How do you mount your ASUS motherboard?

*anikk* · 09-06-2008

The P5K PRO I had until recently, had big fat (relative) solder bumps at the back side. On the up side, but, as said, also on the back(!) side. Well, on the upside it's no problem, you simply don't use screws with uneven structures on the underside of the screw head plus you simply don't turn the screws in tightly, but almost completely loose. Then those bumps will not come off.

But how about the back side? The brass stand-offs crush those bumps into pieces even from positioning and the necessity of pressing the board into that "Q-Shield" with tons of power. Let alone from screwing the board onto them. In ASUS systems, aren't maybe shorts caused by the crushed solder pieces the number one cause for hardware defects? Just wondering.

Now you could use those non-metallic washers that some people use. But how to know, if the board has or not has to be grounded with the underside of the mounting holes as well?? And does it have to be grounded with the upside of the mounting holes anyway?? Luckily the manual does not say anything about that

. But you know even if you use those washers, you will never be sure if all backside solder bumps remained in a good condition because of the pressing of the board into that Q-Shield. Is it really normal by the way that you need to push the board into that "Q-Shield" with that much power to be finally above the brass stand-offs with the mounting-holes??? (Link to another thread started by me)

I simply can't imagine, what ASUSes imagination is about mounting that board without crushing the backside solder bumps. Solder is a relatively soft material. What were they thinking, when they designed solder BUMPS for the backside???? Show me just one motherboard that doesn't have (a) flat or (b) very hard solder that in addition extends widely over the contact area with the brass stand-offs.

*eric93se* · 10-06-2008

Take a picture, use "macro mode".

**mciahel** · 10-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgekellerman

The P5K PRO I had until recently, had big fat (relative) solder bumps at the back side. On the up side, but, as said, also on the back(!) side. Well, on the upside it's no problem, you simply don't use screws with uneven structures on the underside of the screw head plus you simply don't turn the screws in tightly, but almost completely loose. Then those bumps will not come off.

But how about the back side? The brass stand-offs crush those bumps into pieces even from positioning and the necessity of pressing the board into that "Q-Shield" with tons of power. Let alone from screwing the board onto them.

I'd return the board as defective. This is not normal IMO.

*anikk* · 10-06-2008

eric93se, mciahel, I don't have the board anymore, but here's a link to a great madshrimps.be photo post reviewing the P5K PRO board: http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f...48/#post164472. Scrolling down, you can see good pics of the mounting holes. Now, on the back side you have exactly, 100% the same mounting hole design!! How in the world does solder BUMPS fit to an installation on the typical brass standoffs?? You definitely have to use non-metallic washers on the underside! But then the board is not grounded through those 9 positions. Which solder would make you think that it's necessary, wouldn't it.

*Bob* · 10-06-2008

If your talking about the bumps around the holes.........those are like washers the keep the screws from coming loose.

*anikk* · 10-06-2008

Yes, you're right. That's correct. And it even works great on the up side. You don't turn the screw in very tightly and that's it.

But on the back side it looks exactly the same! And, as said, how in the world does BUMPS fit to an installation on the typical - really, everybody uses those - brass standoffs?? Unlike on the up side and the big and even underside of the screw-heads, on the back side the Solder bumps won't ever sit on something even, because the footprint of the brass standoffs is (a) too small and (b) has six sharp edges exactly where the solder bumps are! So it can wonderfully cut into them or cut them off the board completely.

It's totally idiotic in my personal opininon.

*Bob* · 10-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgekellerman

Yes, you're right. That's correct. And it even works great on the up side. But the back side looks exactly the same. And, as said, how in the world does BUMPS fit to an installation on the typical - really, everybody uses those - brass standoffs. Those standoffs immediately crush those reatively soft bumps into dangerous metallic pieces. They also can come off as a whole from the copper they are soldered on. It's totally idiotic in my personal opininon.

yeah i don't know why on the back side. You don't want to torque the screws down to tight. A little more than finger tight is fine. Well that works for me anyway. Use as many stand offs as you can. Especially around where your RAM goes and PCI/e slots. I use all the screw holes when installing a mobo.

*eric93se* · 10-06-2008

yeah, I don't see what the problem is. Those bumps either are acting as ground points or to help prevent the mounting screws from coming loose. If they get crushed its fine, because they aren't connected to any cicuits that could short out or anything.

*anikk* · 10-06-2008

That's not fine at all, but a HUGE PROBLEM, because then you have zillions of metallic pieces in your system and all your components can die any moment! The backside you can't even clean, and that's exactly where they crush and/or break off.

*Bob* · 10-06-2008

Try using a can of compressed air and blow the inside of your case as good as you can. That's about all i can think of.

*eric93se* · 10-06-2008

I just recently built a system for a friend with a gigabyte 780g board and a coolermaster case, the case screws for securing the MB didn't even come close to the solder bumps on the MB. So maybe head over to your local hardware store and bring one of the screws with you and get the same thread with a different head size.

*Bob* · 10-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric93se

I just recently built a system for a friend with a gigabyte 780g board and a coolermaster case, the case screws for securing the MB didn't even come close to the solder bumps on the MB. So maybe head over to your local hardware store and bring one of the screws with you and get the same thread with a different head size.

yeah that's a good idea. Take one of the stand offs and screws with you.

*DiiZzY* · 10-06-2008

Nothing to worry about, I highly doubt you'll get it declared as faulty anyway by the retailer ;-)
These "blobs" are on pretty much any motherboard...
//Danne

*DiiZzY* · 10-06-2008

Nothing to worry about, I highly doubt you'll get it declared as faulty anyway by the retailer ;-)
These "blobs" are on pretty much any motherboard...
//Danne

*qwakrz* · 11-06-2008

The blobs are supposed to be there, they act as grounding points for the board. When installing the board you should use screws with flat undersides and not the serated ones that are used for holding HDD's and PCI cards in place as. Serated screws will eat into the board and cause little bits of solder to come loose if overtightened, flat underside screws will just crush the solder pads as they are meant to.

I have installed loads of motherboards into lots of cases using both sorts of screw. I have not yet had or seen a problem with bits of the solder falling off unless they have overtightened the screws to the point of almost causing motherboard damage.

09-06-2008	#1
anikk MyCE Resident Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 515	How do you mount your ASUS motherboard? The P5K PRO I had until recently, had big fat (relative) solder bumps at the back side. On the up side, but, as said, also on the back(!) side. Well, on the upside it's no problem, you simply don't use screws with uneven structures on the underside of the screw head plus you simply don't turn the screws in tightly, but almost completely loose. Then those bumps will not come off. But how about the back side? The brass stand-offs crush those bumps into pieces even from positioning and the necessity of pressing the board into that "Q-Shield" with tons of power. Let alone from screwing the board onto them. In ASUS systems, aren't maybe shorts caused by the crushed solder pieces the number one cause for hardware defects? Just wondering. Now you could use those non-metallic washers that some people use. But how to know, if the board has or not has to be grounded with the underside of the mounting holes as well?? And does it have to be grounded with the upside of the mounting holes anyway?? Luckily the manual does not say anything about that . But you know even if you use those washers, you will never be sure if all backside solder bumps remained in a good condition because of the pressing of the board into that Q-Shield. Is it really normal by the way that you need to push the board into that "Q-Shield" with that much power to be finally above the brass stand-offs with the mounting-holes??? (Link to another thread started by me) I simply can't imagine, what ASUSes imagination is about mounting that board without crushing the backside solder bumps. Solder is a relatively soft material. What were they thinking, when they designed solder BUMPS for the backside???? Show me just one motherboard that doesn't have (a) flat or (b) very hard solder that in addition extends widely over the contact area with the brass stand-offs. __________________ - Last edited by anikk; 09-06-2008 at 23:49.

10-06-2008	#2
eric93se MyCE Resident Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 3,622	Re: How do you mount your ASUS motherboard? Take a picture, use "macro mode".

10-06-2008	#4
anikk MyCE Resident Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 515	Re: How do you mount your ASUS motherboard? eric93se, mciahel, I don't have the board anymore, but here's a link to a great madshrimps.be photo post reviewing the P5K PRO board: http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f...48/#post164472. Scrolling down, you can see good pics of the mounting holes. Now, on the back side you have exactly, 100% the same mounting hole design!! How in the world does solder BUMPS fit to an installation on the typical brass standoffs?? You definitely have to use non-metallic washers on the underside! But then the board is not grounded through those 9 positions. Which solder would make you think that it's necessary, wouldn't it. __________________ -

10-06-2008	#5
Bob Resident lunatic Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Looking for my zigzags ~ I come from the no place and i go to the no where Posts: 17,882	Re: How do you mount your ASUS motherboard? If your talking about the bumps around the holes.........those are like washers the keep the screws from coming loose. __________________ "You've got a hole in your soul if you don't dig the Blues" .....My Not So New Anymore Build is Finished. Click HERE to join CDFreaks.com Keith Richards ~ "If You Want The Last Laugh........Join The Rolling Stones"

10-06-2008	#6
anikk MyCE Resident Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 515	Re: How do you mount your ASUS motherboard? Yes, you're right. That's correct. And it even works great on the up side. You don't turn the screw in very tightly and that's it. But on the back side it looks exactly the same! And, as said, how in the world does BUMPS fit to an installation on the typical - really, everybody uses those - brass standoffs?? Unlike on the up side and the big and even underside of the screw-heads, on the back side the Solder bumps won't ever sit on something even, because the footprint of the brass standoffs is (a) too small and (b) has six sharp edges exactly where the solder bumps are! So it can wonderfully cut into them or cut them off the board completely. It's totally idiotic in my personal opininon. __________________ -

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10-06-2008	#13
DiiZzY MyCE Resident Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Nordic Region, Sweden Posts: 3,676	Re: How do you mount your ASUS motherboard? Nothing to worry about, I highly doubt you'll get it declared as faulty anyway by the retailer ;-) These "blobs" are on pretty much any motherboard... //Danne

11-06-2008	#15
qwakrz CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 925	Re: How do you mount your ASUS motherboard? The blobs are supposed to be there, they act as grounding points for the board. When installing the board you should use screws with flat undersides and not the serated ones that are used for holding HDD's and PCI cards in place as. Serated screws will eat into the board and cause little bits of solder to come loose if overtightened, flat underside screws will just crush the solder pads as they are meant to. I have installed loads of motherboards into lots of cases using both sorts of screw. I have not yet had or seen a problem with bits of the solder falling off unless they have overtightened the screws to the point of almost causing motherboard damage. __________________ Current Setup Corsair 750W Core 2 Quad Q6700 @ 3.33GHz (333x10) Swiftech H20 Ultra+ Watercooling CoolerMaster Tsunami Dream Case 6GB PC6400 DDR2 RAM @ 4-4-4-15 800MHz (2x2 + 2x1) Asus P5K Deluxe 8800GTS @ 800/2000/1000 + Water block 19" BenQ 4:3 TFT 19" Hannson 16:9 TFT BenQ 1655 Lite-on 20A1S LG BD-R/HDDVD Samsung 750GB x 3 Raid 5 Logitech G15 Keyboard iPhone 3G 16GB Archos 560 Please dont PM me directly with your problems..... Thats what these forums are for.

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