Can a piece of metal short out my motherboard?

[tuesday0180]

I have a sunbean ctf 120mm heatsink. The fan connects to the heatsink via a weak piece of wire. I'm afraid this wire will just fall off because it is so cheap and weak.

If it were to fall off and hit the back of my video card or motherboard, would it cause a short?

The back of my video card is not covered by plastic covering.

 

[uncfan_2563]

The wire should be fine. There shouldn't be any pressure on it anyways that could cause it to come out

if contact happens, it probably will short something, but like i said before, i doubt it

 

[4745454b]

Doubt it, the wire is insulated right?

 

[scudst0rm]

We're not talking about exposed wire are we? If it is exposed and your worried about it just wrap it in some electrical tape.

 

[uncfan_2563]

Well i was assuming the end he thinks is going to break off has an exposed tip..

 

[Conumdrum]

He's talking about the wire fan clip that holds the fan to the HS.

Yes, it could cause a shotr. Just put it on right and don't take your PC to a dance party.

 

[tuesday0180]

He's talking about the wire fan clip that holds the fan to the HS.

Yes, it could cause a shotr. Just put it on right and don't take your PC to a dance party.

Yes this is correct. I don't move my pc around at all while it' son, but I'm still worried it can come off since it's so weak and flimsy.

 

[tuesday0180]

I just reread my post and it wasn't clear.

The part I am talking about is the clip that attaches the fan to the heatsink. In sunbeams case, this clip is metal. It sort of resembles the feel of a small paper clip. It is very weak and flimsy so I am afraid the fan might come undone and the clips will land on top of something causing a short.

I have emailed sunbeam tech support to see if they have any new and improved clips.

I know Coolermaster Hyper 212+ used to have the same type of clips, but have since upgraded to something more sturdy and plastic.

 

[Conumdrum]

Zipties, buy some hobby wire from a Hobby store that sells PC airplane control rods, make your own.

Honestly, I haven't heard of them falling off anyway.

 

[4Ryan6]

@ tuesday0180

I've seen the fan securing clips you're talking about, none of my heat sinks use that method of attaching the cooling fan, I had assumed once it was properly clipped into place it would be quite snug, so first off are you 100% sure its properly clipped into place?

If that raw metal clip fell on your motherboard or hit the backside of your graphics card of course it would short out, it is definitely a conductor of electricity, unless its coated with an insulating shield but from pictures I've seen they are not insulated.

If that clip is not snug when properly applied that's a little disturbing to me, since the next heat sink I have my eye on connects the cooling fan the same way.

If I had any thoughts what so ever it could come loose and fall on the motherboard, I'd use Conumdrum's Zipties suggestion, and get some nylon wire ties and find a way to secure the clip with them, just in case.

That would be the simplest way to get peace of mind about it.

 

[tuesday0180]

Best answer selected by tuesday0180.