Anyone ever tried pin repair on a CPU?

I took a punt on a Ryzen chip with a broken pin (I think it's USB_HSD1P) and wondered if anyone had ever tried a repair? I'm fairly certain the CPU won't work as-is so I'm going in to this with eyes wide open, I've got an A320 mobo to test anything with before putting in my main rig.

There are 2 options I've seen:
- Drop a loose pin in the socket and put the CPU on top
- Solder a pin from another CPU

Since my soldering skills don't really exist the first option seems simple but I imagine pretty risky. Can I do the 2nd option with a heat gun maybe?

Wish me luck!

I'd be tempted to try the chip without the pin to start with, I had a guy buy a motherboard & CPU off me a while back, he brought it back and said that the iGPU didn't work, took his heatsink off and could see that what looked like a couple of bent pins on the socket, straightened them out and all was well, but other than the iGPU not working everything else tested fine so you might find that things work even without that single pin..

However, if it is a USB one you might find some pretty important stuff doesn't work...

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Originally Posted by [GSV]Trig

.... However, if it is a USB one you might find some pretty important stuff doesn't work...

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Any ideas on what that pin could do? I've tried to find out but can't find anything online

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Originally Posted by Rob_B

Any ideas on what that pin could do? I've tried to find out but can't find anything online

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Purely based on this diagram linked, it connects to "USB to I2C"
https://www.xwfix.com/wp-content/upl...ire_E5_722.pdf

Then this is the best I could find as to what I2C does

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The I2C-USB bridge is connected to the PC in the same way as an HID device and requires no additional driver when connected to a PC installed with Windows®. This I2C-USB bridge works as a master in the I2C bus and is controlled by a PC program via the USB.

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https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infine...7d0eee3d4a7cea

To me seems fundemental but I could be down completely the wrong rabbit hole

I'm not going to pretend to understand those diagrams :surprised:

Looks like I might be learning how to do micro soldering!

Can you photograph the chip, or at least confirm it’s number.
Issue with soldering something that small, if you overheat you’ll fraggle the whole chip..

Have you tried to run the chip yet?

I've not got it yet, but will do :)

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Originally Posted by AGTDenton

Purely based on this diagram linked, it connects to "USB to I2C"
https://www.xwfix.com/wp-content/upl...ire_E5_722.pdf

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If that block diagram is to believed, then that pin is for interfacing to a touch pad.
I2C is used in all sorts of places like reading dram configuration from the dimms and configuring network PHYs, but I would give it a try and see what the PC can't find and hope you don't get a "no memory detected" beep.

Micro-soldering isn't too bad once you get used to it, assuming you have a steady hand. The main issue is the equipment. You really need the correct tools for the job.

So, with 0 skill,0 experience and a bog standard soldering iron it seems like this is going to go swimmingly!

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Originally Posted by Rob_B

So, with 0 skill,0 experience and a bog standard soldering iron it seems like this is going to go swimmingly!

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Please post the results :mrgreen:

I personally wouldn't be trying with a soldering iron (you need hot air), but as long as you're happy to write it off, have fun and learn!

I've got a heat gun, wasn't sure if that'd be enough but I can experiment!

Well, got it this morning and after straightening a few surrounding pins I popped it into my rig and.... Drumroll please....!

It seems totally fine!

It boots to Windows fine, nothing seems to be broken (yet)
Setting up RAM etc in the BIOS now and will check all the USB ports due to the naming of that pin, if OK then it looks like I snagged a 5600x for £65, I'm due some good luck finally!

Told ya ;)
Can you see stuff not working in device manager?

Nah, all looks good. Running cinebench now, boost clocks with PBO seem pretty good, temps are ok considering the cooling, I'm pleasnatly surprised as I'm pretty confident it wasnt just a ground pin :)

10min run of R23...
70C max
Cores boosting to 4.5/4.6 (one is 4550 and the other five are 4650)

Wow, that's a hell of a saving. Looking on ebay, used ones (without missing pins!) are going for north of £150. For £65 it was worth a punt, glad it seems to have paid off for you :)

Awesome, great work! :mrgreen:

Yeah I'm pretty chuffed, but was definitely a risk!

I've played a few games, ran more R23, tweaked PBO/curves a bit (although I'm still confused by some of it !) and it's been rock solid.

I now have an entire 2nd PC 'spare', that's normal right? :D

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Originally Posted by Rob_B

Yeah I'm pretty chuffed, but was definitely a risk!

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Fortune favours the brave!

Out of interest, what do your temps hit under load? My 5800x is a toasty little beggar, shoots straight up to 90c under heavy load. I've done quite a bit of reading up and it does seem this is very common for the 5800x when air cooled, due to its high thermal density - producing most of its grunt from a single chiplet, in contrast to the dual chiplets on 12c/16c variants. I'm just curious to know if the 5600x is a little more chilled.

10 minutes of R23 with all cores hitting 4.6Ghz and it was at 71C
I'm using an NZXT H1 v1 so it's a 140mm AiO with no other fans.
PBO on and curve optimiser set to all cores -10 (whatever that means)

You know about the riser on the v1 I presume?

Yeah thanks, I got the case 2nd hand but NZXT were great and got me a new riser sent out ASAP. It was held in with zip ties until I swapped it out so all safe :)

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Originally Posted by Rob_B

PBO on and curve optimiser set to all cores -10 (whatever that means)

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This explains it quite well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU5qLJqTSAc

The offset just refers to the voltage at a given 'step' on the curve.