Screwing to motherboard properly?

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sbab123

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Mar 21, 2016
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Hi all,

I am currently assembling my PC and I need some last advice here from experts and people with experience.

I have heard/read a lot of times that you should not tighten too much the screws when screwing the motherboard to the chassis, when screwing the cooler back plate to the motherboard and when screwing the cooler to the motherboard. This is because this might damage the PCB of the motherboard.

Could anybody please tell me how many turns should I do when screwing to the motherboard to be safe? Some people say half a turn after the screw becomes difficult to tighten. Others say 7 turns total.

Can anybody please help. This is the first time I am building a PC and I am kind of paranoid with this.

Regards
 
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R
It depends on the screws you're using. Some of the screws have small serrations on the back to prevent backing out. You don't need to tighten those much beyond 'snug' as they won't back out. The others with a smooth back should again be 'snug'. I don't think I've ever damaged a PCB by overtightening the mounting screws - you'd really have to crank on that. Just turn it gently till it stops, then give it a little more torque. Remember, these aren't automotive fasteners that could let an engine fall out, it's just a motherboard.

As for the CPU cooler and backplate, again, it should be 'snug', as in tighten it gently till it stops, then a little more torque.

The PCBs are usually pretty robust, I don't think I've ever crushed one in...
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Slumy__57

Slumy__57

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Jun 11, 2016
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I wouldn't put it terms of how many turns, and I wouldn't do a half a turn after it gets snug, that sounds like overkill to me. I personally tighten it until it is snug, then I do an additional quarter turn or so. The purpose behind this is so that you don't damage the circuit board at all. Considering the fact that all the screws do is hold a pretty lightweight, stationary board in place. It's not like they need to be perfectly tightened. As long as they are snug enough to hold the board to the standoffs, and not unscrew themselves, you should be fine.
 
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Rookie_MIB

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Jul 27, 2013
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It depends on the screws you're using. Some of the screws have small serrations on the back to prevent backing out. You don't need to tighten those much beyond 'snug' as they won't back out. The others with a smooth back should again be 'snug'. I don't think I've ever damaged a PCB by overtightening the mounting screws - you'd really have to crank on that. Just turn it gently till it stops, then give it a little more torque. Remember, these aren't automotive fasteners that could let an engine fall out, it's just a motherboard.

As for the CPU cooler and backplate, again, it should be 'snug', as in tighten it gently till it stops, then a little more torque.

The PCBs are usually pretty robust, I don't think I've ever crushed one in 20 years of building computers.
 
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JamesSneed

JamesSneed

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Oct 26, 2009
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For the motherboard to the chassis just screw them in until it snugs up then stop. When you feel it snug up to the motherboard give it 1/4 of a turn or so. Don't need much force here at all, just enough so the screws are not loose. Don't overthink this part, its not going to be an issue.

For the CPU if you have a metal back plate that came with the motherboard or CPU cooler, which is very likely these days, you don't have to worry as long as you are using a screw driver by hand. Also, the force on the cooler varies a lot by design so read the directions for the CPU cooler. If its a stock Intel cooler there are no screws its push pins, check this for the stock cooler install(best example I have seen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qczGR4KMnY


 
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