I made a new setup with an E8400 (LGA775) for the following setup: Heatsink: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro MB: Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R RAM: 2x2GB Corsair XMS2 DHX PSU: Corsair HX620W (EU) Case: Coolermaster 690 http://i27.tinypic.com/350ut6o.jpg (see what looks like dark marks - normal?) I checked everything before turning anything on, and everything was alright (checked it afterwards as well to confirm, and indeed no errors). But one thing I didnt think much of, was that I had accidentally turned the computer on before this, having forgotten the motherboard standoffs (as it is rarely needed with the computers I normally assemble, and thus I had no attention towards it). I powered on a few times with this mistake, with nothing happened (no power to MB, because it was shorted out by touching the case metal). I figured this out, and put the standoffs on, and indeed everything worked, and everything else was perfectly setup and working well. I used to work "professionally" with assembling computers, and there, the standard test for whether the CPU was working, was if the MB would actually POST, and if the operating system started up - and here, it does. However, I fear the CPU has damage, and I dont know how I would know, as the computer starts up. So tell me, considering that the CPU has worked so far, does it have damage? Is this slightly deeper color in some areas merely superficial, and a result of power going through it/usage? Or does it mean the CPU is fried?
First, any chance you can remove that picture and just post the link to it? (which is http://i27.tinypic.com/350ut6o.jpg) its a bit big to be posting directly! Second, i just want to make sure i have read your post correctly... the computer is working fine, but you think you might have damaged it?
Marks don't necessarily imply a defective or damaged CPU. Grab [google]Prime 95[/google] and let that run the blended torture test. If your CPU is defective at it's calculations, it will come up and the program will stop the test. I don't know how you handled the CPU, but off the top of my head, the only ways I can think of the marks showing up would be as a result of the manufacturing or if you got some fingerprints on the contact pads on the CPU itself. However, more than likely, the CPU is fine.
