I was having issues with my MSI Z690 Edge Wifi DDR4, I7 system locking up.
After a lot of diagnosis the Motherboard became suspect.
This afternoon I disassembled the board for return and found this damage when I removed the CPU.
The CPU was gently dropped in during installation. Ran perfectly for two weeks with a Noctua NH-D15 cooler. Low temperatures and low watts. No gaming, just routine use.
I am well aware of how delicate CPU and socket can be. After gently removing the CPU I notice what appears to be socket damage. See pic. Are the socket contacts simply traces that can pull off a circuit board? Hopefully this is a one time defect but I have seen other threads questioning the design. Do manufacturers use the same vendor for the socket or do they make their own. From this experience it indicates that removing a CPU from any system that has been used a while could cause socket damage.