motherboard standoffs

[Sick503]

So a few months ago i put together my first computer. The other day i was reading about something and came across standoffs wich i was unaware of before.Im pretty sure my raidmax helios case came with them pre installed. But if i did forget them wouldnt there be obvious signs like the mainboard i/o panel in back not lining up or expansion slots and cards not fitting correctly or even a fried mobo?

Thanks for helping a noob out.

 

[Fallengod]

Hummm, little confused but, standoffs are needed to install the motherboard in the case. If you didnt have them, your motherboard wouldnt be in the case, or at least would be sliding around not lined up in the case. If your motherboard isnt falling out of the case, its installed correctly....

 

[Sick503]

Ok well i just read a few stories of people not using them or something so the board wasnt grounded and frying their board.Everything installed great so i thnk its ok haha. I would take a peak but im outta town for a few daya.

 

[Kenmitch]

Sometimes a case will come with some but not all of the standoffs installed. Sometimes you'll have xtra ones for a larger MB also.

Just take the side cover off and take a looks and see. You should be able to tell pretty much if you installed them or not.

Just look at your MB and see how many screws you have holding it down. A standard ATX motherboard will have 9 or 10 and a m-ATX will have 6 most of the time. I guess it would depend were the missed ones are if there are any at all if it would be best to install them or not.

Edit: Looking at images of your case as both newegg and Raidmax it looks like most of them are installed already. Looks like one is missing next to the main power supply connector tho. Not a big deal as long as you don't swap power supplies alot.

 

[bryanW1995]

For some reason when I saw this title I was picturing a maximus formula staring down an asrock...

 

[Charlie98]

For some reason when I saw this title I was picturing a maximus formula staring down an asrock...

Like... Motherboard SMACKDOWN!!! LIVE!

I had to rearrange the standoffs that were pre-positioned in my HAF922 case, so, no, nothing is a sure thing.

I would be pulling the cover off if I was unsure....

 

[dajeepster]

I had a friend bring me her computer that she had just built, but nothing would come on. No bios, no fans, nothing.. She's in IT also...

I opened up the case and yep.. you guessed it.. no stand-offs... she mounted the board directly to the case. :awe:

I laughed my ass off.

big mistake... i got no action for fixing her computer after that..

moral of story.. don't laugh at friend when she brings her computer to you to fix

 

[Fallengod]

I had a friend bring me her computer that she had just built, but nothing would come on. No bios, no fans, nothing.. She's in IT also...

I opened up the case and yep.. you guessed it.. no stand-offs... she mounted the board directly to the case. :awe:

I laughed my ass off.

big mistake... i got no action for fixing her computer after that..

moral of story.. don't laugh at friend when she brings her computer to you to fix

lol... Yeah you played that totally wrong...

 

[Binky]

The standoffs should ALWAYS be counted and measured visually to make sure they line up. IF they don't line up, move or remove the standoff. The most important thing is for every standoff, make 100% sure that you have a screw hole for it. Six standoffs - you must have six screw holes that line up. Nine standoffs - you must have nine screw holes that line up.

You don't want a preinstalled standoff below the board where it doesn't belong.

Sometimes the MB has more holes than the case has positions for standoffs. This is much less of an issue than too many standoffs, it just makes the board less stable (flexy maybe) than with all of the holes covered.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Yes you must use standoffs. And also make sure you don't have more than you need screwed in, or your mobo may short out.

 

[bgc99]

On a side note, I always wondered why the standoffs are so small in relation to the diameter of the mounting holes. On most of the ones I've seen, if the corners were shaved off just a little, the standoffs would go right through the mobo holes.

 

[GrumpyMan]

I would imagine that would be so the standoffs don't hit any solder points, so they would need to make them as small as possible to get the job done?

 

[Rvenger]

I had a friend bring me her computer that she had just built, but nothing would come on. No bios, no fans, nothing.. She's in IT also...

I opened up the case and yep.. you guessed it.. no stand-offs... she mounted the board directly to the case. :awe:

I laughed my ass off.

big mistake... i got no action for fixing her computer after that..

moral of story.. don't laugh at friend when she brings her computer to you to fix

A few years back, an old buddy of mine that used to work at CompUSA with me somehow got a job at the same place as me. He said he built a computer and it doesn't turn on at all. He replaced the power supply and still nothing. I went to his house to see what was up and he mounted the mobo directly to the case with the standoffs screwed into the mobo holding the case down lol.

 

[Rvenger]

I would imagine that would be so the standoffs don't hit any solder points, so they would need to make them as small as possible to get the job done?

The Standoffs can hit the solderpoints on the motherboard mounting holes, that provides a good ground to the case.

 

[gramboh]

A few years back, an old buddy of mine that used to work at CompUSA with me somehow got a job at the same place as me. He said he built a computer and it doesn't turn on at all. He replaced the power supply and still nothing. I went to his house to see what was up and he mounted the mobo directly to the case with the standoffs screwed into the mobo holding the case down lol.

Should have taken a picture of that one haha

 

[Blintok]

A few years back, an old buddy of mine that used to work at CompUSA with me somehow got a job at the same place as me. He said he built a computer and it doesn't turn on at all. He replaced the power supply and still nothing. I went to his house to see what was up and he mounted the mobo directly to the case with the standoffs screwed into the mobo holding the case down lol.

About 8yrs ago when i started to put together my systems. I was confused by this. I thought something must be wrong. Yes i put the stand offs in the right place but they are metal. the case is metal. the screws are metal. should there not be some kind of insulation?
(so i thought)
Also it seemed so easy to put together i thot i must be missing something. Took me hours b4 i attempted to even turn it on after i quadruple checked everything to be sure

I am now on my 3rd home built system. My 1st is now at a new home still running great.
(e6300 2g winxp)

@dajeepster
moral of story is dont laugh at friend if she hot. pix please so we can judge

@SLK
scary. hope your friend wasnt working in the repair department.

 

[BTA]

In the distant past we used to use little red washers (I guess they were a thin cardboard material) when screwing down the MB. They came with every case.

I had to repair a PC once that kept shorting to the case and I could not figure out why, all the standoffs were correct, no extras, could not find a solder spot that was touching anything underneath. I ended up taking one of those pink foam sheets that used to come with new motherboards and stuck it underneath the board between the case and MB. Worked great.

 

[jumpncrash]

Sometimes the MB has more holes than the case has positions for standoffs. This is much less of an issue than too many standoffs, it just makes the board less stable (flexy maybe) than with all of the holes covered.

In cases like that if I feel the board will have a hard life I usually take some of the plastic standoffs that snap into the board and trim them to fit the correct height. That way at least when installing stuff on the board it doesn't flex as much

 

[DirkGently1]

I had a friend bring me her computer that she had just built, but nothing would come on. No bios, no fans, nothing.. She's in IT also...

I opened up the case and yep.. you guessed it.. no stand-offs... she mounted the board directly to the case. :awe:

I laughed my ass off.

big mistake... i got no action for fixing her computer after that..

moral of story.. don't laugh at friend when she brings her computer to you to fix

You did the right thing.

Laughing, i mean.