Missing the insulating spacers for cooler

[lalaland5000]

Hi,

I have a somewhat odd question regarding a PC build I am trying to complete.

I purchased a Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler, and the instructions say that I should attach black adhesive insulating spacers on top of the cooler mounting holes. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have those spacers, so I'm trying to figure out what to do.

For reference, I'm talking about the spacers in step #2 in the instructions:

http://bit.ly/1D6ymTE

Do I need to use them, and if so, what would be a good substitute?

Attempts to obtain direct replacements from the manufacturer/distributor/retailer have all been unsuccessful.

I've found fiber insulating spacers on eBay like these -- http://ebay.to/1LfEWgq -- but I'm not sure if they will work or not.

Any advice would be most appreciated!

 

[PhatLloyd]

Yes, those are what we would call "washers". I see here that they are put on the mobo and the cpu cooler srcews come through them. They are there to keep the cooler's screws from touching the mobo and to help with vibrations. I wouldn't take the risk of having it touching screws touching the mobo as a short circuit could be come very likely. could it be possible that you give some pics of the cooler and how it will go on the mobo please?

 

[lalaland5000]

Yes, those are what we would call "washers". I see here that they are put on the mobo and the cpu cooler srcews come through them. They are there to keep the cooler's screws from touching the mobo and to help with vibrations. I wouldn't take the risk of having it touching screws touching the mobo as a short circuit could be come very likely. could it be possible that you give some pics of the cooler and how it will go on the mobo please?

(I hope I'm posting this response correctly -- apologies if not)

Here are some photos I took yesterday. Since the cooler hasn't been installed yet onto the mobo, I tried to show

Photo 1) the mounting hole on the mobo, and how the cooler would be on top of it

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/8768/6gSYpN.jpg

Photo 2) a photo of the screw and standoff in relation to the mobo's mounting hole

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/9128/1Hpzyl.jpg

Photo 3) how the cooler would sit on top of the standoff (and would be held down by a spring-loaded screw which isn't shown)

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/4663/XQJDbe.jpg

Hope that helps to make things a little more specific.

Right now, I'm leaning toward getting some of those fiber insulating spacers I mentioned earlier (like these: http://ebay.to/1LfEWgq ) but am definitely open to other suggestions.

Another thought I had was to take some adhesive reinforcement labels (like these: http://amzn.to/1wB9caW ) and just make some spacers.

 

[PhatLloyd]

Any washers/spacers would work. If it were me I would have a look at my local hardware store. I would definitely use some type of anti-static material, just in case the stand-off touches the motherboard.(mistakes happen) I would use the washer from Ebay.

You just don't want any screw or heatsink touching the motherboard. It might cause a short on the mobo.

 

[lalaland5000]

Any washers/spacers would work. If it were me I would have a look at my local hardware store. I would definitely use some type of anti-static material, just in case the stand-off touches the motherboard.(mistakes happen) I would use the washer from Ebay.

You just don't want any screw or heatsink touching the motherboard. It might cause a short on the mobo.

Thanks for your help - much appreciated.

I went to the local computer parts store and purchased some of the fiber washers. The fiber washers might work, but the holes might be a little too big, so I bought some nylon washers as well. Do you think either type would work ok? Not sure if the nylon washers are anti-static or not.

 

[PhatLloyd]

PLEASE NOT NYLON! They do carry a charge, so don't use them. The best thing would be to use rubber.