I/O Shield Issue

[jimbothejester]

Alright. I’m going out of my mind here guys. From what I understand, those metal tabs on the back of an i/o shield are supposed to ground/protect the mobo’s ports from static damage. But for the life of me, I can’t fit my mobo up against the i/o shield without the metal tabs blocking anything. What on earth am I doing wrong? This should be a snap right? Ugh. This is my first time building a PC and my frustration is starting to mount to say the least lol.

 

[mazboy]

You do have the motherboard mounted on the proper standoffs? Other than that, on less expensive motherboards/cases, I have often run into the problem you're having. Alas, the only fix is to, ummm...adjust (RE: force) things into alignment. This usually involves spreading/bending the tabs on the back of the shield, and enlarging (usually by folding over) the material around the offending holes.

 

[jimbothejester]

Yes sir, I sure do. My case came with them pre-installed and I made doubly sure that they were configured correctly for ATX sized mobos. If it helps, my mobo is the Asus ROG STRIX Z370-E and my case is the NZXT H700i. I’m just afraid of the potential damage that could occur since I don’t have the metal tabs touching the mobo at all. Like I bent them all the way inward, so they are folded up against the back of the shield itself. In a few videos that I’ve watched, no one seems to have this problem. That’s what’s driving me crazy lol. I just don’t understand it to be honest.

 

[mazboy]

That's a good case and motherboard, I'm really surprised that you're having the problem with it. Frankly, I never considered the shield as a link in the grounding system: the motherboard and case are grounded several other ways/places. My concern when I've had this problem is that one of those little tabs ending up in one of the sockets and doing a nasty that way.