Zotac 9300 ITX board bends with CPU cooler

[bmw_car_pc]

I just bought a Zotac 9300 board with a 3.16 GHZ dual core chip and when i installed the cpu cooler the board bends a bit, I have never seen a board do this before and was wondering if it was supposed to be doing this. I just dont want it to break down the road.

[eigenVector]

I've got the zotac 8200, and installed an Arctic Cooling Low profile heatsink and it seemed like it was gonna bend a little too. (Keep in mind, this is an am2+ board)
AM2+ chips have to have a backplate, and the hs came with its own that seemed similar to the one that came with the motherboard, but it was more flexible. This backplate bent for sure when I screwed the heatsink on. I think this kept me from actually bending the motherboard.

So if intel socket chips use backplates, make sure you use the one that came with your cpu cooler if it did.

[bmw_car_pc]

mine looks just like this one it bends a lot haha

[eigenVector]

Yea, that would make me nervous. If you loosen up the screws a bit will it straighten up and still seem to have a good contact?

[kross]

I don't remember, but do mini-itx boards screw down at 4 points, or 6? If it's six points, then it might straighten out when you install it in a case. If it's just the four corners, then obviously it won't.

[bmw_car_pc]

its got push pins you just push into the board it doesnt have screws.

[eigenVector]

I don't remember, but do mini-itx boards screw down at 4 points, or 6? If it's six points, then it might straighten out when you install it in a case. If it's just the four corners, then obviously it won't.

It's got 4

What heatsink is that?

[bmw_car_pc]

stock intel cooler

[eigenVector]

stock intel cooler

**Before doing this, see if this is what others do**
Is it standard practice to install the heat sink after installing the motherboard into the case? Perhaps having the motherboard already stable (screwed into your case) will help the push pins set in their correct position without applying too much force.

[kross]

I only have one socket LGA775 board, and when I installed the cooler, I did it on the pink foam that it came with, to provide some back support while pushing the connectors through. If these boards only have standoffs at the corners, then pushing down while it is "suspended" between them will only cause more flex, not less.

I don't know why LGA775 sockets don't have backplates, like AMD socket AM2/AM2+/AM3 does. But regardless, the motherboard makers know the cooler causes the board to flex, and they don't seem to care, so I guess it's okay for the boards.

-- Kevin