Is this CPU physically damaged?

I recently purchased an used core 2 quad Q9400 cpu from ebay.Upon receiving this cpu i examined it closely and discovered that the cpu might be damaged.What i found particularly odd was that the one of small structures at the underside of the cpu is affixed at a diagonal position,which is very strange to say the least.Usually they are set either horizontally or vertically but never at an unusual diagonal position(please refer to the attached images).It seems somehow it has broken off from its actual point of soldering and is thus stuck askew at a position where its not supposed to be.

Also i found what appears to be the residue of some thermal grease like substance at the middle of the chip(on the contact pad at the bottom).So it seems the seller has deliberately sent me a defective cpu.I haven't installed it on my motherboard as i am afraid that i might end up damaging it if i attempt to install such a faulty cpu.So can anyone check the photos and tell me whether my suspicions are correct or not ie is this indeed a damaged cpu?Should i return it and try to obtain a refund or replacement?Please advise-this really worries me as i spent around Rs 1500 on its purchase and i think the seller might have given me the shaft with this one!

Yeah, seems like damaged capacitor.

I don't think trying it in your motherboard would damage anything. If you're still afraid of that, contact the seller and send the photograph and ask for replacement/refund. Did you check the seller rating before buying?

Yes,the seller from whom i bought it had a 100% rating(his name was:"star_online")-despite that its still very odd that he has sent me a defective product.It seems no matter how high a seller's rating might be,he still can't be trusted.From what i've experienced earlier while dealing with sellers on ebay who shipped defective items,i can say that they usually don't act in a very cooperative manner on being asked to provide a refund or replacement for a damaged product they have sold.Some of them are so despicable that they don't even bother to reply when the buyer contacts him directly about issues concerning a defective item that he might have received.

The only way to obtain a refund or replacement in that case is to raise a guarantee claim on ebay and pray that ebay approves your request-and that's what i think i will have to do now.Even if the cpu does work,i am not willing to accept it as i dont wish to settle for such a defective and sub-standard item after having spent as much as 1500 on it!

You may check the pictures here for proper component layout.
*brainstones.narod.ru/collection/intel_core2quad.htm

File / raise a claim for item not as described / defective within the time frame at eBay, while talking to the seller and after confirmation from eBay executive send it back through courier - ebay will reimburse you for the amount (courier charges) by the way of voucher.
Once you receive a replacement, you can close the claim.
Even if seller promises you this is the safest approach.

Sarvesh said:
You may check the pictures here for proper component layout.
*brainstones.narod.ru/collection/intel_core2quad.htm

Good info. Thanks for the link.
Seems like lot more damaged then he originally marked in his OP.

Yes! 6 more components (smd) are missing & he should not try the cpu on any motherboard as it may damage the board since it is not just a defective cpu but is well engineered / tampered.

Seller's rating is 100% so no need to worry - don't give any negative rating - solve the issue first & once you are thoroughly satisfied you can give the rating to the seller.

Sarvesh said:
Yes! 6 more components (smd) are missing & he should not try the cpu on any motherboard as it may damage the board since it is not just a defective cpu but is well engineered / tampered.

Seller's rating is 100% so no need to worry - don't give any negative rating - solve the issue first & once you are thoroughly satisfied you can give the rating to the seller.

Thanks a lot for posting such comprehensive info about the cpu-it seems the seller has deliberately sent me a tampered/discarded/broken item in the hope that i will perhaps not notice that its defective and attempt to use it on my motherboard-and in the process if the cpu sustained any further damages(such as getting burnt/melted,which is very likely)then the seller would have rejected my claim for replacement by stating that i have damaged it through misuse!

This really shocks me as i had explicitly requested the seller to check the cpu thoroughly before sending it to me-but it seems he didn't pay any heed to my request and sent me a damaged cpu anyway.I've raised a claim on ebay & had a conversation with the seller earlier today on the phone and after discussing this issue at length he finally agreed to replace it-he stated that if I send it back to him by courier he'll reimburse me for the shipping charges.He also added that if i contact ebay they might be able to arrange a reverse pickup of the item from my address.I have just emailed ebay regarding this but i'm yet to receive any replies from their end-if ebay is unable to help me in returning the item then i suppose i'll have to do it myself.

But the thing that worries me is,what if the seller sends me a defective/broken cpu yet once again?Will ebay entertain any more claims for refund/replacement in that case?

quicky008 said:
Thanks a lot for posting such comprehensive info about the cpu-it seems the seller has deliberately sent me a tampered/discarded/broken item in the hope that i will perhaps not notice that its defective and attempt to use it on my motherboard-and in the process if the cpu sustained any further damages(such as getting burnt/melted,which is very likely)then the seller would have rejected my claim for replacement by stating that i have damaged it through misuse!

This really shocks me as i had explicitly requested the seller to check the cpu thoroughly before sending it to me-but it seems he didn't pay any heed to my request and sent me a damaged cpu anyway.I've raised a claim on ebay & had a conversation with the seller earlier today on the phone and after discussing this issue at length he finally agreed to replace it-he stated that if I send it back to him by courier he'll reimburse me for the shipping charges.He also added that if i contact ebay they might be able to arrange a reverse pickup of the item from my address.I have just emailed ebay regarding this but i'm yet to receive any replies from their end-if ebay is unable to help me in returning the item then i suppose i'll have to do it myself.

But the thing that worries me is,what if the seller sends me a defective/broken cpu yet once again?Will ebay entertain any more claims for refund/replacement in that case?

Follow correct procedure on ebay. No need to email as it will get delayed and your claim will not be entertained. Try calling over phone and save the number to call again to find about developments - although everything will also be available under claim section.

How do I contact Customer Service?

If you have not exchanged or returned anything on ebay before then you must first go and read the help regarding claiming under eBay guarantee.

eBay Guarantee*c vb Policy

Everything, right from raising claim to answering responses are time framed. You have to raise a claim within 10 days & send the item back when asked.

Read the pages properly and you will get the replacement. All communication with seller should be through ebay portal. When the seller responds on ebay you can send back the defective item through courier after taking eBay's consent and then upload the scan copy of Pod and payment receipt to eBay portal as proof & also for reimbursement. Ebay will reimburse you and will recover it from the seller. Your claim will only close when you are satisfied with the new item else eBay will offer a refund instead. Just stick to time frame while responding.

You can further ask if you have any questions.

Seller seems OK but sometimes when they don't have the item in stock they do such things just to maintain the ebay order time frame and later replace it.

As of now only the seller has sent me a message asking me to return the item to him by courier,but i have received no instructions for returning the defective item from ebay in my guarantee claims page.So should i wait for ebay to tell me what to do next and proceed accordingly?

quicky008 said:
As of now only the seller has sent me a message asking me to return the item to him by courier,but i have received no instructions for returning the defective item from ebay in my guarantee claims page.So should i wait for ebay to tell me what to do next and proceed accordingly?

Did you raise the claim?
If not then first file claim by selecting contact ebay & call ebay. Talk to the executive giving reference of your paisa pay transaction ID and tell him that you want a replacement. Tell him that although seller has agreed but you want to proceed through ebay system (to be on the safe side). He will file your case and a ticket number will be provided (can be viewed in claim section as well).

Thereafter you can check the response as well as resolution/queries/instructions by eBay in the claim section.

Raising claim through phone is faster than raising through portal as you will have to wait for callback otherwise.

Further even after raising claim you have to keep calling to follow up for faster processing. Keep tracking the status on ebay portal. Remember to note down the name of the executive every time you call for further reference.

Yes i have already raised the claim but i haven't called ebay yet.After raising the claim yesterday i received a message on my phone where it was mentioned that the seller will contact me and try to provide a solution to this issue within 4 days,otherwise ebay will step in to resolve this matter after this 4 day period elapses.On the claims page for this item,it currently says "Claim is yet to be processed".The seller did contact me today and asked me to return the item.However i have received no instructions from ebay as of yet for returning the cpu to the seller.Would it be a good idea to call them and apprise them of the situation so that they can tell me what i need to do next?

Yes call them and ask them to arrange a pickup - then they may instruct you to either send by courier and submit the scan copy of Pod or wait for Seller's response in the claim section. Do remember to ask them to simultaneously update claim status as well. It will show the Seller's response and also your communication with the executive regarding what did he discuss & instructed you to do. Frequently check the section for updates.

thanks a lot for your advice,Sarvesh-I spoke to ebay's customer care representative today and he told me that they will try to arrange a reverse pickup of the item from my location soon-he asked me to wait for 2 more days and mentioned that they will give me an update about this by Tuesday.

@quicky008 you shoudn't worry, but I would recommend to get your money back instead of replacement as this seller can't be trusted anymore. I myself had raised 4-5 money back claims in past and got my money back easily. However, I had to send back the product to the seller myself (via courier) for which I got additioanl cheques from ebay (Rs. 90 lol)
If you are into buying second hand stuff, its better to get it from some good computer market (i am sure there would be good one in kolkata) as sellers on ebay in India can not be trusted.

Vineet Sharma said:
this seller can't be trusted anymore.

May I know why? FYI Seller's rating is 100%.
He can always ask for refund if he is not satisfied with the replacement too.

Vineet Sharma said:
However, I had to send back the product to the seller myself (via courier) for which I got additioanl cheques from ebay (Rs. 90 lol)

Yes! You are right. The amount paid for return courier is always reimbursed by eBay.

Vineet Sharma said:
sellers on ebay in India can not be trusted.

I don't agree here as I am a regular ebay user.
Yes there are some fraud sellers but before buying one should check Seller's reputation (percentage as well as number of ratings) and also go through the recent comments.
And eBay guarantee is also there to protect you.

Sarvesh said:
1. May I know why? FYI Seller's rating is 100%.

2. I don't agree here as I am a regular ebay user.
Yes there are some fraud sellers but before buying one should check Seller's reputation (percentage as well as number of ratings) and also go through the recent comments.
And eBay guarantee is also there to protect you.

1. Yes I know, but still you can see what he did even with 100% rating. Sending kaput chip cannot be a mistake.
2. I agree with you, that there are good sellers on ebay as well. Before the era of amazon or flipkart, I used to do much of my online shopping on ebay only (bought even few expensive mobiles) as it was one of the very few options. But what I said is from "piece of mind" point of view. Nobody wants to get into circles of item reshipping & waiting again.
About eBay guarantee: there have been few instances where I was cheated (believe me, by very reputed sellers) and when I tried to claim refund, the site simply said that this product doesn't come under ebay guarantee. Those item weren't any garments etc. but SD cards or something like that.

Well i have bought quite a few used cpus from ebay in the past but never ran into any issues with any of them.A few months ago i ordered an used motherboard from ebay but it turned out to be defective-when i contacted the seller he didn't seem very helpful and gave me very vague/evasive replies-so i raised a guarantee claim on ebay and insisted on getting a refund as i wasn't satisfied with the seller's disposition(he was acting like a fraudster even though he had a >90% rating,his name was "processors.cpu")-ebay arranged a reverse pickup and after the item was returned they refunded my money.

A couple of months later i bought an usb hub from ebay from a seller named "technotechindia",and it turned out to be defective as well.Although it was working,the transfer speeds i was getting while using it were pathetically slow-this time i didn't contact the seller but raised a claim on ebay right away-however much to my disappointment,ebay rejected my claim stating that as the product was a new one,it was under manufacturer's warranty and so,for replacement i need to get in touch with their service center in my city.I had no idea if technotech had any service center in Kolkata,and even if it did exist the cost of taking it there and returning would have exceeded the price i paid while purchasing the hub(~Rs 250).So i just gave up the idea of replacing it and its currently lying with me unused.

So i think as far as the question of ebay's guarantee claim is concerned,it seems like a hit or miss affair-so its a good idea for any buyer to exercise caution while buying anything from ebay.As of now,i am still waiting for ebay to contact me about the replacement of my Q9400 cpu-they said they will get in touch with me by tuesday when i talked to them last week.If they don't hear from them by tuesday i will have to call them myself.Lets hope they wont keep me waiting much longer.

You've mentioned that this seller can't be trusted anymore-did you by any chance also have any bad experiences while dealing with him?If yes,please share it here-it'd make for a very interesting read indeed.Also the reason i buy certain used stuff from ebay (such as older cpus etc)is that they are very hard to find in the 2nd hand market in kolkata-even if you do manage to find what you're looking for,its almost guaranteed to be highly overpriced! So unfortunately,there's no good market for 2nd hand components in kolkata(that i know of).

For the last few incidents, you're keep saying items are defective/damaged/not working and sending back to the seller. Now ebay will start thinking that it's you not the seller is wrong.

Whatever the case gonna be with Q9400, better don't order anything used from ebay for some time. If you keep sending back, probably they will blacklist you

(No, just kidding. I don't even if there is any such thing called blacklist in ebay).

Ebay is least bothered - no matter how many times you send back the item for replacement as long as your feedback score is positive. Same stands for the seller also.

Some fraud sellers are on lookout for new members who do not have any feedback rating and trap them by sending defective or fake items to them. Later these new members also loose dispute case since they are not versed in handling situation.

So my advice to new members is to buy from certified 'Top-rated sellers' with good feedback score. Also check the Seller's date of joining as a old seller with positive feedback can be a safer choice.

quicky008 said:
So i think as far as the question of ebay's guarantee claim is concerned,it seems like a hit or miss affair-so its a good idea for any buyer to exercise caution while buying anything from ebay.

Ebay guarantee works when the item is not as described or replicate or broken or the seller has not sent the item etc.
But if an item which carries warranty is not working properly such as mobile etc. then you have to go to the service center of that product and get a DOA certificate within 10 days and send it back to the seller for replacement along with the DOA with ebay's consent.
Ebay guarantee does cover the faulty items which are under guarantee subject to procurement of DOA within stipulated time.

Ebay has been repeatedly stonewalling me about this issue for the last 2 weeks-i opened my claim on 8th june and since then i have called them atleast 5-6 times and every time i was told that they are working on it and that someone from their department will be contacting me within 24-48 hrs and give me an update on the status of the case and let me know what i should do next-i had requested them to arrange a reverse pickup of the defective cpu and they mentioned that they will take care of it,but so far no one from their end has contacted me via phone,nor have they updated the status of the case in my guarantee claims page-it still says that my claim is yet to be processed.I have also sent them a couple of emails about this but it has been of no use either.

I wonder why are they acting like this-if by any chance the window to return the defective product to the seller expires,can they refuse to honor the guarantee claim and deny my request for a replacement or refund?Is there anything i can do to force them to take immediate steps to resolve this situation and avoid further delays?

quicky008 said:
i opened my claim on 8th june and since then i have called them atleast 5-6 times and every time i was told that they are working on and that it someone from their department will be contacting me within 24-48 hrs and give me an update on the status of the case

Go to your claim status page and check thoroughly there must be mentioned somewhere that issue has been informed to the seller and he shall respond in 7 days.
And what are they saying on phone? ask them - working on what? Tell them clearly that if they cannot arrange a pickup then you will send it back through a courier since its of no use to you and ask them for reimbursement of courier charges.

Did you receive your claim ID? Claim ID is generated immediately after filing claim - If you don't have - then it seems you have not raised your claim properly.

Check here

eBay Guarantee

If the seller fails to respond - ebay may process a total refund.

Yes i do have the claim id-i have to mention it to their support agent everytime i call them up.To be honest i don't have a clue on what they are supposed to be working on-whenever i give them a call and express my annoyance for not having been contacted by their claims team yet,their representative apologizes and then proceeds to give the same stock reply over and over again-that they are working on my case and someone will be calling me up shortly to apprise me of the latest developments concerning this matter,but ironically i have received no calls from their end whatsoever till date.

I dont know whats the meaning of this tomfoolery-if they are unable to arrange a reverse pickup then why dont they just simply say so rather than bluffing and giving false assurances repeatedly?And its not stated explicitly in my claim that the seller has been informed and has been asked to reply within a specified period.However the seller did contact me about a week ago on the phone and told me that he was willing to replace the cpu as soon as i returned the defective unit back to him.And shortly after i heard from him i called ebay and requested them to arrange a reverse pickup,they assured me that it will be taken care of, but haven't really done anything about it so far.So i think i will have to return it to him by courier now and ask them to reimburse me for the expenses i will incur for this.

quicky008 said:
if they are unable to arrange a reverse pickup then why dont they just simply say so rather than bluffing and giving false assurances repeatedly?

Some time we need not have to send the item back as may be the case to avoid extra expenses (when the item is of no use or broken etc - but depends on the Seller's confirmation to eBay).

When you call eBay, insist to talk to some senior manager or executive when the reply is not satisfactory even after so many days.

Is there anything to escalate your complaint to higher authorities? If there is, do that.

today ebay posted an update on my claims page stating that i will have to return the item to the seller by courier within 3 days from today and that they will be reimbursing me for my expenses in the form of coupons that will be sent to my registered email address-can these coupons be redeemed for cash or can they be only used while buying more stuff from ebay?Is there any way i can ask them to reimburse me in the form of cash or cheque instead of coupons?

quicky008 said:
today ebay posted an update on my claims page stating that i will have to return the item to the seller by courier within 3 days from today and that they will be reimbursing me for my expenses in the form of coupons that will be sent to my registered email address-can these coupons be redeemed for cash or can they be only used while buying more stuff from ebay?Is there any way i can ask them to reimburse me in the form of cash or cheque instead of coupons?

Courier the CPU & upload the scan copy of POD and money receipt on the claim page along with your message.

They will only issue coupon for the reimbursement of courier charges which can be redeemed against any item while making payments.

quicky008 said:
You've mentioned that this seller can't be trusted anymore-did you by any chance also have any bad experiences while dealing with him?

No, I have stopped using ebay years back after experiencing trouble multiple times.
Would you still like to trust this seller after your experience? If I were you, I would never.

Finally dispatched the faulty cpu to the seller by courier today-now it only remains to be seen what ebay is going to do next.

^ ^ Did ebay picked it from you or you had to ship it with you own expense ? Keep the delivery challan / slip, scan it and send it / attach it with your claim ticket as update for proof.

quicky008 said:
today ebay posted an update on my claims page stating that i will have to return the item to the seller by courier within 3 days from today and that they will be reimbursing me for my expenses in the form of coupons that will be sent to my registered email address-can these coupons be redeemed for cash or can they be only used while buying more stuff from ebay?Is there any way i can ask them to reimburse me in the form of cash or cheque instead of coupons?

You can not redeem these coupons for cash but you can ask for cheque instead of coupons - best solution is to directly call ebay customer support.

topgear said:
^ ^ Did ebay picked it from you or you had to ship it with you own expense ? Keep the delivery challan / slip, scan it and send it / attach it with your claim ticket as update for proof.

You can not redeem these coupons for cash but you can ask for cheque instead of coupons - best solution is to directly call ebay customer support.

No ebay didn't pick it up-i had to ship it at my own expense via DTDC courier.I've already uploaded the copy of the scanned receipt on my claims page.

Can those coupons be used to get a discount on a product being purchased via COD or debit card?Or do i have to use some other mode of payment while buying something from ebay to be eligible to use coupons?if its the latter then the coupon would be practically useless for me as i usually pay via debit card or use the Cash on delivery option while buying any item-in that case i'll have to ask them to send me a cheque instead.

quicky008 said:
Can those coupons be used to get a discount on a product being purchased via COD or debit card?Or do i have to use some other mode of payment while buying something from ebay to be eligible to use coupons?

It can be used with all types of payment. While buying any item just apply the coupon code and the coupon code amount will get deducted from the total & you have to pay the balance using any mode but I personally prefer Paisa pay since it provides eBay guarantee. So the formula is "Actual Cart value - Coupon value = Amount to be paid using any payment method".

Cheques are issued in case of total refund (item price + return courier charges).

Hope that clarifies.

I've long since obtained the replacement for the defective cpu that was sent to me from ebay earlier and its been working pretty well till date.

Recently i decided to buy another Q9400 cpu,just to keep it as a spare as they are not very easily available nowadays.I ordered it from a different seller this time around,just to be on the safer side.However when the cpu was delivered to me,i checked it and found no signs of any obvious physical damage or defect.But on closer inspection,i discovered that 2 of the SMDs underneath the cpu were not aligned properly and were slightly bent(please check the image attached below).

On comparing it to the reference image of the q9400 cpu that was uploaded by Sarvesh earlier,it seems obvious that they are not supposed to be like this-all the components and smds should be laid out correctly and not be bent or skewed in any way.So is this cpu potentially defective as well?Is there any way to tell whether it will work or not without testing it on a motherboard?Should i ask the seller to replace this-will ebay entertain any claims for replacement as there are no discernible signs of damage on the cpu (unlike the case of the cpu that i had received earlier having many damaged/broken components)?
Any inputs on this will be greatly appreciated!

B

quicky008 said:
I've long since obtained the replacement for the defective cpu that was sent to me from ebay earlier and its been working pretty well till date.

Recently i decided to buy another Q9400 cpu,just to keep it as a spare as they are not very easily available nowadays.I ordered it from a different seller this time around,just to be on the safer side.However when the cpu was delivered to me,i checked it and found no signs of any obvious physical damage or defect.But on closer inspection,i discovered that 2 of the SMDs underneath the cpu were not aligned properly and were slightly bent(please check the image attached below).

On comparing it to the reference image of the q9400 cpu that was uploaded by Sarvesh earlier,it seems obvious that they are not supposed to be like this-all the components and smds should be laid out correctly and not be bent or skewed in any way.So is this cpu potentially defective as well?Is there any way to tell whether it will work or not without testing it on a motherboard?Should i ask the seller to replace this-will ebay entertain any claims for replacement as there are no discernible signs of damage on the cpu (unlike the case of the cpu that i had received earlier having many damaged/broken components)?
Any inputs on this will be greatly appreciated!

If you have doubts then ask for a replacement, but first wait for the seniors to comment.

Thanks,can anyone tell me whether this cpu is damaged or not?

quicky008 said:
Thanks,can anyone tell me whether this cpu is damaged or not?

If it works and passes Prime95 and Memtest86, it should be fine.

Only way to know is by trying it out.

ok,so even if some of the smds are slig

ico said:
If it works and passes Prime95 and Memtest86, it should be fine.

Only way to know is by trying it out.

ok,so even if some of the smds on the cpu are slightly bent there's still a chance that the cpu isn't DOA and might still work,right?

The way they are bent I don't think the will damage the motherboard and there position is still enough to make a good socket contact so just try it on a motherboard.

quicky008 said:
ok,so even if some of the smds are slig
ok,so even if some of the smds on the cpu are slightly bent there's still a chance that the cpu isn't DOA and might still work,right?

Take a magnifying glass and check the soldered joints of SMDs - if they are clean & not shorted then I think the Cpu should work. Sometimes due to regular overheating such things (smd slight displacement) occur which may even cause permanent damage to the cpu.

Thanks,sarvesh and topgear-i have talked to the seller and he has agreed to replace the cpu once i send it back to him.Should i still open a guarantee claim on ebay so that everything happens through proper channels and the seller doesn't try to send me a defective unit yet once again?