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IO shield tabs, are they that important?

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  • Computers
  • Motherboards
  • Components
Last response: in Components
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July 10, 2011 5:29:29 PM

So I just finished building my computer a couple of nights ago. I had one problem in the process which was placing the motherboard onto the stands. I set it on and quickly realized that it did not line up and that the culprit were those pesky tabs on the back of the IO shield. Some of them appeared to be in the way no matter which way they were bent. I have to admit that I broke off a lot of them and bent the ones that I could but never really thought about the purpose they had. Was this a bad decision? I read that those are there to help with grounding and static electricity when plugging in devices.. Is it important enough where I should replace it and try to work with the tabs rather then removing them?


Thanks!

More about : shield tabs important

a c 435 V Motherboard
July 10, 2011 6:37:47 PM

No. I slide the board under the tabs. Just be sure the backplate is square.
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July 11, 2011 6:25:11 AM

@o1die
Thanks for the reply,
I tried to slide it in but it seemed like it needed a lot of force to move the little tabs so I bent a few and tried again. After that, I didn't want to risk damaging my board from sitting incorrectly on the pegs so I removed it for the last time and broke off some and bent others. I know I removed the Ethernet and a few USB tabs. I'm just afraid that this will come back and bite me. I'm having trouble finding a straight answer on the use of the IO shield. One person says it's for airflow/dust preventative and another says it's vital towards the grounding of a board and is highly needed etc etc. I'm guessing I'm alright but I tend to be a bit OCD when I know I've done something wrong s:

Thanks
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a c 99 V Motherboard
July 11, 2011 6:39:21 AM

They are "needed" to help with grounding/emi, but they aren't really required. If it helps the things you plug in also have grounding pins in them, which hook up with the mobo grounding, which should be attached to your PSU ground. You should be fine.
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