This is part of our series of how-to & guide about the Open Benchtable and the Open Benchtable Mini. Today we focus on mounting a motherboard on your Open Benchable.
Getting ready
The Open Benchtable is compatible with pretty much all the common form-factors: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX and XL-ATX.
The Open Benchtable Mini is compatible with the Mini-ITX (and some Mini-DTX) form factor.
To start, get the number of stand-off that you need from their storage location. ATX & Micro-ATX form factor requires up-to nine and Mini-ITX requires four.
As mentioned in our mounting guides, there are two types of stand-offs and they can be mixed. Half of them are push-pin standoff while the other half is made of screw standoffs (these are similar to the conventional standoffs you find in most cases). All of the standoffs are stored in the feet of your OBT.
If you are using screw standoffs, get the same amount of M3 screws off, there are located on the right of your OBT.
Tips from the team: we usually go for one conventional standoff in the center and push-pins for all of the others! (you can mix push-pin and screw-standoffs that you feel comfortable with).
Motherboard Mounting
Once you’re all set up, install your standoff so they align with your motherboard (green locations).
Use the pattern which corresponds to your motherboard
If you are using conventional standoffs, tighten your M3 screws in them to secure the motherboard.
Usign the Open Benchtable Mini is even easier, you only need 4 standoffs
Push-pin standoff
Push-pin standoff
Standoff with OBT thumbscrew
Let us know on Social Media what is your favorite mounting strategy: Push-pins only or Mixed ?
https://openbenchtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/OBT-standoff-2-scaled.jpg19202560Thomas Domarthttps://openbenchtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/logo-if-rd-330-300x107.pngThomas Domart2021-08-18 06:55:002021-08-20 02:17:41Motherboard mounting guide for Open Benchtable and OBT Mini
Even if the OBT is easy to build, sometimes we just want to check how things should be worked out. Today we focus on installing fans on your Open Benchtable.
Getting ready
To mount your fan, you will need to detach four M3 screws, two brackets and optionnally two washers.
In the middle of your OBT, you fill find your brackets, they are attached with one M3 screw each. Unscrew these to get the brackets off. Washers are securely held with the PCI-E thumbscrews, unscrew the nuts and you will find your washers! You can then find two more M3 screws on the right side of your OBT or in your OBT Screw Kit.
Tip from the team: Washers are optional, they are here to prevent any friction between the two aluminum parts which can leave esthetic marks.
Installation
While fans all have the same mouting point & dimension, not all fans are created equal. Thus we outline the two common way to mount your fans to the brackets.
Case 1: Your fan can fit a screw through its mount
This is the easiest case! First, pass a M3 screw through the corner of your fan. Next, screw it the middle hole of the bracket. Finally, use your spare M3 screws to secure the brackets to the holes which are located on the edge of your Open Benchtable.
Tip from the team: The bracket has two different thicknesses on it to accomodate most configurations possible. Play with the brackets to find the best fitting position.
Case 2: Your fan can’t fit a screw through its mounts
There are two ways to tackle it. You can use third party screws and nuts or use third party extra long M3 screws.
Using screws and nuts
When using screws and nuts, pass the screws through your fan’s mounting point and bracket, then tighten the nuts. Finally, use M3 screws to attach the brackets in the holes located on the edge of the Open Benchtable.
Using extra-long M3 screws
When using extra long M3 screws, pass them through the fan’s mounting points. Next, use the middle hole of the bracket as a nut to attach the screw in it. Finally, use your OBT M3 thumbscrews to secure the brackets to the edge of your OBT.
Connect!
Finish by connecting your fan to your motherboard or fan controller.
Theses are awesomes builds by the community to inspire you.
Even if the OBT is easy to build, sometimes we just want to check how things should be worked out. Today we focus on mounting storage on your OBT.
Getting ready
First, make sure your storage is supported on your OBT model. The BC1 supports 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives whereas the OBT Mini support 2.5″ drives. What’s not different is that you can attach two drives on each model.
Mounting the drive
Unscrew two M3 screws of you OBT.There are located on the top right corner of the BC1. Concerning the OBT Mini, there are securely held on at the bottom right of the structure.
At the bottom of your OBT are four hard drive slots, align your drive under two of these holes and tighten the M3 screws in your drive’s threads.
Tips from the team: Attach your drive so that its connectors are on the same side that your motherboard’s SATA ports, it will make cabling easier!
Even if the Open Benchtable is easy to build, sometimes we just want to check how things should work out. Today we focus on installing any sort of full sized extension card, such as a GPU or Capture Card.
Getting ready
First, get the PCI-E thumb screws out.
If you are using the OBT, four PCI-E standoffs are included. To get them out, simply loosen the thumbscrew and they will detach easily.
If you are using an OBT Mini, two PCI-E standoffs are included with your unit. To get them out, you need to unlock the feet. Loosen the 6 screws highlighted in the picture below. Then get the PCI-E standoffs by sliding them out of the feet.
A video is worth a thousand words.
Loosen the highlighted screws
Use the required number of PCI-E standoffs, and store the remaining in their original location.
If you are using a large number of PCI-Express cards and require extra PCI-Express standoffs, consider getting an OBT Screw Kit.
Installation
Once you’re all set-up, screw the bottom thread of the PCI-E standoff to the screw standoff. Find the screw standoff attached to the OBT feet. Repeat this process on all the standoffs you plan to use.
You should get something like this
Now that everything is ready, mount your PCI-E standoffs in the holes that correspond to the PCI-E slot of your motherboard.
Plug your PCI-Express card. Tighten the nuts on the top screws. All done!
Tips from the team: Some cables with large display port connectors, might need a bit more wiggle room with the standoffs. In this case, play with the top nuts to adjust position and alignment.
Let us know on social media what other guides you want to see for your Open Benchtable!
The OBT community created a lot of different adds on to the benchtable. Most of the community projects are created by enthusiasts on their own but NOCTUA decided to pitch in as well. This post will guide you to install this exclusive VRM cooling bracket!
The installation of the VRM cooling bracket is ultra simple and barely require a guide.
Make one or get your VRM cooling bracket
First, you have to have the bracket (3D print it or purchase it) and the Noctua fans. As we discussed in our post focusing on why and how they came up with this idea, you can 3D print the bracket in any material that you have or you can buy an aluminium version.
Noctua’s VRM fan bracket
Attach the fans
Attach the fans to the bracket. To mount them, use your prefered way to mount fans, wether it is screws or rubber tighteners.
Extra cooling, extra performance!
Secure on your Open Benchtable
Pick two M3 screws, from the right side of the Open Benchtable or from the OBT Screw Kit. Attach the VRM cooling add-on with the M3 screws in the holes located on the edge next to the handle.
Connect!
Finish by connecting, the two 4-pins wire on any of the fan port of your motherboard.
The Open Benchtable is quite straightforward to build as we showed on our step by step assembly guide. But due to the multitude of configurations you can create, we share the teams tips for attaching your watercooling kit. This watercooling installation guide focus on the most popular configurations to build your WC kit on the OBT.
The Open Benchtable is designed to handle any sort of hardware, it allows the users to build computers with a wide variety of component choices. Watercooling kits are no exception. Indeed, the OBT can support large radiator sizes, from 120mm to the giant 420mm ones. The only limit is gravity (almost)!
On the edges of the OBT, holes allow to create pretty much any configuration you could think of! Let’s divide them in three categories:
Radiator on top
Radiator on the side
Exotic mounting
Category 1 : Above the Open Benchtable frame
There are three recommended locations to install your watercooling’s radiator:
At the top (PSU/handle area)
On the right side
At the bottom (storage area)
There is an extra location on the IO side, that we wouldn’t specifically recommend.
At the top (PSU/handle location)
At the Open Benchtable’s edge located above the power supply unit, you will find holes. Attach two brackets using the M3 thumbscrews provided with your OBT. Adjust the brackets to fit your radiator mounting and use the screws provided with your radiator or the OBT screws.Â
Tips from the team: Use the widest mounting point on the Open Benchtable to support large radiators.
Recommended position for large radiators
For smaller radiator, find the combination of brackets & radiators mount that fit best. This mounting approach is supported and recommended for both the Open Benchtable and the Open Benchtable Mini.
Depending on your motherboard format and GPU size, consider mounting the radiators on the right of the OBT. Adjust the brackets to fit your radiator and you’re good to go!
Tips from the team : This usually works with ATX or smaller motherboards. Consider that any GPU larger than your motherboard frame can conflict with large radiators.
Facing the GPU / storage side
This one makes a lot of sense if your GPU is watercooled. Just above the storage space, there are 4 holes to attach the brackets. Like the PSU/handle side seen earlier, find the holes that fit the best your watercooling system!
Double All-in-One cooling in a breeze.
On the left side (behind the IO shield)
This setup is not recommended, as it easily blocks the motherboard IO and the GPU connectivity. This option is available on OBT v1 and v1.1.
There are two holes on the OBT edge behind the IO shield to attach your components. However, this mounting space is used mostly in Extreme Overclocking Setup when the GPU is on a different PCI-E slot and for industrial motherboards/testing systems.
Category 2 : Below the Open Benchtable frame
There are four different locations where you can install your radiator when you choose it to be under the OBT frame. There are two recommended layouts and two other locations possible.
Setting the radiator below means that your radiator is below your pump, in some configurations this can lead to bubbles in your loop.
At the top (PSU/handle location)
We wouldn’t really recommend this setup because it can easily obstruct the PSU’s plug. This is a good location for a tiny radiators, pump or VRM Cooling bracket.
Use the brackets to secure the radiator to the frame. Holes are located on the edge just above the PSU.Â
On the right side
This position is useful for long radiators, be creative with the brackets and positions.
With a combination of “Bigger-than-ATX” motherboards and large radiators this might not be possible. Nonetheless, this is a great location for long radiators, distro-plates or reservoirs.
At the bottom, facing the storage
In the same fashion as PSU/handle position, you can set your radiator facing the storage. The good part here is that there won’t be any conflicts with airflow nor plugs.
Adjust the bracket spacing based on your needs and component size.
On the left side, (under the IO shield)
You can attach the radiator on the IO side of your rig. This setup works best with thin radiators that use 120mm fans or smaller. This position is not recommended as some radiator size will conflict with the IO of your motherboard or GPU.
This can be used for your radiator or your pump depending on your creativity.
Mounting pumps or reservoirs
All the locations can accommodate watercooling pump, reservoirs or extra add-ons like the OBT Debug Card. Depending on your pump, the brackets are helpful to accommodate a large choice of models.
Build & Share
We love to see the OBT Community members building on the Open Benchtable.
Yesterday, Trouffman (Isaïe) streamed a PC build guide using the Open Benchtable for over four hours: from Open Benchtable in the box to fully assembled system. Isaïe is a founding member of the Open Benchtable project and regular host of the Web-TV OverClocking-TV. He said it’s been a while since he wanted to do a stream to show how to build a system using the Open Benchtable as a solid foundation. He received three (3!) tables last week and in the excitement of receiving the final product, he scheduled a stream.
During the four hours of livestream, Isaïe covered the following topics
History and design story of the Open Benchtable – how the table came to be and what’s the thought process behind some of the design choices.
Unboxing of the Open Benchtable – showing future owners how to unpack the Open Benchtable and get it ready for usage.
A complete PC Build guide with the Open Benchtable – preparing the Open Benchtable for assembly as well as put together a complete system
Order your Open Benchtable now! We are producing the table in a limited quantity and It can be ordered now for $149 USD (Community Edition – incl. Open Benchtable + traveler sleeve).
