[SOLVED] Are the plastic plates around the AM4 socket needed?

[biggames0101]

Removed them when I installed my Ryzen 3 2300X, I assumed I'd never need them. I got my Ryzen 3 2300X because a store in my country (Bulgaria) was selling them for like 70$. When I first installed it I thought the cooler, since it was meant only for OEM, didn't use what I presumed were "user-friendly cpu cooler installation things" and I removed them, and now, a year and something later, I can't find them. I'm on my way to buying a Ryzen 5 2600 and now I wonder if I need a new motherboard since I've got no hope on finding these plastic pieces?

 

[Lutfij]

There's only so much that be explained via that that we rely upon a visual method. Please include images of what you're seeing so we don't go ahead right now and say "sure remove them" and you've removed something that was important for the board(namely to prevent a short).

Just to be on the safe side, please include/list your specs like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
GPU:
PSU:
OS:

 

[biggames0101]

There's only so much that be explained via that that we rely upon a visual method. Please include images of what you're seeing so we don't go ahead right now and say "sure remove them" and you've removed something that was important for the board(namely to prevent a short).

Just to be on the safe side, please include/list your specs like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
GPU:
PSU:
OS:

I don't think you understood - I already removed them long ago, and now they're probably in the trash.
My current CPU is Ryzen 3 2300x, and the one I'm about to install is Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard: Asrock AB350 Pro4
Ram: 2 Sticks of DDR4, one 8GB, one 4GB (I know, I know) - One is Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB @ 2666MHz, the other one is Team Group Elite 4GB @ 2666MHz
SSD/HDD: 1 Sandisk X400 Sata 128GB, and 4 HDDS - one 2TB Toshiba, two 1TB Toshiba, one 1TB WD Blue
GPU: Sapphire Nitro+ RX580 8GB
PSU: Corsair CX500
OS: Windows 10

Those are what I'm talking about..

 

[DSzymborski]

What is "those?" We're not psychic.

 

[biggames0101]

What is "those?" We're not psychic.

 

[biggames0101]

My best guess is they're some sort of a compatibility adapters for the old coolers?

 

[DSzymborski]

My best guess is they're some sort of a compatibility adapters for the old coolers?

You guessed correctly! Some heatsinks clip on, mostly cheap ones. The first thing to do for most cooler installations -- including AMD's own! -- is to remove those. Thanks for updating with the picture; we wanted to make sure that the plastic you were referring to wasn't something crucial. We've had people actually remove the plastic IN THE SOCKET before!