently?  What about the CPU? How do I go about checking the i7 930 for damage? Visual inspection only?

Any thoughts?

Here is all the hardware:
ASUS P6X58D-E MB
Intel i7 930 CPU
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850w PSU
A-DATA XPG Gaming Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) memory
ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 Video Card
Scythe MUGEN SCMG-2100 Rev B Cooler
WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
LITE-ON Black 24X 2MB Cache SATA DVD Writer
ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor

[Computer_Commando]

Socket B, Flip Chip Land Grid Array

If you exceeded the mechanical load, I expect you would have been aware.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1366

They did a visual on the motherboard, you do a visual on the cpu.

You did not tell us anything about what led you to return the motherboard.

[skyeclipper]

Thanks for your reply.

Well...a magnifying glass inspection showed that the CPU pad array had no mechanical damage. You can imagine that I felt a lot of relief over that discovery.

I don't know where to go from here. Do you think I could turn Newegg around?

I'm also not sure about a replacement MB. Any thoughts?

[Geek-9pm]

The link given by Computer_Commando indicates that damage is done to the CPU, not the socket. The socket would damage the CPU if it is overloaded. It takes 200 lbs of force to make the socket warp.Did you bang  with a hammer?
Ask new egg for more info about where  they get the information. Hard too believe that you put 200 pounds on the CPU.

What did you use for a heat sink? A radiator from a truck? 

[patio]

I'm also not sure about a replacement MB. Any thoughts?

Personally i would try a CPU swap before i would chalk it to to a bad board...but's that's just ne...

[Calum]

Whatn they're saying is that the socket has bent pins.  Do they have any evidence of this?  Ask for a picture, they should be happy to provide one.  Did you inspect the socket before sending it back?
Do you actually have the board with you now, or do Newegg still have it?

[Computer_Commando]

...Well...a magnifying glass inspection showed that the CPU pad array had no mechanical damage...I don't know where to go from here. Do you think I could turn Newegg around?...

Why did you send the motherboard back?  Did you see it was broken?  Tell us exactly what happened that caused you to return it.  Did it not POST?

[skyeclipper]

First things first things first: I do not have anger management issues, so I did not take a hammer to the motherboard.

When I first started putting this PC together:

Installed the PSU
Installed the CPU on the ASUS P6X58D-E MB
Installed the motherboard in the case
Mated the HSF to the CPU
Installed 3 x2GB memory sticks
Installed the ATI 5770 video card
Turned the machine on

This first smoke test yielded little. The MEM-OK LED came on. The I/O button lighted. The HSF spun up as did the video card fan. I played around the with memory sticks trying to isolate a "defective" stick. Nada. The board would not even try to POST.

I subsequently obtained a speaker to help with troubleshooting. With a speaker, I  powered up the machine now expecting to hear some beeps. No joy.  It had to be the MB, the CPU or the memory. Based on what I had to work with, I decided that it was a defective motherboard and RMA'd it back to Egghead.

Do you think that ASUS might help under these circumstances? Do I need to rate the experience a single egg on Newegg.com to get ASUS attention?

Thanks for the help guys. You are helping to keep me sane.

[skyeclipper]

Too late to ask Newegg for pictures, the motherboard is now in transit from Newegg. I will check it with a magnifying glass.

Thanks

[Computer_Commando]

Too late to ask Newegg for pictures, the motherboard is now in transit from Newegg. I will check it with a magnifying glass...

They said:  "Motherboard was received with apparent end-user caused physical damage to CPU socket contact pins."
Should not require a magnifying glass; they didn't use one.  If you didn't ship it back with the protective cover in place, it may have caused them to make this determination.  When you get it back, inspect it & let us know what you see.

[skyeclipper]

I did in fact have the protective cover on the socket. I did not notice any anomalies after removing the CPU, prior to putting the socket cover on for shipping.

I will post my comments after I examine the motherboard.

Thanks

[Geek-9pm]

How To Install/Remove Intel Socket 1366 CPU and Heatsink

[patio]

How To Install/Remove Intel Socket 1366 CPU and Heatsink

Too late...

[Computer_Commando]

Too late...

Probably.  Read the whole thing, If you squashed it flat (which I now suspect), you're SOL.
"If a pin is out of place it may be possible to very carefully nudge it back into place with the tip of a sharp pin. "

[skyeclipper]

Fudge.

The MB is on it's way back to me. I'll post a photo of the damage later this week.