Hi after reading on here I chose the Antec 300 for my first intel build in a long time.
not many images yet but ill a few, and update when I strip it all out to re do wiring , ill explain this as I go along
The parts
Antec 300
3 x 120mm fans
Asus PQ5 Deluxe
Intel E8400
Artic cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Power color 4870 GPU (notes below)
800 watt Modular psu (notes below)
HDD x3
DVD
4gig Ram
white box on top is PSU.
First off out of the box the case oozes quality, nice finish to the paint and neatly packed screws etc.
I went about fitting the 2 from drive bay 120mm fans first, straight forward, good cable managemnt for this part, for my motherboard i needed to extend the bottom fan for it to reach motherboard fan header.
Next the PSU, I have mounted this upside down , so the fan is facing upwards, the 4pin ATX lead only just reaches the connector on the Asus motherboard and is a very tight fit, this is the only issue i have with the psu all other cables are fine and there where more than enough of options, I am looking to get a extension cable for this to then re route the cable neatly around the case.
The order I did things in next I could have done better and proberbly made it hard for myself the way i did this build.
I installed the motherboard stand offs, no problems encountered
the motherboard back plate took me a few attempts to get it to click fully home and the postion of the top fan made this a problem for me, but i got there in the end.
the back plate with this asus board has a sponge backing and due to this made the motherboard install the hardest i have ever encounted, due to this once I had finally got it in and lined up , it was not comming out, Mistake number one.
having never fitted an intel cpu or 775 cooler b4, i spent some time reading and re reading before proceeding, cpu dead simple all ok, cooler well I had read of people having issues with fins touching or fan touching the cooling around the cpu, the cooler would not fit if I had the fan inline with the rear case 120mm fan, so i rotted through 90 degrees and it fits perfect, and now blows across the cpu cooler fins and out throught the top case fan. as for the actual fiting of the cooler to mother board with the mother board installed this was a real pain in the neck, there is next to no room due to the 2 case fans for my large stubby fingers, next time ill fit cpu and cooler before motherboad gos into the case.
I then fitted the 3 hdds an dvd rom, dvd in top bay, hdds all in bottom bays, the dvd rom causes routing problems for the fron usb audio cables for my motherboard, I am looking to get extension wires for these. I did not install the sata or single ide cable at this point, Mistake number 2.
For some reason I decided to pop in the graphics card, this is Huge card and covers the sata ports, hence the next problems I created for myself where installing the hdd data and power connectors, all this needs re routing when i strip it all out.
Finally I fitte the 120mm fan to the side panel, this i have powerd from a molex , i will extend this so i can connect to a motherboard header, i would also like to look into converting the 2 case fans from molex to motherboard headers, and then re route all wires neatly.
I feel I have learnt lots through doing it all wrong, but am happy with the end performance and will rebuild and may even paint now i have seen Retro-R antec 300 build.
Dont think I have missed anything,
Bowza
not many images yet but ill a few, and update when I strip it all out to re do wiring , ill explain this as I go along
The parts
Antec 300
3 x 120mm fans
Asus PQ5 Deluxe
Intel E8400
Artic cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Power color 4870 GPU (notes below)
800 watt Modular psu (notes below)
HDD x3
DVD
4gig Ram
white box on top is PSU.
First off out of the box the case oozes quality, nice finish to the paint and neatly packed screws etc.
I went about fitting the 2 from drive bay 120mm fans first, straight forward, good cable managemnt for this part, for my motherboard i needed to extend the bottom fan for it to reach motherboard fan header.
Next the PSU, I have mounted this upside down , so the fan is facing upwards, the 4pin ATX lead only just reaches the connector on the Asus motherboard and is a very tight fit, this is the only issue i have with the psu all other cables are fine and there where more than enough of options, I am looking to get a extension cable for this to then re route the cable neatly around the case.
The order I did things in next I could have done better and proberbly made it hard for myself the way i did this build.
I installed the motherboard stand offs, no problems encountered
the motherboard back plate took me a few attempts to get it to click fully home and the postion of the top fan made this a problem for me, but i got there in the end.
the back plate with this asus board has a sponge backing and due to this made the motherboard install the hardest i have ever encounted, due to this once I had finally got it in and lined up , it was not comming out, Mistake number one.
having never fitted an intel cpu or 775 cooler b4, i spent some time reading and re reading before proceeding, cpu dead simple all ok, cooler well I had read of people having issues with fins touching or fan touching the cooling around the cpu, the cooler would not fit if I had the fan inline with the rear case 120mm fan, so i rotted through 90 degrees and it fits perfect, and now blows across the cpu cooler fins and out throught the top case fan. as for the actual fiting of the cooler to mother board with the mother board installed this was a real pain in the neck, there is next to no room due to the 2 case fans for my large stubby fingers, next time ill fit cpu and cooler before motherboad gos into the case.
I then fitted the 3 hdds an dvd rom, dvd in top bay, hdds all in bottom bays, the dvd rom causes routing problems for the fron usb audio cables for my motherboard, I am looking to get extension wires for these. I did not install the sata or single ide cable at this point, Mistake number 2.
For some reason I decided to pop in the graphics card, this is Huge card and covers the sata ports, hence the next problems I created for myself where installing the hdd data and power connectors, all this needs re routing when i strip it all out.
Finally I fitte the 120mm fan to the side panel, this i have powerd from a molex , i will extend this so i can connect to a motherboard header, i would also like to look into converting the 2 case fans from molex to motherboard headers, and then re route all wires neatly.
I feel I have learnt lots through doing it all wrong, but am happy with the end performance and will rebuild and may even paint now i have seen Retro-R antec 300 build.
Dont think I have missed anything,
Bowza
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