So there's an ad on a local craigslist-like site for a "broken" ex58 ud3r mobo and a "broken" i7 cpu. He says he bent the pins on the motherboard (presumably the cpu pins?) but i'm wondering what the heck you would have to do to break the actual cpu? He's asking a very low price, and I'm really tempted to go check it out.

Thanks

Sounds iffy to me. You never know though, depends on how much hes askin. If it was like 5$, might be tempted to check it out just on a whim.....

Pins can be bent back if it is just bent pins, though it is not as easy as it sounds. But it is possible ( I have done it a few times, I know many cases of failure though)

I'm not too worried about the mobo, more concerned about the cpu. He is asking $40 for both

ask for a photo of the bent pins. I bent my old CPU's pins and just bent them back with no issue. AS long as they arent bent to far or at the point of breaking off its fine.

ESD (electrostatic discharge) can break a CPU and have it "look" perfectly fine (it just wont work correctly).

Your best hope is that the guy is just an idiot who thinks the CPU is broken but doesnt know how to configure the board correctly to get it to POST. Really no way you are going to be able to tell though, it is very possible for the CPU to be totally shot.

Sorry cant be more help, but the fact is in this case.... there is no way really to make an educated guess... you are betting mostly on the character\competance of the seller.

Thank you very much xelloss, that's very helpful. I'll post back if anything comes out of this.

 

Well I bought the things. About ~5 pins are bent as far as I can tell.

Backstory: So this guy's dad (17-18) bought him computer components to put together. Basically, this guy and his "friend" tried to install it, and botched the install somehow by bending pins. They took it to a local computer shop who told them it was "broken" and tried to sell him a new computer. I established that the guy I bought the mobo/cpu from was completely clueless about computers after a few questions, as was his dad. His dad wasn't sure if they tested this CPU on another motherboard at the computer shop. The cpu may be fine (fingers crossed) as this computer shop may have just wanted to sell this guy a new computer. I paid him $30 for the cpu and mobo, so even if nothing comes out of this it's no big loss.

pics

 

 

Does it work? That'd be one hell of a deal. Also it's not rocket science putting the computer together.... It's like playing with ELGOs.

I don't have DDR 3 ram, and I also would need to bend those pins back first to test.

Sounds like there is a good chance the CPU at least will be ok. Bent pins on the board is a common problem with that type of socket. Even if the board pins cannot be corrected, 30$ for a i7 920 is a heck of a deal. If you think you can get the pins straight enough, drop 25$ on the cheapest DDR3 or borrow some and give ti a whirl I say.