Little paper washers

[yokomo]

are these supposed to go between the mobo and the stand off's to prevent a ground? do they go ontop of the mobo to stop stress on the board? Are they just noise dampinging from fan vibrations? What are they really for?

 

[TWills]

I haven't seen them on any new products for quite a while, but I still have a big handful of them scattered willynilly inside my desk drawer. They make great kitty litter!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Yeah, they're supposed to prevent electrical contact between the motherboard and the standoffs. Most modern motherboards have left room around the standoff holes so they're not needed anymore.

 

[corkyg]

Have never used them on the standoffs - but the screws that go into the standoffs? Yes!!! Every one. It is the screw head that can, in some areas, contact a printed circuit line - the red fiber washer (not paper) minimizes that threat. It costs nothing to use them.

 

[yokomo]

Thank you I was just wondering if there is a good point to them or what, and I did not think they would bother giving them to you if there was not a reason..

 

[lenjack]

They are useless and absolutely unneeded if you use the right screws and standoffs.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Yeah, some newer motherboards even have little bumps that keep your screws from going down all the way. Unless you "screw it up" by using the wrong screws that are really wide on top, it should be just fine without them.

I haven't used them on the dozen or so computers I've built and have never had a problem.

 

[Zepper]

They do NOT go under the mobo (it amazes and saddens me that anyone ever came up with that idea - and that others continue to propagate it still) there are better and much simpler ways to insulate anything under there that needs insulating. They go on the screws that hold the mobo to the standoffs. I'm of the opinion that these days where most mobos are very firmly mounted with screws and posts at all positions, they can help relieve the stresses of thermal cycling and reduce the likelihood of overtightening (you can crush the board if too tight). If I have them, I use them.

. Back in the old days (I know as I've been at this for 25 years), a very few mobos did have component leads very close to the mounting holes so that you could use a short stack of those washers to keep the screw away from them. The mobo layouts have been very standardized for years and there are wide lands around the actual mounting holes. And pre-ATX, most mobos were mounted mainly with plastic standoffs (only one or two threaded metal standoff posts and screws). Those were inherently flexible and relieved any thermal stresses.

.bh.

:moon:

 

[corkyg]

Zepper - you are exactly right - I believe that's what I tried to say. They go between the screw heads and the top of the mobo, and cost nothing at all to use - but to provide protectikon from wider screwheads on the mobo's surface. Hell - their there and are free - why not use them?

 

[JBT]

There is no need for those things anymore. If you screw up a mobo because you didn't use them you did something wrong.

 

[nvbtye]

bqivys

 

[JBT]

Originally posted by: bpm3k
They came with my Zalman CNPS7700-Cu. I used them.

This is true I used them on my 7000B CU also. For regular mobo screws I don't though.