Is it easy to damage a motherboard during HSF installation?

[lollybo]

I just installed my HSF and, needless to say, I just shat a ton of bricks just getting that thing in there.

I'm really worried about my motherboard now, are there any important circuits near the holes? When I initially had trouble, I put plenty of pressure, so there are a little bit of scratches near that area. I pray to god they did not go deep enough to damage any circuitry.

Sigh.

 

[TidusZ]

dude I used a screwdriver to try and wedge the metal hook over the clip before, and the screwdriver went flying and I made a lil scratch nearby.. I mean I reefed on the board a good bit and it worked fine for a long time after.. I wouldn't worry about it much just dont throw the board around or try to snap it over your leg and I think you'll be fine.

 

[NoelS]

Originally posted by: lollybo
I just installed my HSF and, needless to say, I just shat a ton of bricks just getting that thing in there.

I'm really worried about my motherboard now, are there any important circuits near the holes? When I initially had trouble, I put plenty of pressure, so there are a little bit of scratches near that area. I pray to god they did not go deep enough to damage any circuitry.

Sigh.

lollybo,

Just finish building the system and try it out. If it boots, you're OK. If it doesn't, then you may have some troubleshooting to go through to see whether it's the mobo or something else causing you problems.

I've scratched my mobo with a screwdriver like TidusZ, but came off OK. That said, there are a lot of traces on the surface of the mobo, so it just depends where your tools land, where they might cut a trace. I don't think the pressure putting the HSF on will damage the mobo, unless you hear it crack

Noel

 

[walterthedog]

First post here, and perhaps first hijack... but my question seems related (how easily are MB's damaged) so I think of it as more of a piggyback than a hijack.

New MB arrived today Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L.

The NB heatsink is only attached by one fastener, the other fastener is somewhere in the bag. Do I re-attach the rogue fastener and go ahead with the build or do I return the MB to the online vendor and put off the build until I get a new MB?

Thanks!

(btw - this is my first build)

 

[QuixoticOne]

Well what's done is done.

In a way it's probably harder to damage the MB in
the screw hole areas than you think.

Most any decent motherboard has no circuitry or traces within
about 6mm of those holes other than maybe some
grounded spots or whatever that don't matter.

On the other hand it probably is easier than you think to
damage a motherboard/CPU/RAM when installing stuff.

I'd say the main worry is electrostatic discharge, static
electricity zapping the motherboard/CPU/RAM while you're
handling stuff. Silent but deadly.

The second worry is like you said mechanical damage, scratching traces, knocking off or damaging tiny surface
mount parts, torquing something down too tight and
cracking the PCB or solder joints, etc.

I'd say you're PROBABLY ok unless you can visually
observe a broken trace running through the area that
is scratched, though it'd be more like a medium gouge
than a light scratch that'd really be a problem.

Fire it up and it'll probably be fine. Be more careful
next time not to slip / scratch / drop / nick / whack
or zap.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Contact Gigabyte for another pin. You may be able to damage the chip with only one clip in place.

 

[lollybo]

I dont have a video card yet, but I booted it up with ram, cpu, mobo and I heard a beep, leading me to think that it Posted.

The fans are also super quiet, I am proud of my build.

However, my heatsink seems not to be heating up. Huh. Is g0 stepping really that cool?

 

[QuixoticOne]

Originally posted by: walterthedog
First post here, and perhaps first hijack... but my question seems related (how easily are MB's damaged) so I think of it as more of a piggyback than a hijack.

New MB arrived today Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L.

The NB heatsink is only attached by one fastener, the other fastener is somewhere in the bag. Do I re-attach the rogue fastener and go ahead with the build or do I return the MB to the online vendor and put off the build until I get a new MB?

Thanks!

(btw - this is my first build)

If the fastener is stilll in the bag, AND it's a type that can just plug right back in and
be snug with no problem (i.e. it's not BROKEN or DEFORMED so it'll never stick right),
just plug it in and press firmly on the fastener and then straight down the middle
of the heatsink to get it pressed flat / snug. I assume it uses thermal "tape"
not greasy liquid stuff. If dirt got under the raised HS edge or if the thermal
tape / grease looks like it slid off or got mashed to one side or whatever then
I'd clean/level/fix it carefully before putting the HS pin on and using the board.

After you run the board for an hour and shut down give that heatsink's pins and
center another little gentle push to ensure it's flat and staying in contact.

It'll be OK if these are true.