Published in PC Hardware

Some Intel Skylake CPUs become a part of "Bendgate"

by on03 December 2015


Thinner substrate to blame 

It appears that some Intel Skylake CPUs have now become a part of the new "Bendgate" and can get damaged by pressure from some air coolers, possibly due to a thinner substrate compared to previous generation CPUs.

According to a report from PCGamesHardware.de, which appears to first spotted this problem with some Scythe air-cooler, it appears that some Skylake CPUs, like the Core i7-6700K or the Core i5-6600K, can be warped and bent from strong pressure applied by some air coolers or even water blocks. PCGameshardware.de managed to get a few comments from some of the major cooler manufacturers like Noctua, EK Water Blocks, Scythe, Arctic, Thermaltake, Thermalright, which suggest that the problems and damage can occur mostly during shipping or relocation of the system, or simply, when the CPU and the cooler are subjected to stronger shocks. 

As you can see from the picture below, Skylake CPU has much thinner compared to, for example Broadwell CPU, making it quite easier to bend. This could result in damage to both the CPU as well as the motherboard socket in some cases.

Some manufacturers have already started to release official statements are claiming that all or some of their CPU coolers are safe and comply with the mechanical specification from Intel, which has apparently changed for Intel's latest socket LGA1151.

Arctic released a statement saying that all their CPU coolers are compliant. EK Water Blocks said to PCGameshardware.de that their latest -MX and -EVO water blocks are safe to use as its PreciseMount system prevents over-tightening and damage, but the older ForceType mounting mechanism might have problems and are not recommended for LGA1151 CPUs. Noctua's SecuFirm2 mounting system should be safe as well, due the use of coil spring system that has a greater level of tolerance.

This is definitely a big issue and we recommend that you do not to transport or move your Skylake-based system in case you are using some of the heavier CPU coolers on the market, or take the CPU cooler off in case you have to move it. You can check out more details as well as a full list of statements from various manufacturers over at PCGamesHardware.de.

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Last modified on 03 December 2015
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