HSF Weight A Problem?

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by Jokerswild

Anyone here ever break or seen a broken mobo from a weight issue?

No, and for the most part, it's a largely exaggerated concern IMO. I suppose you could damage the socket if you kick, rattle, or chuck your rig across the room, but if you're doing those things, it's only a matter of time before you dink up your PC anyway.

As for the push-pin system, I'll admit to liking it. Installation's a breeze, it's able to tolerate even the vertically long coolers (such as the Thermaltake V1), and until I have one up and fall off, I'll tout push-pins over the hassle of motherboard removal. And if keeping score, I have killed a motherboard before futzing with the backplate.

[Elysium]

Originally Posted by stinger608

Yea Yellow, you used that cooler for what, about a week!

Haha, yea... But what could I do, water cooling or a GeminII, I'd take the water cooling, hands down. And no weight issues...

[Jokerswild]

The only time I've seen any problems is with tear out of holes too close to the edge and thats a design problem more than anything else.

[polobunny]

My boss has been angry a few times.
Trust me, mobo's don't break that easily. ;P

[PrOLifIC_onE]

The problem is not the possibility of breaking a mobo. Mobos nowadays are multi-layered. Over bending or repeated flexing can cause some of the circutry to be damaged. While it is very uncommon, it is still a real concern. Overemphasized and over-talked-about? Probably so. It is one of those things that is hard to prove when it does happen, because you most likely will not be able to tell by visual examination. Has it happened to me? I think it has. During installation it was one of those "user headspace and timing" issues, but Im pretty sure I killed the mobo due to over bending.... This was not during any cooler replacement or installation tho. It was during a system transfer from one case to another... Stupid me.

Even tho I am an enthusiast, If I am just replacing a cooler I would much rather do a quick swap than have to remove/disconnect much of my hardware to just install a new cooler.

My concern about weight with pushpins is more so that the pins will not support the cooler, not that the mobo will be damaged. For the most part if the mobo is secured with all the standoffs in the case and cooler is installed properly, then there is very little chance of any damage during transport.

[gvblake22]

Yeah, I've never heard of a motherboard breaking because of a heavy cooler. But I have heard of people getting very poor temperatures from a heavy cooler that is insufficiently secured to the motherboard and doesn't have good, even contact with the processor. That, to me, is the major concern with the cooler weight and mounting mechanism, not the safety of the motherboard.

[halutzparilla]

it wont break the motherboard unless you put force on it... do you guys think commercial HSF makers didnt think of that before loading heavy parts on the HSF...

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by halutzparilla

do you guys think commercial HSF makers didnt think of that before loading heavy parts on the HSF...

One would certainly hope so, and despite the worries, there's not a cooler out there I'm aware of with a problem in this area...

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

Yeah, I've never heard of a motherboard breaking because of a heavy cooler. But I have heard of people getting very poor temperatures from a heavy cooler that is insufficiently secured to the motherboard and doesn't have good, even contact with the processor. That, to me, is the major concern with the cooler weight and mounting mechanism, not the safety of the motherboard.

I guess a good suggestion would be to always mount your cooler with your motherboard flat, tighten the mechanism properly (without over tightening it obviously) to ensure contact with the CPU. It's hard to get it wrong with most coolers. If there's screws you can always strip them though or in some case they can be hard to tighten (see Thermaltake Big Typhoon unreachable screws for example).