Brassed off again
Brassed off again
Tip My name is David Mudford, and I would like to provide an answer to a letter in December's Help Screen (Brassed off, Dec/Jan 1998 p161). In his letter, Shane Ross queries the safety of using brass screws in place of nylon mounts for the purpose of securing a motherboard in a case. I have been a repairer and upgrader of computers for many years now, and, in general, motherboards are held in place in the case by nylon posts, and prevented from free movement inside the case by screws, mostly made from brass. Around all support holes on the motherboard, manufacturers either leave the fibreglass composite free of tracks, therefore providing insulation, or alternatively, link parts of the required ground plane on the motherboard to bare metal areas, thereby ensuring the motherboard is held at "ground potential". In either case, no tracks are within close proximity of any support holes on the motherboard, and therefore there is no reason for any concerns regarding possible shorting out of various essential tracks by the use of metal screws to secure the motherboard. Plastic washers are a common occurrence when using screws to support motherboards, but even they are not essential equipment to ensure correct operation. The answer Roy Chambers provided to Shane Rees' letter, although correct, did not point out that probably 95 per cent of all motherboards use at least one screw to secure them and prevent movement. I hope that this letter is of benefit to your readers and to anybody considering upgrading their motherboard in the future. - David Mudford | Category: Hardware Issue: Mar 1998 Pages: 154 |
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