Got one of these babies the other day to swap out my existing dud motherboard. It is quite nice and also comes with a X-Fi sound module (SupremeFX X-Fi Audio Card) that plugs into the motherboard – bonus!
Problem is that the fit of this sound module conflicts with the motherboard layout i.e. it can rest on top of the mounting screw, as the hole for the mouting screw is right underneath where the sound module would go – this will cause a short and cause your PC not to start up i.e. you will be able to switch the PC on – but the fans will work for 3 seconds and then it cuts out.
Simple thing to do is remove the mouting screw that is resting against the sound module. You don’t necessarily need all the mounting screws in the motherboard to make it secure. After you have done this your PC should boot up normally.
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December 6, 2009 at 5:23 am
eGaTS
Thanks for this post! I was in the midst of installing the SupremeFX card on this board and noticed the mounting screw was in the way. I am relieved that I can run safe even without that screw (labeled “D” on my HAF-922 case). It is obvious that this card would not fit properly even with a shorter (non-standard) screw. I thought about putting it in the other x1 slot, but then it would block the airflow to my video card.
After removing the mounting screw, the card fits snug, but one of the screws on the card that attaches the circuit board to the metal plate framing the audio ports, is touching a cylinder-shaped component on the motherboard (capacitor?). Does that screw ground the card to the case? Could this cause a problem in the future?
December 8, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Simon
I think if the screw touches any part of the motherboard then this will probably short – so try and have no screws touching the motherboard if possible.
December 8, 2009 at 11:55 pm
eGaTS
Well, it isn’t touching the board. Just the outside of the capacitor (non-conducting afaik). Everything is running fine now with the mounting screw removed. Thanks for the tip
Also, I didn’t really pay close attention to the title of this post. My board is a Maximus III Formula (not a II). This tells me that either the people at Asus never actually put this board together even once, or they simply didn’t care enough to document how to deal with this flaw… and continued to make another board with the same flaw. Actually I suppose it is a flaw in the design of the audio card, but since it comes with the board…