Antec Case

[Bozo]

I just started to put together a computer using an Antec NSK4482B case.
In the hardware bag are a bunch of cardboard (?) washers. I can find no reference to them in the instructions or in the online manual.
They look like they should go under the motherboard mounting screws.
Anybody have any other ideas? :scratch:

Thanks

 

[Fushigi]

Sounds like an insulation layer to prevent shorting, but I've no idea where they'd be used.

 

[P5-133XL]

Those washers are there to protect the motherboard from shorts caused by the mounting screws accidentally touching an electricly active part of the motherboard..

 

[Bozo]

Those washers are there to protect the motherboard from shorts caused by the mounting screws accidentally touching an electricly active part of the motherboard..

I figured as much, but this is the first time in over 15 years I have ever seen them. I always thought that the screw heads bonded the motherboard to the case. That's why there are small dimples of solder around the screw holes.
Maybe for a new type of motherboard??

 

[Mercutio]

I normally run strips of electrical tape under the motherboard's screw holes for much the same reason. It's something I started doing ages and ages ago, and I've never gotten out of the habit.

 

[P5-133XL]

I figured as much, but this is the first time in over 15 years I have ever seen them. I always thought that the screw heads bonded the motherboard to the case. That's why there are small dimples of solder around the screw holes.
Maybe for a new type of motherboard??

No, those washers have been in existence for as long as I can remember. At one time they used rubber, then they went to a very stiff almost ceramic washer and now they are all paper. For the most part, except for the most obsessive builders, they are not used and I can't say that I've seen a white-box manufacturer that has used them for years. As far as I can tell, the motherboard manufacturers leave plenty of space for the screws so that it is next to impossible to mount the board normally and still short out the board via the mounting screws.

Now shorting out a board because of a dropped screw in between the case and the MB happens and that is really frustrating because it is hard to diagnose (Typically the MB won't power up and people don't even think of the possibility of a dropped screw) and then you have to remove everything including the MB to get the screw.

 

[MaxBurn]

Really? Interesting. I too always assuming that you needed to ground the motherboard and that's why they have a solder pad around the screw hole.

Anyway the fiber/cardboard washers won't isolate the board, you will always get some contact with the threads of the screw touching both the side of the motherboard hole and the brass tray mount below. To really isolate it you would need either plastic retainers or plastic shoulder washers.

There are some cheaper cases where the tray is just a stamped piece of metal and doesn't have the brass standoffs, I avoid those at all costs because the stamped/formed metal that you mount the motherboard to has a much larger footprint than that design calls for. Could even contact a component or something on the back of the board there.

 

[P5-133XL]

Also, there have been plastic washers.

I too would think that grounding points would be very reasonable, and I suspect that they are used as such. Don't forget, that even if you use the washers, the brass standoffs still touch the back of the board and can be used as grounding points. Perhaps the original spec. was worried about over sized screw heads.

 

[Bozo]

This is the first time I remember seeing washers of any kind packed with the case.
First time for everything I guess. :smile: