Are motherboard standoffs necessary?

[aircasper]

I'm currently in the middle of putting together a new system, using a Biostar M7MIA RAID motherboard and the Evercase E4252WEFA from Newegg. When I was installing the mobo last night, I realized that the ports on the back of the mobo would not fit through the back of the case with the standoffs installed. It fits perfectly without the standoffs. Any thoughts on whether standoffs are necessary? Sorry if this is a stupid question. BTW, the mobo itself is raised off of the side of the case since the screw holes on the case are raised (kind of like half-bubbles). Hope this makes sense. Thanks!

 

[zzzz]

If the traces on the backside of the mobo are not touching the case, then it should be ok. But I would advice you to buy shorter standoffs or use the plastic standoffs.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Does the backplane have raised "tits" where the screw-down points of the mobo are? As long as the solder points don't short against the backplane you should be ok...

 

[CraigRT]

You NEED the standoffs.. they ground the case, and make sure its snug in the case.. if the others are too tall, you gotta get some smaller ones.
if you don't use them, your mobo will be sitting on the metal just shorting itself out, can be a very bad thing too.. sometimes boards work afterwards if they've been powered up like that, but not always. make sure you use them!

 

[aircasper]

the case is exactly as st4rcutter describes, although the word "tits" wasn't the first thing that came to mind. well, i guess that's an accurate description. as far as i can tell, the only contact points on the mobo are the screw down points against the case "tits." so the rest of the mobo is raised about a 1/4 inch or so off of the side of the case. i wouldn't be able to use any size standoff without raising the mobo too high to get the rear ports of the mobo through the cut-out holes on the back of the case. i guess perhaps the "tits" act as a built-in stand-off?

 

[cmaMath13]

From experience, you need standoffs. Without them your computer may not boot or worse yet, you may damage your motherboard.

 

[zzzz]

yes, quarter of an inch is close to the standoff height so you should be ok without the standoffs. But double check if other parts of mobo are not touching the case. Also to be more cautious, get thin plastic spacers and put them between mobo and the "tits"

 

[aircasper]

hmm, maybe i'll go look for some think plastic spacers at fry's. i'll double check to make sure that the bottom of the mobo is not touching the case. luckily, i still haven't turned on the computer yet so i haven't done any damage. it just seems to me that perhaps the case is designed to not require standoffs. but then again, the case did come with a bag of standoffs. i just don't see how someone could use standoffs with the combination of the case and biostar mobo that i'm using. the rear ports of the mobo fit perfectly through the back of the case when i attach the mobo to the raised "tits" on the case.

 

[underpaid]

In my experience the "tits" work fine. I have yet to have a board short out using the built-in standoffs. You may run in to a situation where
there is a raised spot making contact with a place on the board where there is no hole to screw in through...in that case i would use the
plastic insulators or electrical tape, but usually that isn't a problem. If you need more support use plastic standoffs, etc. A lot of the newer
Inwin cases also use the "tits" for standoffs, but also come with several standoffs, screws, etc. That is by design.

 

[bozo1]

You do not use standoffs on the Evercase. The tits are there to screw the motherboard in and they are designed so that nothing shorts out.

If you use standoffs, your motherboard will stand too high and your cards won't sit properly.

 

[aircasper]

thanks everyone for the great help! i can't get over how great these AT forums are.

 

[Buk]

What underpaid and bozo1 said. I built a system this past weekend with this case, used no standoffs and the system works fine.

 

[Amused]

The "tits" ARE standoffs. They're just permanent standoffs.

I used an Inwin 500 case that had these. I only used one standoff where there was no "tit," just a hole (this just gets worse, dosen't it?).

See here for a picture of these "tits."

They are conical shaped, and only contact the ring aroung the mobo holes.

In this picture I see the evercase built in standoffs (tits) and those are fine.

 

[aircasper]

st4rcutter, just look at what you and your potty mouth have started!

well, it sounds like i'm safe to boot up the new system tonight for the first time. wish me luck!

 

[sandorski]

hehehe, hardware porn!