Why do we have to deal with I/O shields?

[Drexl]

The title says it all. Why do they continue to attach the I/O shield to the case when they rarely fit the motherboard that gets installed? The board always comes with the proper shield anyway. Why should I have to risk cutting my fingers or bending up the case to get the pre-installed I/O shield off?

Also, why does the I/O shield have to be separate from the board at all? Why isn't it just built into or attached to the board? They could just make the I/O area a solid block that fits the opening on the case. The way it is, it can be a PITA to position it just right.

I just felt like venting a little. I'm just curious as to why it (the I/O) isn't one piece.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

deal with I/O shields?

i never put one in.

 

[jkresh]

I agree that they are a pain in the neck and some kind of alternative should be made already. As to preinstalled ones, I don't know what cases you are buying but I cant remember buying a case which came with an I/O shield preinstalled.

 

[RebateMonger]

I ASSUME they came from the days when RF radiation was a bigger problem with PCs. Of course, the interchangeable shields were introduced as part of the ATX case specification. They USED to be fairly standard, but there's no standard at all for the I/O port locations anymore.

And, yeah, it'd make more sense to just build a shield into the motherboard, except that it'd have to be connected to the case to be effective for RF shielding.

 

[ForumMaster]

Originally posted by: jkresh
I agree that they are a pain in the neck and some kind of alternative should be made already. As to preinstalled ones, I don't know what cases you are buying but I cant remember buying a case which came with an I/O shield preinstalled.

my CoolerMaster Centurion 5 came with a standard I/O shield. But since every motherboard has a unique layout today, yeah it is kind of pointless.

 

[Aluvus]

The "default" shield is for people that get a motherboard refurbished or used, without an I/O shield. It used to be that lower-end boards would fairly often match these, but not so much anymore.

As for not building it onto the motherboard: there's no easy way to attach it, it effectively makes the board taller (and therefore harder to ship), and there are edge cases (building own case, standoffs are not exact right height) where that would be annoying.

But the bottom line: it would cost motherboard manufacturers more to change than to just keep doing the same thing they've already doing. And generally that's an easy call for them to make.

 

[Aikouka]

My Lian-Li case came with a default I/O shield and thinking about it, every other case I've ever bought has too. They actually fit a lot more motherboards than you think as you may only run into a problem with some really special motherboards like that one Gigabyte board with the fan exhaust right at the I/O ports. But I mean for the most part, they have PS/2, COM, LPT1, 4x USB, 2x Ethernet, 6x Audio Jack. A lot of motherboards offer this type of setup. The only difference I've had recently would be my Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 because it had a firewire port on the back. My new Gigabyte P35-DS3C (I think that's the one) is standard and I could've used the default.

Also, how is it so hard to get them out? Take a screwdriver, turn it around and from the outside of the case, hit the I/O shield straight in the center and it will pop back into the case....

 

[Markbnj]

All my motherboards so far have come with an IO shield, and they have all fit the Coolermaster case I run. I always assumed it was to provide a good ground between the mounting of the IO ports and the case.

 

[Aikouka]

I did a bit of a Googly search and actually came up on something from Anandtech's own MechBgon on this subject:

Originally from: http://www.mechbgon.com/build/caseprep2.html

Before putting the I/O shield back in, I took this side shot of it so you can see the side that goes against the motherboard. See all those springy finger things? They're called "EMI springs." Take note of those, because I'll have a couple remarks about them when it's time to install the motherboard. Their purpose is to maintain lots of points of electrical contact with the motherboard's jacks, to prevent any long gaps that would allow excessive EMI leakage (EMI being electromagnetic interference).

 

[JackMDS]

1. Almost all cases have the same rectangular opening for the on Mobo external jacks.

However Not all Mobo have the same plug arrangement.

2. The shield id against RF emission from the computer to the outside, you can do what ever you want to, but it is required by law to be provided.

3. Is it really such a big deal to waste time complaining about?