So a big box from Scan arrived for me on Thursday, followed by my first niece on Friday , and having to take the missus's car for a service Saturday morning...finally I've managed to get a few hours to build the new rig :mrgreeen:
So I will be using the following:
Case: Fractal Design R4
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k (Ivy Bridge)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
RAM: 8Gb Corsair Vengeance (low profile) DDR3 PC-12800 (2x4Gb)
Case fans: 2x Corsaire AF140 Quiet Edition (140mm) + 2 no. Fractal Design 140mm case fans + 1 no. 120mm Silverstone exhaust fan I had laying around:
Drives: Samsung 830 256Gb + Samsung Spinpoint 750gb (from old rig)
GPU: EVGA GTX570 1280Mb (from old rig, used to belong to sawyen )
So on with the show!!!
First things first, we need to fix the mounting bracket for the CPU heatsink to the back of the motherboard. Thankfully it was a painless affair, especially compared to my old Xigmatek S1283 on my Q6600 which was a tightmare of tight fitting rubber mounts for the fans and Intel push pins *breaks out in cold sweat thinking about it*
I start then by aligning it on the motherboard:
Then I take it off again because we forgot to remove some of the rubberised back, necessary for socket 1155 / 1156 CPUs:
Now I re-apply it making sure the hexagonal heads of the bolts sit into the raised lip of the bracket like so:
Now I can turn over the assembly and position the rubber spacers over the screws:
Next is to put the brackets into position:
After consultation with the install guide I realise I've put them the wrong way so I switch the around so the fans will be facing the right direction:
Tehn I realise I haven't even put the CPU into position....so i remove them again and put it to one side while I prepare the CPU with thermal paste! A small blob, spread very thin over the entire service of the CPU like so:
Before:
After:
Now I put the CPU in the socket and fit the retention bracket, the pressure I have to apply has me worried and triple checking it's aligned correctly!
Now I can put the brackets back on (in the right direction this time), and screw them down:
At this point I should have installed the RAM, but I didn't....because I've not build a PC in 4 years and I've forgotten stuff like that....anyway....the easy removal of the Noctua fans saved my bacon:
The Noctua NH-D14 was a pleasure to work with, simply align (it sits on it's own) and screw down with the 2 internally threaded screws provided to secure into position. You have to remove the middle 140mm / circular fan to gain access, but it's no problem at all and takes just a few seconds:
The Noctua NH-D14 has simple silicone strips to cushion the fans onto the heatsink and provide dampening, simple, but effective, as can be seen here: