Welcome to the forum.
Perhaps pictures?
I’ve seen someone else have trouble with the case. Though that was an AMD board
Maybe a dud? I have a CM case with an 11th Gen board in it, and it all fit together fine.
I have the same issue. I have “Framework Laptop 13 Mainboard (11th Gen Intel Core) i5-1165G7” with “Framework Laptop 13 Cooler Master Mainboard Case”
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I’m also having the same issue with a 12th gen i5 board. There’s no way for me to fit the board in the case and have the USB expansion ports line up correctly.
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I’ll show you how I fixed it, with a caveat or two.
- If you really don’t care about the $40 and doing a return to get another one… this solution is for you.
All you need is a little patience and an X-acto blade or maybe even a sharp pocket knife.
The issue is that when they were injection molding the case - the metal inserts (the black columns that your motherboard goes over) were loose in the mold or the injection pressure was a little too high and they pushed extra plastic into the space between molds and it rose up around the metal screw post.
Now, this should have been caught in quality control somewhere along the line. But because the inserts are metal and the case is plastic, it is pretty easy and almost fool proof to fix yourself if you don’t want to wait for a replacement.
The basic concept is to use the Xacto or knife to remove the excess plastic. I found the best ways is as follows. (you almost can’t screw it up).
- Remove your mother board from the case and any other pieces (sound board, wifi, etc). You only need the bottom half to fix this.
- Find a steady place that you can sit down at and work at a comfortable level.
- Place the bottom of the case down on a flat sturdy surface.
- Use a sharp knife or X-acto and cut parallel with the bottom of the case on the flat surface where the board should normally rest. The second frame of the picture above shows and example.
You want the blade to be flat to the bottom and cut toward the post. You don’t need to remove any plastic in this step, you are really only create a score mark around the bottom of the metal post. You can’t cut too far in toward the post, because it is metal and will stop the blade. Do that all the way around the base.
If you can’t reach all the way around on some of the posts, don’t worry too much - you can most likely get what you need done in the next steps.
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Once you have score the bottom. Now run your blade from the top down the metal post. The cut should basically scrape down the side of the post, cut into the excess plastic and stop at the first line you cut in step 4. (see frame above) This should free a small chuck of plastic. Keep rotating a little bit at a time around the post doing the same cut all the way around. You can angle the blade slightly inward toward the screw post - you will not be able to cut into it because it is metal.
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Repeat for all the posts - I think there are 5 of them.
You need to be pretty thorough – all the posts need to be cleaned all the way down to the flat.
Before you screw down your board, make sure it fits down to the bottom without any excess force over each post. You don’t want to introduce unneeded flex on the board. The ports on both sides should line up properly without have to rock or push down on any side/corner of the board. The middle of the board shouldn’t be bowed upwards - everything should be laying flat.
Take your time. It shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to do a proper job.
Once everything is okay - viola - enjoy.
You many be able to do this with a rotary tool or some other electric cutter - but I find the control of the X-acto much more comforting and it wasn’t a chore.
Hope this helps. I have been enjoying my case since I made these modifications.
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Thanks for the workaround.
That said - I just want to add my voice that I also have the exact same issue and will be contacting Framework support to get a new one.
Seems like a dud batch …
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Can confirm this is still an issue from an order I placed earlier this week. @Peter_Paquette’s solution worked well for me
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I had a similar issue and even after some extensive carving, I still had the top right side of my board (the one that wraps fully around the standoff) not fitting correctly. I was able to apply some pressure to the board to get it into place and I essentially locked it in with an expansion card.
This is the 2nd mainboard Cooler Master case I’ve built the first one did not have this issue.
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Thank you!! This just saved me a ton of time waiting for a new case to come (time I don’t have). I greatly appreciate it :))
As an aside, I’m very disappointed in Framework’s QC. This is the third time they’ve sent me a defective product–the first was my (11th gen) laptop with bad hinges, then a bad ethernet expansion card, and now this case; every single order I’ve made since their founding has contained at least one defective part.
Framework Support made it right every time, but I have no clue what’s going on with them… their inability to consistently ship quality products is not a good look. End rant :,)
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I just received my Coolermaster case, and have the exact same issue. Like @blakeslee I’ve received defective parts every single time I’ve ordered something from Framework. I keep giving them extra chances because I believe in the mission of repair-ability, but at a certain point the odds just don’t add up anymore. Framework has significant quality control issues.
My original laptop came with the webcam module installed incorrectly. A defective touchpad. And I’m now on my fourth set of hinges. And now I receive a Coolermaster case that doesn’t fit the mainboard it was designed for. 
Framework, step it up.
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Looks like the case I received has the same problem described in this thread. Is this a Framework problem or a Cooler Master problem?
Framework support sent me a replacement case, and it arrived today. Exact same problem. Motherboard doesn’t fit because the white plastic from the bottom case is too high and prevents the motherboard from sitting on the black pegs.
I just can’t fathom how Framework’s failure rate is so high.
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Hi Daniel,
Sorry to hear that your replacement case has the same issue, I’ll be sharing the feedback internally so they can share it with Cooler Master.
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Just received my third case. Framework offered “whiteglove service” for this, meaning they had someone visually inspect the case before shipping it.
This one is definitely better, but the motherboard still doesn’t fit safely. The motherboard sits too high. I can just barely install a module if I apply downward pressure on the usb port, which I wouldn’t even be able to do if the case was closed The case doesn’t close, because the motherboard doesn’t sit low enough.
Has the framework team actually tested these with Framework motherboards. Because it’s pretty clear to me the design is incorrect.
I’ll send photos when I get home from work.
This is absolutely the last time I send Framework a penny until there are clear and public statements on how they’re going to address quality control.
I’ve given Framework way more chances than I would have given to any other company because I believe in their mission on principle. But with such terrible quality control theyre worse for both the user and the environment than just buying a generic non-repairable system that will just work for a few years without constantly replacement parts.
Here are some pictures of the THIRD case I’ve received. This one they claimed to have done whiteglove service, meaning an employee inspected it before sending.
This is the best of the three cases I’ve received so far. But this one still doesn’t fit the motherboard. The usb ports don’t quite align and the case will not close.
I’m also just now noticing that all of the photos on the store page show that the case is black. But all the cases I’ve received and seen here are white.
I don’t care much about the color. But that does raise a concern about false advertising, and that the switch to white is potentially the cause of the issue since the white plastic overflows onto the black plastic pegs.
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I finally decided to 3D print a case, and it fits perfectly. Don’t bother with the Cooler Master case. They’ve clearly got a bad batch, and instead of doing anything about it they’re just repeatedly sending out defective cases.
People are complaining about this on Reddit as well. There’s another user on there who like me has already received three defective cases.
Still waiting to hear back from support on the third defective case.
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I have the same issue!
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Yep, I also had the same issue. Fixed it with a knife.
After reading all of this, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an entire batch of bad cases.
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I had the same problem. I whittled down the base of each screw post with an xacto-knife to whittle away the cone shape down to a straight cylinder with flat step at the base. Got my case a month or two ago.