Hi all,
So after testing some CPUs that I got sent as free-bee extras when I bought some computer bits off Ebay, I have a question, that isn't REALLY answered from what I can find on the net....
On the bottom of CPUs are a bunch of SMT devices - some CPUs have more than others. I've always assumed these are capacitors to "smooth out" voltage to the actual CPU silicon. Although, please correct me if they are not.....
On a number of these CPUs (from several different generations / era, ranging from soc 775 Core 2, up to soc 1155 i5's), they had some of these "capacitors" missing, ie they had been broken off at some point. As I had the kit out and was testing, I tested them anyway.
Pretty much all of them seemed to work flawlessly. They were stable, passed stress tests and were fine. One (a core i5 3570) had 3 of these "capacitors" missing, and functioned 100%.
Are these capacitors? If some were missing I'd have thought the circuit would be broken, or the chip would have fried due to too variable voltage?
Or are they placed on the bottom of the CPUs in such a redundant fashion, as long as a few remain for each section, it stays functional?
Any light appreciated!
Cheers!