I/O shield fins

  • Thread starter Thread starter Daniel
  • Start date Start date
D

Daniel

Hi ...need some help .....

I completed the assembly of an ATX motherboard into a mid case. I had
to bend some of the fins of the I/O shield so that they wouldn't press
against the motherboard. I did this 'cause it was near to impossible to
align the MB with the spacers and screw it in. The fins were pusing the
MB away too much. Now that I completed the lengthy job I read, to my
horror, that the fins need to press against the motherboard in order to
ground it. Do I now need to undue all this work, take the MB out and
start all over again, bending the fins of the I/O shield back to its
original state ? Oh, no ...... :(((
 
Daniel said:
Hi ...need some help .....

I completed the assembly of an ATX motherboard into a mid case. I had
to bend some of the fins of the I/O shield so that they wouldn't press
against the motherboard. I did this 'cause it was near to impossible to
align the MB with the spacers and screw it in. The fins were pusing the
MB away too much. Now that I completed the lengthy job I read, to my
horror, that the fins need to press against the motherboard in order to
ground it. Do I now need to undue all this work, take the MB out and
start all over again, bending the fins of the I/O shield back to its
original state ? Oh, no ...... :(((
Click to expand...

Don't panic. Just leave it. Computers broadcast electrical
interference, and the springs are all part of containing
electrical noise inside the computer. If you bend them up, all
you are doing is ruining someone's broadcast TV reception :-)
You can use your own TV set (with rabbit ears) to see how
bad your computer leaks interference.

When I installed my mobos, it didn't take too much force to
hold the motherboard with one hand (pushing towards the
springs), while using the screwdriver with the other hand
to tighten a couple screws and hole the mobo in place. By not
installing all the screws at this point, you can use the alignment
of standoffs with the motherboard holes (for holes not yet
holding screws), to tell whether the motherboard is centered
over the standoffs or not. You also need to test that plugin
cards fit properly, and sometimes the motherboard has to be
shifted a little bit, so cards can be inserted easily. If
there is a reason to redo your adjustment, it could very well
be because cards cannot be easily plugged and unplugged.

Paul
 
Paul said:
Don't panic. Just leave it. Computers broadcast electrical
interference, and the springs are all part of containing
electrical noise inside the computer. If you bend them up, all
you are doing is ruining someone's broadcast TV reception :-)
You can use your own TV set (with rabbit ears) to see how
bad your computer leaks interference.

When I installed my mobos, it didn't take too much force to
hold the motherboard with one hand (pushing towards the
springs), while using the screwdriver with the other hand
to tighten a couple screws and hole the mobo in place. By not
installing all the screws at this point, you can use the alignment
of standoffs with the motherboard holes (for holes not yet
holding screws), to tell whether the motherboard is centered
over the standoffs or not. You also need to test that plugin
cards fit properly, and sometimes the motherboard has to be
shifted a little bit, so cards can be inserted easily. If
there is a reason to redo your adjustment, it could very well
be because cards cannot be easily plugged and unplugged.

Paul
Click to expand...

Much relief! Thank you Paul :)) ...and thanks for the info! :)

Daniel
 
Yes, you HAVE to have the fins touching to ground it. Well, only if you
want it to work...
 
The motherboard is grounded by being screwed down to standoffs on a
case/motherboard tray, not by those fins on an IO shield. Don't worry about
those pesky fins.
 
Back
Top