AW8 mounting issue

TWY · Oct 19, 2005

AW8 series discussion thread

Wonder does anyone here have a problem where the back I/O ports does not align exactly with the I/O shield after screwing the mobo in? :eh?:

batboy · Oct 19, 2005

Are you sure the mobo stand-offs you used are the right height? Did one of the little grounding tabs get bent down on the back plate (that's usually what happens with me)?

TWY · Oct 21, 2005

I encountered it with an ABIT AN8 Ultra (nF4 Ultra) board as well, same problem except it isn't so serious. I can't even insert my USB plugs on the AW8. :bang head

I've tried the Asus P4C800 and Asus A8N-E on my P180 and both mount beautifully. Seems like I'm having a problem with ABIT's SilentOTES boards (both the AW8 and AN8). The standoffs on the Antec P180 are fixed, can't remove them.

So I'm wondering am I doing something wrong... :shrug:

Rocinante · Nov 19, 2005

My AW8-Max is just a tab bit off, what I did was loosen all the mounting screws, and position the board as best as possible in relation to the backplate, then screw it back down...no issues at all with USB, ethernet or whatever now...

TWY · Nov 19, 2005

I see...

BTW Rocinante, did you remove the thermal pad and use your own thermal paste for the OTES heatsink on the northbridge? I see that you're running 300MHz FSB.

MmCheeto · Nov 21, 2005

TWY said:
Wonder does anyone here have a problem where the back I/O ports does not align exactly with the I/O shield after screwing the mobo in?

I have the same issue with my AW8-MAX on 2 different cases. Only way I solved this was to shave the mounting stems a little with a light sanding. Hard to mek them perfectly eaven but it works.

TWY · Nov 21, 2005

This really sucks. Wonder what's the cause of it. The PCB, the ports or the shield? I'm actually running mine without the shield at all.

If I were to file the mounting stems, then I can't mount any other board after that already because the mounting rubbish occurs only the the ABIT board. :santa:

lol.

MmCheeto · Nov 21, 2005

Well sence the plate is specific to the Mobo you could just alter it a little. Cant think of any other practical way around it

. Im just guessing but I think that is where the problem is anyways. The plate is probly stamped a little off.

TWY · Nov 21, 2005

Sounds like very bad QC? I've asked in other forums, and some have no problem at all, while some face the same problem as us.

Rocinante · Nov 21, 2005

TWY said:
I see...

BTW Rocinante, did you remove the thermal pad and use your own thermal paste for the OTES heatsink on the northbridge? I see that you're running 300MHz FSB.

Yeah, I took all the heatsinks off the MOSFETS as well, removed the thermal pads, and used AS Ceramic...

For the northbridge, I had to cut the little plastic spacers that keep the northbridge cooler spaced off the motherboard to get good contact, that thermal pad was THICK, so if you do this, just shave a little at a time until it makes good contact and spreads the paste evenly.. be careful though, you could crack the northbridge chip...

TWY · Nov 22, 2005

(A little OT)

What temperature readings are you getting for your PWM 1-4? And your room temperature is...?

Is the northbridge heatsink right above the chipset itself supposed to feel very warm during operation, or just a little warm?

MmCheeto · Nov 23, 2005

Rocinante said:
Yeah, I took all the heatsinks off the MOSFETS as well, removed the thermal pads, and used AS Ceramic...

For the northbridge, I had to cut the little plastic spacers that keep the northbridge cooler spaced off the motherboard to get good contact, that thermal pad was THICK, so if you do this, just shave a little at a time until it makes good contact and spreads the paste evenly.. be careful though, you could crack the northbridge chip...

I did the same. I used AS5 on all the MOSFETS and Chipset. Although sence I watercool my temps are really high on the MOSFETS.

PWM 1 - 4 gets 39c low to 48c high.
trying to come up with an alt way of cooling them. Less its the bios giving cruddy temps. What about you TWY?

TWY · Nov 23, 2005

I noticed the northbridge heatsink's screws aren't spring-loaded? So it's a bit of a problem when you screw it back on I suppose...

MmCheeto, did you also cut the plastic spacers?

MmCheeto · Nov 23, 2005

TWY said:
I noticed the northbridge heatsink's screws aren't spring-loaded? So it's a bit of a problem when you screw it back on I suppose...

MmCheeto, did you also cut the plastic spacers?

Yea I had to be very carefull screwing the plate back down.

TWY · Nov 24, 2005

I took my board out again and had a good look at it.

I put my Asus P4C800 side-by-side for comparision.

1) The PCB of the AW8 seems to be thicker than that of the P4C800. This adds height.
2) The metal shell containing the USB ports is 'suspended' off the PCB (approx. 2mm) for the AW8 while that of the P4C800 is 'seated' on the PCB. This adds even more height.
3) The position of the holes on the rear I/O shields for both boards are the same (when I measure from one end).

Thus, I think it's because of these 3 reasons, some of us here aren't able to get a good fit for the board.

TWY · Nov 24, 2005

MmCheeto and Rocinante, after removing the rather thick thermal pads found under the 4 heatsinks used to cool the PWM, and using your own paste, the springs still have enough tension to hold the heatsinks down firmly?

BTW, could a moderator please change the thread title to 'AW8 series discussion thread' together with the document icon? Think this thread has gone beyond the board mounting issue. And other users can join in as well.

Rocinante · Dec 11, 2005

Yes, the springs have enough tension to keep the heatsinks on the mosfets...

I water cool as well, and here's a pic of how I keep the board components cool...

The 2 Antec fans are tie-wraped to the fan guards of the rear fans...the rear fans are blowing in, and the Antec fans are blowing that air down...

My idle temp with a 22C room temp are...

CPU 34C
System 37C
PWM 35-39C

The northbridge on mine is pretty warm to the touch, but I am running it at full voltage, and running 300MHz front side bus...

Full load at 22c room temp

CPU 48C
System 39C
PWM 48-61C

One of my PWM temps..PWM1 is always higher than the rest...I'm not sure if the air doesn't get to it, or if the thermal paste job wasn't good, or if it's just a bad sensor, but it doesn't affect my stability at all

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