Lian Li Case causing shorts and reboots?

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Dante Rising

Junior Member
Feb 1, 2009
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I'm relatively new to building computers, and decided on the Lian Lim PC-X900. Everyone rates the Lian Li PC-900X very highly, but one review had this to say:

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I ran into a number of issues when building this machine, the biggest one was an electrical short caused by the stock screws and power supply mount. This was remedied by removing the removable power supply bracket that came with the case, this bracket was used to make the power supply mounting tool less.

The other culprit of the electrical short circuiting was the thumb screws that came included with the case to mount the motherboard to the standoffs. When you mount the motherboard with the thumbscrews it causes random losses of power which will cause system restarts every few minutes without any major blue screen errors leaving you scratching your head. The fix for this was to replace the stock screws with standard computer mounting screws.



http://www.techwarelabs.com/lian-li-pc-x900-casechassis/2/

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No one else mentioned this issue in their reviews, and I was hoping someone else could explain what he means. What, exactly is the reason for these shorts? Is this a true cause for concern, or did this reviewer just not know what he was doing? Was it the type of power supply? Improper grounding? How could thumb screws cause a short? I've only built two computers, so I'm not very adept at this. I would appreciate someone taking the time to clarify this for me.

Is this reason enough to avoid this chassis?

Thanks!
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
2
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Dante Rising said:
Is this reason enough to avoid this chassis?
Click to expand...

Probably not. I've used cases that had a shorting problem and it is infuriating because... other, identical cases didn't have that problem.

It should be a simple electrical grounding issue, but sometimes difficult to trace down.

I currently use a Lian Li PC-8FIR with the toolless PSU bracket and I don't have any such issues as described in the review. My case didn't come with thumbscrews for the motherboard, so I don't know about that one.
 
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deimos3428

Senior member
Mar 6, 2009
697
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The thumbscrews are metal, so they can cause shorts if they're touching another component on the board. They're a little bit taller than standard screws (so you can use your thumbs) but if they're touching something they shouldn't be, that's really the fault of the installer, not the screw.

I can't see how the metal PSU bracket would cause a short, as the PSU is normally screwed to the case and should be in contact with it. Obviously you shouldn't be playing with it while the PC is running, as you might hit a component on the motherboard.

Full disclosure: I'm running a K-58 with both the tool-less PSU mechanism and included thumbscrews. No issues.
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
65,711
14,107
146
Are you positive that you don't have a stand-off in the wrong place under the motherboard? That's a fairly common cause of these symptoms. Also, perhaps a wire, either from the PSU or one of the case components (power button, leds, etc.) could have a bare spot that's touching metal in the case...or the component itself could be faulty. Both happen on occasion.

Personally, I don't see a need for thumbscrews on the motherboard. I don't swap boards unless I have to do so. I prefer the small mounting screws that most board come with for mounting.
 
Modelworks

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
16,240
7
76
Motherboards are not specd for thumbscrews. The spacing on the eyelets around the holes for mounting are sized for a specific sized screw. Anything larger and you risk shorting out nearby traces.


The screws I like to use are M3-button heads with torx . They have a smaller head and are less likely to go outside the eyelet . The torx center makes it easier to tighten and less prone to tool slipping.
 
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BoomerD

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
65,711
14,107
146
WoodButcher said:
The reviewer is a rookie, a fact he proves in print. The thumbscrews are for drives and other accesories, the mobo screws are in the hardware kit, http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/fullimage.php?image=29213, he could have lost power by not pushing the cord in tight, who knows? Using thumbscrews on the mobo leaves his review "up for review",,,
Click to expand...


Good catch. I've never seen/heard of a case/board being made for thumbscrews...but it wouldn't surprise me...
 
W

wsaenotsock

Member
Jul 20, 2010
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66
This is user error, by either having mounts under the board that shouldn't have been there, or by using the super-wide case screws on the board. The mini thumb screws in the picture posted by patrick wolf above aren't wide enough to cause any shorting issues, you can see that they are clearly less wide than the safety-area around the bore on the mb.
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
65,711
14,107
146
Patrick Wolf said:
Scroll to the very bottom.
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...ex=500&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62&g=f

The X900 has M/B thumb screws. Same as my case and with the PSU mounting strap. I'm only using the strap to keep the PSU secure and also using the M/B thumb screws.

A case is like everything else, it can have defects. But a single "reviewer's" bad experience shouldn't bother you.
Click to expand...

OK, those don't seem like they'd cause a problem. Taller, but not much larger in diameter than the normal M/B mounting screws.
I guess I was expecting to see something the size of the HDD thumbscrews in the same link.

(wouldn't be the first time a newbie used the wrong parts...) :p
 
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