Motherboard power phase heat sink problem

[BoomLiam]

I just came back from building a computer for my friend and was using the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard. When I removed the motherboard from the box, I noticed that one of the screws which held in the heat sink which covered the power phases was missing. I tried to screw another screw into it but realised that the original screw had a unique design to it so nothing else would hold it in. I decided that I would use a cable tie and I managed to tighten the heat sink over the power phases and it's fairly secure, making good connection, but I am wondering if there is any risk of anything going bad. Do the power phases get very hot which would need the heat sink to be making a very tight connection, or should I be OK with my current cable tie-down approach?

I did look at temperatures and everything seemed normal, but over a long period of time, this may change.

We would have contacted ASUS about it and asked for a replacement, but we can't be bothered to have to wait another week or so for them to deliver it, so that's why I went for my ghetto approach :P

So, are there any risks?

[Dave :)]

So long as you don't completely rack up the voltage on your motherboard you should be ok. As long as there is contact it will be working as a heatsink, so keep an eye on your temps and make sure they don't start spiking or anything.

[BoomLiam]

So long as you don't completely rack up the voltage on your motherboard you should be ok. As long as there is contact it will be working as a heatsink, so keep an eye on your temps and make sure they don't start spiking or anything.

Ok, thanks :)

[Maverik5124]

Probably what Dave said. Ask your friend if he will ever want to overclock in the future. If yes then I would say return the motherboard and wait a week.

[Morfy]

I'll probably suggest using a fan rubber mount if you have one around, should do the job