VSS pins (socket 478)

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Nameite

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Guys, what are the VSS pins for on intel socket 478 cpus

Coz I brought a second hand cpu for a friend to upgrade and two pins were missing.

One according to the data sheet was a reserved pin (thank goodness)

but the other was a VSS pin...:(

I'm thinking of pulling another reserved pin off to replace it but is it really necessary?

I'm only going to him this weekend, so got some time to see if I can make it right
 
Vss = V Steady state = Ground (basically). Replacing pin should make for interesting work... Take pics!
 
Ok wait... My previous post was a bit misleading... It's likely more of a reference than a zero ground per se
 
Well I was thinking just pulling one off then sticking it in the hole where the VSS should be.

Soldering it will surely make me squint!

There's like VSS' everywhere on the cpu...so u saying it might not be important?
 
Nameite said:
Well I was thinking just pulling one off then sticking it in the hole where the VSS should be.

Soldering it will surely make me squint!

There's like VSS' everywhere on the cpu...so u saying it might not be important?
Click to expand...

On the contrary. I think it is VERY important! Often, Vss is a reference point that is used for creating other voltages. Often, this reference is tied to a zero ground. But not always :(

If it happens that it needs to be tied to some other precision voltage reference, you might end up putting too much or too little on some OTHER component, which would be bad. But by the time you realise that, you'd have already smelled the all-too-familiar blue smoke.

If you have some pics, maybe we could advise further, but I REALLY advise against just jamming it in there. Things held together with chewing gum generally don't work that well
 
Well just imagine it with no pin, completely gone at pin AA 7

Camera on my phone isnt good enough to show anything.

Is there anything like conductive glue?
 
Nameite said:
Well just imagine it with no pin, completely gone at pin AA 7

Camera on my phone isnt good enough to show anything.

Is there anything like conductive glue?
Click to expand...

In the industry, we call that "solder" :p

Seriously though, I'm sure you can find something that would fit your needs; Pratley or something.
 
Conductive glue = "solderlene"

But I would advice against using it on a warm/hot subject such as a cpu, you would end up with a sticky mess.

Unsure of other options, my advice is if its already old/used and unsure of its health, stick it in and see if it works. Else, man-up earn some cheese and upgrade.
 
Yeah my mate will kill me if this doesnt work, since I brought it for him...we're cheap bastards and I assured him cpus are generally quite strong....I forgot about pins since I've been dealing with the LGA775 for so long.

And is pratley conductive!?

Anyways thanks for the advices guys, will just pop it into his pc this weekend and see how it goes
 
Nameite said:
Yeah my mate will kill me if this doesnt work, since I brought it for him...we're cheap bastards and I assured him cpus are generally quite strong....I forgot about pins since I've been dealing with the LGA775 for so long.

And is pratley conductive!?

Anyways thanks for the advices guys, will just pop it into his pc this weekend and see how it goes
Click to expand...

Have a camera handy for pics :D
 
i bought a northwood cpu a while back, had two pins very badly mangled in transit, and the seller wouldnt exchange.

i have straightened bent pins too many times in my life and had a feeling they would break, and they did.

so I did 'n boer maak 'n plan style fix, which still works to this day.

I think we are too fixated on putting the pin back on the cpu...maybe we should put the pin in the socket?

task: get a metal twist tie, strip off the outer plastic...the inner metal strand is about 100% the same diameter as a cpu pin. cut a piece a few mm's long, put it in the SOCKET where the missing pin would make contact, make sure it sits a few mm proud of the socket, trimming it as necessary, so when you put the cpu in it will press against it without bending it..from memory around 2-3mm higher than the socket worked fine for me

apply heatsink and power up the pc, jobs a good one:-)

hope this helps
 
werner said:
i bought a northwood cpu a while back, had two pins very badly mangled in transit, and the seller wouldnt exchange.

i have straightened bent pins too many times in my life and had a feeling they would break, and they did.

so I did 'n boer maak 'n plan style fix, which still works to this day.

I think we are too fixated on putting the pin back on the cpu...maybe we should put the pin in the socket?

task: get a metal twist tie, strip off the outer plastic...the inner metal strand is about 100% the same diameter as a cpu pin. cut a piece a few mm's long, put it in the SOCKET where the missing pin would make contact, make sure it sits a few mm proud of the socket, trimming it as necessary, so when you put the cpu in it will press against it without bending it..from memory around 2-3mm higher than the socket worked fine for me

apply heatsink and power up the pc, jobs a good one:-)

hope this helps
Click to expand...

:mad::o:(:confused::eek:
 
werner said:
i bought a northwood cpu a while back, had two pins very badly mangled in transit, and the seller wouldnt exchange.

i have straightened bent pins too many times in my life and had a feeling they would break, and they did.

so I did 'n boer maak 'n plan style fix, which still works to this day.

I think we are too fixated on putting the pin back on the cpu...maybe we should put the pin in the socket?

task: get a metal twist tie, strip off the outer plastic...the inner metal strand is about 100% the same diameter as a cpu pin. cut a piece a few mm's long, put it in the SOCKET where the missing pin would make contact, make sure it sits a few mm proud of the socket, trimming it as necessary, so when you put the cpu in it will press against it without bending it..from memory around 2-3mm higher than the socket worked fine for me

apply heatsink and power up the pc, jobs a good one:-)

hope this helps
Click to expand...

I've done it before aswell,far more resilient these old boards were :)
 
I was once given a "tray" with about 16x Xeon Processors in (which had been shipped in a padded brown envelope) EVERY single pin was bent, but after a couple of hours with a jewellers screwdriver, and a bright light, I managed to straighten every single one!

I run a couple of Xeon servers still, using those same processors! :D
 
werner said:
i bought a northwood cpu a while back, had two pins very badly mangled in transit, and the seller wouldnt exchange.

i have straightened bent pins too many times in my life and had a feeling they would break, and they did.

so I did 'n boer maak 'n plan style fix, which still works to this day.

I think we are too fixated on putting the pin back on the cpu...maybe we should put the pin in the socket?

task: get a metal twist tie, strip off the outer plastic...the inner metal strand is about 100% the same diameter as a cpu pin. cut a piece a few mm's long, put it in the SOCKET where the missing pin would make contact, make sure it sits a few mm proud of the socket, trimming it as necessary, so when you put the cpu in it will press against it without bending it..from memory around 2-3mm higher than the socket worked fine for me

apply heatsink and power up the pc, jobs a good one:-)

hope this helps
Click to expand...

It does help, gave me some confidence coz thats exactly my plan! :D

Though the seller said he'll exchange it and deliver it with a better package...what a good oke :D

Now just need my friend to wait a bit longer...
 
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