Newbie Mistakes I Made On My First Build

[4k_pc_newbie]

I just finished my first build and made some beginner mistakes. Everything seems fine, but I wanted to ask about them anyway.

When I was seating the motherboard (ASUS Maximus X Hero) I pushed down on a corner to help it fit, without realizing that it was sitting on the raised center standoff. The motherboard flexed about half an inch and I heard the PCB creak. Sounded awful at the time. No cracks, it just bent and creaked.

I accidentally dropped a heavy AIO cooler screw onto the motherboard. I may have nicked the coating over one of the wires since there is now a small amount of copper visible on the board.

I had to reapply thermal paste, and I read online to use a microfiber towel. So I used this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/LCD-Cleaning-Set-Cleaning-solution-By-Trousse/580765173

I threw the microfiber towel on a chair cushion while I removed the AIO cooler, then wet it with 91% Isopropyl alcohol and removed the paste. Well... one of my friends told me that those cloths generate static electricity and I may have "wounded" my processor with static. They said it might not be apparent for a year, then suddenly fail.

I did one other dumb thing with static, like sticking my cell phone - with a plastic case - into my PC case to take a picture. The phone's case bumped against the RAM and graphics card and my PC case was not grounded at the time.

Other than that, I was pretty good about static during the build. I used the wrist strap and I'm pretty sure I stayed grounded the whole time.

Sorry for the dumb questions. The computer is running and playing games on max settings. My temps look good. Honestly, everything seems to be just fine, but I'm looking for some straight feedback about whether I messed anything up, and what to look for if I damaged my PC.

Thanks.

 

[shmoochie]

If you cracked the motherboard and destroyed any of the trace routes, then you would probably be able to tell immediately. However, thermal cycling can cause expansions and retractions that could make a small crack worse. Just keep monitoring closely to see if you have any performance changes. Honestly, I would be more worried about the exposed copper that you are talking about. Definitely do not get any capacitive thermal paste on it like AS5.

As to the static issue, I wouldn't worry about the phone or the microfiber as there is no way of knowing. If you actually felt a static shock or saw something, then you should worry. I would recommend using qtips instead of microfiber cloth though because the microfiber can get caught on components and rip something out if you aren't careful.

 

[4k_pc_newbie]

Honestly, I would be more worried about the exposed copper that you are talking about. Definitely do not get any capacitive thermal paste on it like AS5.

The amount of copper exposed is really small. About the size of a pinhead. I had to get a magnifying glass and a flashlight, and look at it from different angles, before I came to the conclusion that it was exposed copper. It's hard to see.

 

[shmoochie]

Yeah, just be careful around it. You really don't want to damage that exposed trace.

You can reapply the conformal coating if you want to be safe https://www.techspray.com/conformal-coating