SOLVED Dot or drop of paint/something on FPGA chip on brand new motherboard

pro lamer

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Feb 16, 2018
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626
Hello,

A brand new supermicro X10DRL-I-O (retail aka box version) motherboard has just been shipped to me.

I unpacked it and it looks good (in terms of good condition) but one thing is a concern to me. A small, irregular spot in a corner of the FPGA chip (I've learned on the internet that it is an FPGA chip. And that lattice is the manufacturer name). The motherboard manual includes some motherboard pictures and there is no spot in the pictures. I've checked the manual again and the spot is there, too. Relief :)

Picture of it (LCMXO256C)
IMG_20190702_201333.jpg

The spot is irregular both in shape and in color. I don't know what this chemical is. Paint? Thermal grease? Some kind of glue or welding/soldering chemical?

Is it on purpose there? Or by accident? If by accident then should I be worried? May it cause some issues when the chip gets warm?

Side questions: Does the chip get warm under regular ambient conditions? Does it get warm under load? What is this chip for? I mean what feature use causes it to get warm? What kind of load causes it gets warm?

Edit: If need I may RMA it, request a refund, try to ask for a discount, (buy a cheap pyrometer - if I hurry up). I have almost two weeks to RMA but I'm worried if I can put a CPU into it already... (The CPU and HSF are shipped soon, I already have a PSU and one stick of LRDIMM). I'd love to put the CPU soon to check it too so I wouldn't like to keep learning about the board for the whole two weeks...


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Last edited:

jgreco

Resident Grinch
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May 29, 2011
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18,681
The paint isn't going to be operationally impactful.

It could have been marked to indicate that it passed some sort of testing or validation.
 

Arwen

MVP
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May 17, 2014
Messages
3,600
As someone who working in computer design, and low volume manufacturing, those paint dots are sometimes used to highlight pin 1 of the chip. The chips usually have structural difference to indicate pin 1, like the above photograph shows the beveled corner at pin 1.

So, I would not think twice about that particular issue. In fact, I probably would not have even noticed, (meaning I would not have thought once about it :smile:.
 
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
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If you do a quick image search for the X10DRL-I-O on DuckDuckGo, you'll see that (what I believe to be) the official product images also have the same dot. As do the images in the servethehome review of the X10DRL-I-O. Whether said images were taken by servethehome, I can't say but I doubt it.

What's more, if you look at the review images that TweakTown use for their review of the X10DRL-CT, several of the chips have white dots in one of their corners and recessed circles in the opposite corner (which to my untrained eyes look like the may be design for having little dots of paint applied to them), just like your mobo's chip. Again though, I'm not sure whether TweakTown took the images in question or whether they're SuperMirco press pack images.
 

pro lamer

Guru
Joined
Feb 16, 2018
Messages
626
those paint dots are sometimes used to highlight pin 1 of the chip. The chips usually have structural difference to indicate pin 1, like the above photograph shows the beveled corner at pin 1
This chip has only one corner beveled - I've just taken another picture:
IMG_20190707_134534.jpg


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