Installation and Case Cooling
For the installation portion of our review, we threw together an LGA1156 system using the following hardware components:
- Motherboard: ASUS Maximus III Gene
- Processor: Intel i7-860 2.8GHz
- Memory: Patriot Sector 5 4GB DDR3-2000
- Hard drive: WD Raptor 150GB SATA
- Graphics: Gigabyte GTS 250 1GB
- Heatsink: Zalman CNPS10X Flex
- Power supply: Corsair 750W
The biggest problem we ran into during installation was the power supply bracket. We had to file a notch in the bottom shown here so we could plug in a power cable. This is a small detail, but something we wanted to point out in our review.
Next, we installed the optical drive using thumb screws. You can also use normal screws that are included with the case, but I prefer thumb screws whenever possible.
We used regular screws to secure the optical bay cage to the lower acrylic base.
Next, we secured the hard drive to the acrylic hard drive cage using four machine screws.
We also used four screws to secure the hard drive cage to the acrylic base of the case. Very simple stuff going on here.
We finally installed the motherboard, CPU, heatsink, and memory and also started routing power cables to the motherboard.
We also installed the graphics card and secured it to the PCI bracket using one thumb screw.
Here’s a quick shot of how we are routing all the power cables, data cables, and fan connectors in our custom AV8 case. There is ample room under the motherboard and it helps give the front of the case a cleaner finish so onlookers can gaze at your cable management skills and at the sweet hardware itself.
We flipped the motherboard tray up so you could see how cable management and how we routing all the power and data cables. Very clean and easy to install.
One of the finishing touches was installing the cable cover between the drive bays. This is a nice touch so you can’t see the power supply and the rat’s nest of cables behind it.
We installed the top panel to the chassis using four screws and screw covers. Looks very clean again and I like not having to look at the screw heads and I’m able to focus on the graphics instead.
Well, the build actually took about 90 minutes because I had to file a notch in the power supply bracket and screw in about 25 screws, but overall it was an easy build and routing the cables underneath the motherboard worked great. Can’t wait to see it on and to see how the LED fans light up the acrylic motherboard tray.
