Can I use washers with the base plate screws to raise my motherboard?

[geetaradam]

Pretty much what the title says... I got an ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard and a new case. When I put the mobo in, it doesn't quite line up with the I/O shield. It's too low. Is it safe to just find some run-of-the-mill washers of the appropriate size and use them to lift the board a bit, or do they need to be made of a certain material? I'm just curious if there are any issues with grounding or current that I need to be aware of.

 

[raja@asus]

If you need to do that, you need to make sure the washers don't short any of the contacts outside the designated "non-conductive" perimeter area of the holes. You have a bit of room, but be careful that no exposed solder joints outside that area touch a metal washer.


It's normal for there to be a bit of tolerance between IO plate and hole alignment, but I've never personally had to resort to what you're doing here...

 

[KlugeMeHappy]

Theoretically, if the washers you use are conductive there shouldn't be a problem with grounding the board, but raising it will mean it'll be out of alignment with the back plate. If you need only a little clearance you could raise just the end of the board opposite the backplate but be aware that the board will flex.

If the washers are too wide you also risk shorting the board, so keep them small.

Also, you need to consider your heat-sink and weather it'll fit. If it's a very tall performance heat-sink in a small case you might not have room to replace the side of the PC if the board is raised (it's happened to me with a Cogage Arrow and a mini-atx), especially if you have a fan mounted on the inside of the side of the case to cool the IO cards, but one way around that is to mount the fan on the outside of the case (which I do a lot but which might not be agreeable to you)).

Edit: Just saw that the alignment with the back plate is the problem. Should have read the post a bit closer ;0)

 

[geetaradam]

In regards to not placing the washers outside the non-conductive area, I planned to put the washers on the case-side of the base screws. That just seems, to me, to be a safer place to put them to keep them away from motherboard components. Am I right about this or should I put them on the mobo side?

 

[geetaradam]

Oh, concerning heat-sink, I'm putting a Cooler Master 212 Evo on it in a few days, so that could potentially be a problem. I'm hoping it won't be, though, as I'm really only talking about raising it like 1/16".

 

[KlugeMeHappy]

I'd say it would be slightly more practical to put the washers on the top side of the board, purely because the diameter of the screw head is larger than that of the motherboard mount, which means you have more of a margin to work with in terms of the size of washer to use, but even so it's best to try and keep the washer either slightly smaller or the same size diameter and circumference as that of the standard motherboard mount screws, or basically the same size. Try not to exceed the the size of the area of the screw head.

Most of the manufacturers of performance heat-sinks I've looked at in the past (and most of the performance fan manufacturers also) include diagrams/blueprints of their products at their websites, so that you can check compatibility (it's literally just a a matter of measuring your computer case etc. to see if the stuff will fit (obviously you should be careful, especially if you're using a metal ruler, to make sure it's all switched off and unplugged etc. etc.))

The Coolermaster global site have the dimensions on the specs page for the cooler (http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail_aj01/cooling/P1302180416de94/Specs.html) but the download section doesn't seem to be working.

I couldn't find a diagram of it through the Coolermaster site but a google search came up with this: http://www.coolermaster.com/upload/product_feature/Hyper_612_measurement_diagram-600.jpg

...it looks like the total height of the 212 Evo is 163.0mm