I’m currently waiting for all the components for my PC upgrade to arrive. Got the motherboard today and immediately upon opening, I noticed that the CMOS battery was not in its slot but just kind of next to it loose on top of the board. The slot seems fine, it seems to fit securely in there. No scratches on the board either. But now I’m a bit worried - could the battery have shorted something on the motherboard? It holds a charge after all. What do you think - should I return it for a new one untested or are the chances of the battery harming anything so miniscule that I should just go for it and use it in my build?
Possible, but unlikely. I would stress-test it as soon as possible, before any return period is up.
I would just go for it, I’ve had this before (they come loose in shipping) the chances are very small there would be a problem. If its a simple return process for you and you’d feel more comfortable go for it tho.
If there is a problem post build you should know right away, just make sure you don’t immediately assume it’s the motherboard at fault. It’s more likely badly seated RAM or something else.
Thank you, that’s reassuring to hear that you’ve had that happen before, so I guess it’s not too rare. I’ll keep it I think.
Batteries are sometimes shipped with those little plastic tabs that prevent the connection (so the battery won’t drain whilst it’s sitting in the warehouse). Could they ship the battery as you found it because of that?
Bios batteries almost never come with those because they have a 10+year lifetime.
Good point. I haven’t bought a motherboard in a while but must admit I don’t remember ever having the CMOS battery separate.
I would personally return it just because I wouldn’t want to deal with the loose connection possibly losing my bios settings. That dinky like 3.7v battery will only harm itself, and maybe melt a small corner of the connector. It won’t do any damage to the board itself. But if you keep it you need to make sure you bend the holding tabs into place to make sure it’s getting a secure connection, but not bridging the two sides of the battery together.
If it were me, I’d go for it. I have even bought used x570 mobos with no issues. I’m still daily driving it, and it’s now under waterblocks. Mobos are pretty bombproof compared to the 00s.
