At 00:38 7/22/99 , Syd Wyncoop wrote:
 >Am shopping for a motherboard and several say that they require an
 >I/O shield, which of course is not included. Can anyone tell me what
 >an I/O shield is and whether I need to be concerned if I don't have
 >one?


Hi Syd

An ATX style case has a fairly large cutout at the back (about 6" X 2")
for access to the motherboard's keyboard, mouse, serial port, parallel
port and USB sockets.

The I/O shield is a very thin metal rectangle that snaps into this
cutout at the back of the case. It has little punch outs for the I/O
sockets that I mentioned. (These sockets are physically part of the
motherboard and not at the end of little cables like in the days of AT
style motherboards.) Different motherboards can have their I/O sockets
arranged in different configurations...so there are shields with the
I/O punch outs arranged in different patterns.

Fortunately, most motherboards adhere to one of a few standards and
there are not too many different types of shields. When you buy an
ATX style computer case, you just tell the seller what motherboard you
have and you should receive the correct I/O shield. The shield often
comes with the case at no extra charge.

If you tried to run your system without an I/O shield, EMF interference
would leak out through the empty space around the I/O sockets at the
back of your computer's case.

Regards,
Bill

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