It does look like the board could have been used for an Intel socket, Im guessing it has a Via chipset which would make sense as Via made almost identical chipsets that could be used for both 370 and 462. However I dont remember Intel ever having holes there for the 370 socket as it used the same retention setup as 462.

They remind me of where server low profile coolers attach to the board, have seen a number of server board with holes there.

Shugmo wrote on 2025-03-21, 12:18:

Would anyone know about the circled areas near the cpu socket? They appear to be something that might be a shared blue print for an intel version of a similar board by ASUS but unsure. My idea is to drill them out and add a cooler bracket on the reverse side to attempt mounting a newer style cooler. I have not measured. I don’t know which would fit if any. Asking if these actually have a purpose I’m unaware of?

AFAIK, nothing shared cpu cooler mount hole dimensions with Skt A...

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2025-03-21, 14:26:

AFAIK, nothing shared cpu cooler mount hole dimensions with Skt A...

I’ve seen a few people on the webs attempting to workout an adapter to adapt to AM2 coolers. Some Socket A boards already have these milled out. I have seen comments about “if the holes are drilled out”. I’m curious if these are filled/not milled out for a reason or if it was to cut production costs at the time? Would hate to drill them out and mess up a working board.

My Alpha PAL 8045 uses those holes to mount.

Those were supplementary mounts common on a lot of socket 462 boards; however, almost every cooler I remember from that era just used the socket mounts.

I recently started thinking about how to adapt those mount points to a modern cooler after watching someone pay $125 for a Thermalright SK-7 on eBay (you can get a very nice modern Noctua or Thermalright cooler for that price that massively outperforms).

I used some through board coolers on socket-A. The early heat pipe tower coolers weighed too much for the socket tabs so you had to use a board with mounting holes.

Two of them were:
Thermaltake Silent Tower
Thermaltake Silent Tower copper version.

I know it's an old thread, but I have the same board with an AMD Athlon XP 3200+, and wanted to install a Zalman cooler that requires those mounting points. I found a reference on a ancient Anandtech forum (https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/heatsink … ed-out.1781363/) where the OP claims to have successfully drilled those points (although it is no longer possible to see his linked pictures of course). Would love to know if anyone else has tried drilling this mobo as well.

IO Sam wrote on 2025-11-08, 04:34:

I know it's an old thread, but I have the same board with an AMD Athlon XP 3200+, and wanted to install a Zalman cooler that requires those mounting points. I found a reference on a ancient Anandtech forum (https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/heatsink … ed-out.1781363/) where the OP claims to have successfully drilled those points (although it is no longer possible to see his linked pictures of course). Would love to know if anyone else has tried drilling this mobo as well.

Not me, but some boards with s.462 were drilled from factory, for example: https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/msi-km2m-combo-l

Ydee wrote on 2025-11-08, 08:00:

IO Sam wrote on 2025-11-08, 04:34:

I know it's an old thread, but I have the same board with an AMD Athlon XP 3200+, and wanted to install a Zalman cooler that requires those mounting points. I found a reference on a ancient Anandtech forum (https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/heatsink … ed-out.1781363/) where the OP claims to have successfully drilled those points (although it is no longer possible to see his linked pictures of course). Would love to know if anyone else has tried drilling this mobo as well.

Not me, but some boards with s.462 were drilled from factory, for example: https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/msi-km2m-combo-l

I honestly never came across a board without these holes. Even my cheapo Asrock K7S8X had them, which is how I mounted my Sonic-Tower back in the day.

I don't know why Asus cheapened out so much on this board to not even drill the damn holes... But they are tinned on the top and are bare FR4 on the bottom (they clearly have no traces connected, so the metal dots around the circular markings are probably only connected to the ground plane). So, the main risk here would be to have the drill slipping, which is something that can be avoided if drilled in slower speed, or having the FR4 material cracking when the drill bit exits on the other side.

IO Sam wrote on 2025-11-15, 00:40:

I don't know why Asus cheapened out so much on this board to not even drill the damn holes...

ASUS did that quiet frequently with their cheaper / lower tier boards, so I'm not surprised at all. Anything in the model number with MX or LA is usually a budget-built board.
At least they are not as bad as ECS. On old ECS boards, I have frequently seen spots for polyfuses for the USB, PS/2, VGA, and other ports/headers bypassed with jumper wire. If you ever had a USB cord short out on a mouse or keyboard, you could sometimes get a very "interesting" smoke show going on before the PSU cut out (if it did at all.)

IO Sam wrote on 2025-11-15, 00:40:

So, the main risk here would be to have the drill slipping, which is something that can be avoided if drilled in slower speed, or having the FR4 material cracking when the drill bit exits on the other side.

To avoid drill slippage and to make sure your holes are drilled precisely where you want them, first take a sharp screw and make indents in the material where you want the hole to be. Then take the smallest drill bit you have (1-2 mm dia.) and drill a small hole as best as you can in the center. If slightly off, widen the hole with a slightly thicker bit and "grind away" any sides on the hole to bring it closer to the center of where it should be. Finally, continue widening the hole in small steps with thicker and thicker bits until you get to the diameter you want. This will also prevent cracking of the PCB on the other side... though if there are traces really close to the hole, you might want to start the drilling of the board on both sides before going through.

momaka wrote on 2025-11-15, 13:46:

ASUS did that quiet frequently with their cheaper / lower tier boards, so I'm not surprised at all. Anything in the model number with MX or LA is usually a budget-built board.
At least they are not as bad as ECS. On old ECS boards, I have frequently seen spots for polyfuses for the USB, PS/2, VGA, and other ports/headers bypassed with jumper wire. If you ever had a USB cord short out on a mouse or keyboard, you could sometimes get a very "interesting" smoke show going on before the PSU cut out (if it did at all.)

It turns out I have the "famous" ECS K7S5A Pro (pictured), which happens to have no cooler bracket holes at all by the way... 🤣
I just hope there are no ill bodge wires on this one (I guess I'll have to look for one now).

momaka wrote on 2025-11-15, 13:46:

To avoid drill slippage and to make sure your holes are drilled precisely where you want them, first take a sharp screw and make indents in the material where you want the hole to be. Then take the smallest drill bit you have (1-2 mm dia.) and drill a small hole as best as you can in the center. If slightly off, widen the hole with a slightly thicker bit and "grind away" any sides on the hole to bring it closer to the center of where it should be. Finally, continue widening the hole in small steps with thicker and thicker bits until you get to the diameter you want. This will also prevent cracking of the PCB on the other side... though if there are traces really close to the hole, you might want to start the drilling of the board on both sides before going through.

Thanks for all the tips! This will be my first PCB drill job, but luckily I have recently bought a Makita carbide drill bit set that has a thin 1.6mm bit which should work well for this task.