Pretend you have $$$...

[Samwise]

After getting my email describing the problem in detail (as opposed to the one-line summary of "it don't work" that their online form gave me room for), they're shipping me a replacement.  Not as good as if there were a magic button I could push to make it all work, but about as good as I expected.   

And at least the next time around I'll know to install the CPU cooler bracket BEFORE screwing the motherboard to the standoffs.   

[Trippy]

Are you sure it's the MB though? (Assuming that's what you are replacing). You can just go down to Fry's and buy all the "substitute" parts you need (e.g. another PS and video card) and return them after you figure out which part is actually not working.

[Soln]

we need a separate hw thread

I also want to build new box and need feedback

[Trippy]

So create a new thread.

[Strazos]

You know that big Asus HSF unit that was being passed around here a bit ago? The big tower one that glows blue?

Yeah, I set up a new system for a buddy using that thing. Trying to install the backplate After bolting down the MB is decidedly NOT FUN. It took two of us to do it, but we managed to do it.

I was amazed how fucking quiet the thing is. It's not even a whisper, and even under load the air it blows out is noticeably cool.

[Samwise]

Are you sure it's the MB though? (Assuming that's what you are replacing). You can just go down to Fry's and buy all the "substitute" parts you need (e.g. another PS and video card) and return them after you figure out which part is actually not working.

I'm about 95% sure it's the MB, and the Intel guy must be pretty sure too or he wouldn't be shipping me a new one.

I hate buying stuff with the intent of returning it.  I don't know why.  But I suspect if I tried it I'd end up not returning it and then be out the money.  

[Samwise]

You know that big Asus HSF unit that was being passed around here a bit ago? The big tower one that glows blue?

Yeah, I set up a new system for a buddy using that thing. Trying to install the backplate After bolting down the MB is decidedly NOT FUN. It took two of us to do it, but we managed to do it.

I was amazed how fucking quiet the thing is. It's not even a whisper, and even under load the air it blows out is noticeably cool.

I'm impressed you got it installed with the MB in place.  I just bit the bullet and unscrewed the MB after I realized my error.   

[Murgos]

Took the plunge and got a new monitor.  I had an old 19" CRT (6 years now?  More?) and tried using my HD TV for a bit but decided I really wanted just a dedicated monitor for the computer.

Ended up picking this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116060 (though it was 30 dollars less when I ordered it.)

Pretty happy with it so far, Oblivion look awesome on it.

[Yegolev]

and even under load the air it blows out is noticeably cool.

Could mean that the heat is not getting out of your CPU and you are due for a meltdown.  If you have a sensor, I'd check the CPU temp.  Of course, I'm somewhat paranoid.

[Strazos]

Nope, this was almost a month ago, and I have not been told that the guy has had any problems with the system. From what I know, he runs CAD stuff a lot, also Company of Heroes and Medieval 2. We also ran Doom III on max settings on the machine before I left, with no problems.

[Morfiend]

You know that big Asus HSF unit that was being passed around here a bit ago? The big tower one that glows blue?

Yeah, I set up a new system for a buddy using that thing. Trying to install the backplate After bolting down the MB is decidedly NOT FUN. It took two of us to do it, but we managed to do it.

I was amazed how fucking quiet the thing is. It's not even a whisper, and even under load the air it blows out is noticeably cool.

I have that thing. It works REALLY good. But your right, installing the backplate is OH MY GOD FUCKING HORRIBLE. The instructions where terrible, I got to step 2, and then just had to wing it cause the instructions didnt match the hardware at all. Once I got it working, its quiet, cool, and beautiful.

[Strazos]

Or how about that thing they call a "sticker" in the instructions? It looked like a fucking pad to me, with a plastic covering. I had to rip the thing off, and analyze the plate and compare it to the picture to determine that is what they meant me to do.

"Oh, well...Now, it does kind of look like the plate in the picture, I guess. And I guess bolting a piece of metal to the MB is not a problem anyway..."

[Morfiend]

Yeah, that "sticker" part is where I got stuck. There was no possible way to remove it, so I just left it on.

[Samwise]

I pried the sticker off, which seemed to match the pictures in the instructions, and it didn't seem like it was going to fit under the motherboard with it on anyway, but I was thoroughly confused by the whole thing -- why was the sticker on there in the first place?

I'm also wondering now if the stupid backplate was the cause of my motherboard problems.  When I took the motherboard out to RMA it, I found that the backplate had gotten itself wedged into some of the pointy metallic bits on the back of the board.  That doesn't seem good.     Next time around I'm going to attach the backplate to the board first thing and make sure everything looks kosher before going any further.

[Engels]

Suspect that was the problem right there. RMA it anyway; can't hurt to start off with a fresh board.

[Samwise]

Yup.  Just wondering now how to make sure it doesn't happen again.  I could maybe try putting the sticker between the backplate and the motherboard (on the opposite side of the backplate that it was originally stuck to)... it's squishy, so it might compress itself down when the motherboard gets screwed in.

Blah.     Whose clever idea was it for that thing to be metal, anyway?

[Trippy]

Usually for those "under" the motherboard braces the padded side goes against motherboard and some have a sticky surface (covered with a piece of plastic as shipped) so you don't have to hold it in place while trying to get the screws into it. I usually just leave the plastic on there since it makes it easier to remove the brace if I need to in the future.

[Strazos]

Oh, was that plastic piece the actual "sticker"? When I think of stickers, I think of shit that Actually Comes Off. I thought I might need the "padding," so I tried to get that piece of plastic off...

No fucking way it was coming off. The whole padding/sticker thing came off the plate pretty easily, and the uncovered part of the plate had a "finished" look, which I would think would not be neccessary if the padding or whatever was to stay on.

Still, trying to line up the screws and mount the thing with the MB mounted to the plate was....interesting.

[Engels]

Might it have been insulation, without which a short occured?

[Strazos]

No idea. There have been no problems with the system I set up (that I know of), and the instructions appeared to show a plate with no "padding."

[Trippy]

Oh, was that plastic piece the actual "sticker"? When I think of stickers, I think of shit that Actually Comes Off. I thought I might need the "padding," so I tried to get that piece of plastic off...

No fucking way it was coming off. The whole padding/sticker thing came off the plate pretty easily, and the uncovered part of the plate had a "finished" look, which I would think would not be neccessary if the padding or whatever was to stay on.

Still, trying to line up the screws and mount the thing with the MB mounted to the plate was....interesting.

I don't have this heat sink so I can only make an educated guess about this but going by this picture:

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/35-101-002-05.jpg

That white thing on the brace on the left looks to be your standard plastic/Teflon coated paper which peels off to reveal a sticky pad that's stuck onto the metal brace itself. Peeling off the pad as well means you now have metal on metal contact with the contacts and traces on the underside of your motherboard. Now if that brace doesn't have a pad then I don't know what that paper is there for. If the white paper didn't want to come off I would've just left it on (which is what I normally do anyways like I said above).

Here's a more obvious example of that peel off paper from the Ninja 1000P.

[Samwise]

That all makes sense.  It completely contradicts what's in the manual, though.     The manual says "peel off the sticker" and then has an illustration showing the bracket being mounted upside down and padding-less (with the "unpadded" side facing up into the motherboard so that the padding wouldn't have functioned as insulation even if you'd left it on). 

Fortunately, I was suspicious enough of the manual that I saved the "sticker" just in case it turned out to be wrong.

[Strazos]

Oh, was that plastic piece the actual "sticker"? When I think of stickers, I think of shit that Actually Comes Off. I thought I might need the "padding," so I tried to get that piece of plastic off...

No fucking way it was coming off. The whole padding/sticker thing came off the plate pretty easily, and the uncovered part of the plate had a "finished" look, which I would think would not be neccessary if the padding or whatever was to stay on.

Still, trying to line up the screws and mount the thing with the MB mounted to the plate was....interesting.

I don't have this heat sink so I can only make an educated guess about this but going by this picture:

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/35-101-002-05.jpg

That white thing on the brace on the left looks to be your standard plastic/Teflon coated paper which peels off to reveal a sticky pad that's stuck onto the metal brace itself. Peeling off the pad as well means you now have metal on metal contact with the contacts and traces on the underside of your motherboard. Now if that brace doesn't have a pad then I don't know what that paper is there for. If the white paper didn't want to come off I would've just left it on (which is what I normally do anyways like I said above).

Here's a more obvious example of that peel off paper from the Ninja 1000P.

But it wasn't paper at all - it was a thick piece of plastic. And try as I might, I could not remove the "padding" from the plastic.

I just followed the manual. Stupid manual. I'll say something if I ever hear of a problem concerning the system. It's been about a month, and no problems have cropped up.

[Morfiend]

Oh, was that plastic piece the actual "sticker"? When I think of stickers, I think of shit that Actually Comes Off. I thought I might need the "padding," so I tried to get that piece of plastic off...

No fucking way it was coming off. The whole padding/sticker thing came off the plate pretty easily, and the uncovered part of the plate had a "finished" look, which I would think would not be neccessary if the padding or whatever was to stay on.

Still, trying to line up the screws and mount the thing with the MB mounted to the plate was....interesting.

I don't have this heat sink so I can only make an educated guess about this but going by this picture:

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/35-101-002-05.jpg

That white thing on the brace on the left looks to be your standard plastic/Teflon coated paper which peels off to reveal a sticky pad that's stuck onto the metal brace itself. Peeling off the pad as well means you now have metal on metal contact with the contacts and traces on the underside of your motherboard. Now if that brace doesn't have a pad then I don't know what that paper is there for. If the white paper didn't want to come off I would've just left it on (which is what I normally do anyways like I said above).

Here's a more obvious example of that peel off paper from the Ninja 1000P.

But it wasn't paper at all - it was a thick piece of plastic. And try as I might, I could not remove the "padding" from the plastic.

I just followed the manual. Stupid manual. I'll say something if I ever hear of a problem concerning the system. It's been about a month, and no problems have cropped up.

Yeah, I had the same problem. I ended up leaving the padding and the "sticker" on the metal plate and just screwing the whole thing to the bottom of the mobo. So far no problems.