Gigabyte 970A D3P mobo standoffs don't align on case?

[chicken7117]

Hey all, I'm currently installing my ga970a-d3p motherboard into my case (nzxt phantom 240), but there is one extra standoff on the right side of the mobo that isn't screwed in.
Here is the current state of connective-ness of mobo+case, X means screwed in and O means empty:
X _ X _ c
X _ X O c
X _ X _ c
The c represents atx standoffs that the motherboard cannot physically reach.
The standoff at O isn't listed as an atx standoff in the case manual, but the mobo has a standoff hole for it. However, the standoff hole on the mobo is odd- solder connector blobs are closer together and only found on one side of the hole, whereas for the other 6 standoffs the blobs are spaced wider apart and are actually in atx standoff holes on the chassis. Is it necessary to unscrew the motherboard and put a standoff in the non-atx hole to accomodate the motherboard's oddly shaped standoff point at O, or leave it? I'm not sure which option would be prudent. Thanks for reading!

 

[i7Baby]

You can alsways put more standoff holes in the case - with a drill and tap or self tapping screw

 

[chicken7117]

Sorry for the roundabout way of putting it above. What I meant to say was that there is an extra, non atx configuration standoff on my mobo that perfectly matches with a non atx standoff on the chassis. The said standoff's connectors are shaped differently- should I add in the standoff and connect the two holes, or should I leave it?

 

[i7Baby]

As I said - put a couple of more holes in the case and mount standoffs

 

[imadirtybirdy]

Another thing to consider, as long as the motherboard is secured to the case, and has grounding (brass standoffs or some other method) You dont NEED to use all the screws... Though it does contribute to peace of mind. So I would consider i7's recommendation

 

[chicken7117]

There is a hole that perfectly aligns with the hole in the mobo, though it's not listed as an atx hole in the case manual and chassis engraving. I guess I'll go remove the mobo and put the standoff in- no matter what the connectors to the screw look like, they're still for grounding right? As in, all holes in an atx mobo are standoff points?

 

[imadirtybirdy]

Yeah, you should be fine if the holes line up putting a brass standoff and then screwing it in.. Worse thing that will happen is it shorts out and doesnt turn on.. But if its as you describe it'll be fine

 

[chicken7117]

I'm not sure what the standoffs are made of- they're painted black it seems. I'll put in the mobo and the rest of the components and try booting, and post results here for future reference then.

 

[imadirtybirdy]

yes please do Best of luck 😀

Also i think its probably just painted brass 😛

 

[chicken7117]

Alright, got everything assembled in the case with the extra unusually placed standoff installed, successful boot into the "insert boot drive" bios screen. I don't think there's a beep speaker that comes with the mobo/case though.
Summary: GA970A-D3P works on NZXT Phantom 240 with all 7 standoffs.
One outstanding problem at the moment however is that the side panel can't be installed back on as my cooler rad's screws is physically longer than the screw mounting indentation on the back panel, so thumbscrews can't be reinstalled =/

 

[imadirtybirdy]

thats a bummer on the radiator, but good to hear everything else worked Thanks for selecting me as best answer!