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Did I break this? (thelemmy.club)
submitted 4 months ago* by to c/diy@lemmy.ml
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I was trying to remove the backplate and my hand slipped and I accidentally scratched it with the screwdriver. I think there used to be a transistor here. Is this fixable? I have basic soldering skills.

Edit: This is the back of the CPU socket so I'm kind of freaking out.

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[–] [S] 2 points 4 months ago (6 children)

I seriously appreciate the repair advice but I think it's all for not. I inspected the traces under direct light and saw exposed copper along the trace. I wouldn't be able to see it if not for the light. In any case, I can't wait the time it would take to get it fixed. I kind of need something now. That being said, I have no intention of throwing it away. I have another AM4 CPU I could pair it with so I'll try fixing it at some point. Hopefully soon. I'm just mad at myself for letting this happen. I should have been more careful. I do plan to invest in more soldering equipment and a multimeter.

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  • [–] 9 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    Seeing exposed copper is fine, you just don’t want that copper to be broken. A trace that is exposed is not protected as well, but will still work

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 months ago* (4 children)

    Do you really think it's a good idea to try firing it up as is? I can get some clear nail polish. I might be willing to try if that's your recommendation. I've calmed down since last night.

    Edit: Is there any risk of damaging the SSD's and GPU? I wouldn't think so?

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (3 children)

    If you visually inspect it and it doesn’t appear the copper that is exposed is broken you’re probably okay. If the copper traces are broken the issue will be more instability/unable to post. If the traces are shorting (eg lifted from the board and touching) more damage could occur theoretically but you should be able to see this and the damage doesn’t look that extensive

    I would unplug all peripherals to test. Basically minimum needs to post - psu, cpu, 1 stick of ram. It’s very unlikely that anything would break but this ensures all that stays okay and more importantly eliminates a bunch of variables all at once

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    I'm happy to say it works great and now that I installed the new cooler it works better than ever. Thank you for helping me overcome my doubts! Is the cooper okay being exposed though? I couldn't find clear polish.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    It’s not the end of the world but sealing it at some point is probably a good idea. Uv mask is the best option and is online even at places like amazon/ebay for like $8, often comes with a (shitty but workable uv lamp to cure it

    Clear nail polish might work too but I don’t know longevity, like if it would get hard and flake off after awhile especially with heat cycling inherent to that section of the motherboard

    Another cheap and easy option is kapton/polyimide tape, a roll of this is dirt cheap (unless you get a crazy amount), it’s non conductive, and it can withstand far more heat than your cpu will ever make. It’s just tape so you just stick it on there. But that’s the stuff I use to mask off sections of the board that I don’t want to get hot when I’m doing hot air rework soldering so it can easily withstand like 4-500F

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