Pieces of silvery grid heatsink loose - should I return the mobo?

[Kadence]

I have an Asus P5E Deluxe, and the first two pieces of the silvery grid (I think it's a heatsink) towards the bottom left of this picture are somewhat loose - I don't think it's supposed to be that way (please correct me if I'm mistaken). The notch in the middle that connects the pieces is not connected for the second piece (counting from the left of the picture), so while the first two pieces are still connected from the bottom, they aren't connected to the other pieces at the top. So they can be jiggled around while the other pieces are immobile.

Is this something to worry about? I'd rather not go through the hassle of returning the motherboard, but I don't know if this is important. I haven't finished building my computer yet so I don't know if it turns on or not.

 

[toadeater]

I'm not sure if that is how it's supposed to be or not, but the cooling system on that board is overkill even without that piece. Just make sure it doesn't fall off and short circuit anything.

 

[Aluvus]

Yes, that is a heatsink.

Will it still move (significantly) with the I/O shield in place? If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[BassBomb]

they should not be solid, paste does allow some play even when a heatsink is mounted

 

[Operandi]

If it's just a couple of of the fins that are loose, and the rest of the heatsink is solid then I would say it's just a superficial problem. The cooling on that board is overkill anyway.

 

[Kadence]

Thanks all, I'll keep the board then (assuming it works when I finish the system of course).

Would it be safe to put a piece of electrical tape on top of the loose fins, or would that burn up/create smoke?