So first of all I already submitted an RMA and the replacement CPU is on its way, but I wanted to check on these forums to see if anyone else has ever had this happen to them. Ever since I built this system months ago, I have had completely random BSODs and complete restarts maybe a few times a week. After testing all drivers, the RAM, the hard drives, the GPU, and replacing all power cables, I resolved that it was either the motherboard or the PSU. However, when I was taking the motherboard out to RMA it and took out the CPU, I noticed something weird on the CPU pins. After looking closer, I saw that two pins on my CPU were connected together with solder. Now I knew that wasn't right so went ahead and RMA'd it right away with the replacement just shipped. But does anyone know if this could have been the cause of random BSODs and restarts? I would have thought that two bridged pins would have prevented bootup at all, so I was quite surprised to see this. Thanks guys!
I also attached some pictures below. In the full pin picture the bridged pins are near the middle of the leftmost column. And the closeup should be fairly clear to see.
