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Bill are you having a mid-life crisis?
First the Evo now an uber computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
What no SCSI Raid 5? pfft
JK, That thing should run Office 2525 with no problem. |
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: |
The build has begun!
I started yesterday. Thus far, I have everything installed except for my graphics and sound cards, and the power supply. I would continue working, but I must get up at 4am tomorrow to catch a flight (business trip), and would rather not be falling asleep in my meetings. I'm also taking plenty of pics. Soon as I return (Wednesday, I hope) I'll begin posting my assembly photos. :woot: |
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The suspense! Looking forward to hearing the details and seeing the pics!
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Okay, nearly done!
Having always purchased brand-name PCs for my gaming habit, I at last decided to try building my own PC. Here's the parts list: Intel i7 920 processor Cooler Master V8 CPU cooler (probably overkill, I know0 Asus P6T motherboard 6GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM 2 X EGVA GTX285 (SLI) SoundBlaster X-Fi ExtremeGamer WD 300GB Velociraptor HD (for performance) Seagate 1.5TB Barracuda HD (for mass storage) Cooler Master HAF 932 case Corsair 1000 W. PSU Vista Ultimate 64b Logitech G9 Gaming Mouse Logitech Illuminated Keyboard For sound, I'll be re-using my Logitech 5.1 wireless speaker system. I'll also be reusing my Samsung SyncMaster 245BW monitor. Here are the pics I took during my build. There are a bunch of them, so I'm splitting them up into multiple posts. Part 1 - Getting started and prepping the case. Here are all the parts in one pile: http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4630/pcbuild001.jpg The case: http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8142/pcbuild002.jpg http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6216/pcbuild003.jpg http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5822/pcbuild006.jpg First step - install the back connector plate: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/5653/pcbuild008.jpg http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/5048/pcbuild010.jpg Using the provided template, identify which standoffs are needed for the motherboard: http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3772/pcbuild013.jpg Here are the standoffs after installation. There are nine of them. http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5325/pcbuild015.jpg The motherboard, CPU and "Cooler Master V8" CPU cooler: http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/9157/pcbuild012.jpg Next step: Installing the CPU, CPU cooler, and memory. :know: |
Part 2.
Installing the CPU onto the motherboard. http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/3995/pcbuild022.jpg http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7786/pcbuild024.jpg http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/6836/pcbuild025.jpg http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6080/pcbuild026.jpg Installing the V8 Cooler: http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6289/pcbuild016.jpg Insert the double-threaded screws into the two mounting brackets: http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4153/pcbuild017.jpg Screw the brackets onto the base plate of the heat exchanger: http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4456/pcbuild020.jpg Add the four rubber anti-vibration pads: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8840/pcbuild021.jpg Thoroughly clean the surface of the heat exchanger. Do the same with the exposed top of the CPU. http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4421/pcbuild028.jpg Attaching the cooler to the motherboard is going to be a bit awkward. I'm going to do it the easy way... upside down! http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/645/pcbuild027.jpg Add the heat exchange compound to the CPU. Believe it or not, this is all that is called for in the instructions that came with my compound. http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7524/pcbuild029.jpg Place the cooler on its back (with its legs pointing up) and carefully lower the motherboard onto the cooler. Install the support bracket and tighten everything down with the four nuts. http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2738/pcbuild030.jpg Here's what this monster looks like after installation: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/3080/pcbuild031.jpg http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4060/pcbuild032.jpg http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5194/pcbuild034.jpg Next we add our memory. http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/7899/pcbuild035.jpg http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7155/pcbuild036.jpg Finally, we mount the motherboard into the case: http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7964/pcbuild037.jpg The ports on the back of the motherboard should line up perfectly with the back plate we installed earlier: http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8943/pcbuild038.jpg :know: |
Part 3: Installing the drives and graphics/sound cards.
Now is a good time to attach the cables for the case's front panel to the motherboard: http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1213/pcbuild040.jpg This case has lots of cutouts on the back side panel where we can route the cables out-of-sight. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/373/pcbuild041.jpg The hard drives sit in sliding trays, which makes installation a breeze. http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/79/pcbuild042.jpg http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/29/pcbuild043.jpg The optical drive slides in from the front. The button I'm pointing to locks it in place -- no screws required! http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8040/pcbuild044.jpg The data cables for the drives are now attached to the motherboard. http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/4916/pcbuild045.jpg Now it's time to install the graphics card. It's a monster! http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6585/pcbuild046.jpg If one is good, two must be better! Each graphics card gets requires two power cables! Now you can see why I went with a 1000 Watt power supply. Note the SLI 'bridge' connecting the two cards. http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7069/pcbuild047.jpg The SoundBlaster card is the last to be installed. http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4656/pcbuild048.jpg :|\\ |
Part 4: Power supply and cables.
The power supply mounts in the bottom of the case. I could have mounted it in the top, but it's easier this way. http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/8184/pcbuild049.jpg The cable situation on the back side of the case is getting pretty messy. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2006/pcbuild050.jpg A few zip ties help to get things a wee bit more organized: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/291/pcbuild051.jpg Voila! All the power cables are connected... http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/3176/pcbuild052.jpg Except for the fan on the side cover. I wish that cable was a foot longer: http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8292/pcbuild053.jpg Time to button 'er up. Looking good, don't you think? http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3561/pcbuild054.jpg :|\\ |
Looking very sweet Bill. And to think when we were kids a ball and new baseball glove was heaven:D
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That's the largest master cooler I've ever seen !! :o
It looks like a car engine ! |
Wow, that is so sweet. These cooling systems they have now just blow my mind.
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Man, Bill doesn't do anything halfway :salute:
That fan is bigger than the one on my car. That thing is awesome. |
That's not a fan...
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5194/pcbuild034.jpg It looks more like a nuclear reactor:o Does that monster come with an LN2 supply? How does the motherboard support that monster's weight. |
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