I’m stuck at the beginning of my build for a silly reason. When I started putting it together, I discovered 2 of the brass standoffs for the motherboard were stripped (i.e. I could not secure the motherboard to the standoff). So I ordered some new ones (3 different actually) from Amazon. They were too small and did not thread into the case.
I downloaded the manual for my Node 304 and it doesn’t mention size anywhere. Does Fractal use a proprietary size or some stupid thing like that?
In the time since I wrote this and it was approved, Fractal Design finally responded to my email. They said the would ship me the correct standoffs, I would just need to pay the $11 shipping. I seriously hope that it is a the original accessory bag for that shipping rate!
I always thought that standoffs were pretty universal, but a quick google search shows that there are at least two different types:
I’d guess that whatever you bought from Amazon were “the other thread size”.
This is exactly right. 6-32 vs M3 is super confusing; they are very similar but do not mate. 6-32 is 3.51mm thread diameter, so half a mm larger than M3. So a 6-32 screw will not fit into an M3 standoff, and an M3 screw will fit into a 6-32 standoff but will pull right out, feeling like stripped threads. There is not standard for standoffs, but both 6-32 and M3 are used, with 6-32 being slightly more popular. This appears to be the case for your Node 304.
Thank you both for chiming in. I’ll be sure to ask that information for the next case I buy!
IMO, just ask Fractal for replacements. They are usually pretty quick to be people sorted out.
That’s what I ended up doing. They were quick to respond, but I had to pay $11 in shippng, so I hope it is the OEM hardware bag that came with the case when new. This of course has put my build on hold. C’est la vie!
