Next I installed the dvdrw drive. Choose to have the drive on the same side as the front panel (side) usbs etc. As wherever i have the case i will have to make extra room for a usb device to stick into the side so seemed silly to have a usb drive sticking out on one side and on the other to have a optical drive opening and closing- that would result in me needing extra clearance from monitor or whatever the case ends up being next to. Installed by screwing in 4 screws and sliding along the rail.
Next job was to install the beast of the gpu that is the sapphire radeon 4870. Good job i choose the lian li with the support for long gpu's
Next i installed the cpu, thermal paste and the heatsink. This was a fiddly job. As stated in some of the other threads, the mini ninja cant be mounted on the mobo tray outside of the case and then slided in due to their not being enough clearance on one of the back panels which is not removed easily. This meant sliding the mobo tray into place and then fiddling around to get the heatsink mounted correctly and then secured by using the 4 push pins. The fan clips onto the heatsink using the supplied case fans. Next was to install the psu above the cpu and heatsink. This was easy- slide it up into the top of the case and secure at the back with four screws. The heatsink in place and psu can be seen on the next pic. Also note the heatsink fan location. I had to move my ram modules from slots 1 and 3 to 2 and 4 due to the case touching the slot.
I stil wasnt 100% happy with the cpu fan being so close to the ram modules. What i decided to do was turn the fan around and mount it on the other side of the heatsink. This now meant that rather than blowing air across the heatsink it was pulling air from the heatsink fins out the back ventillation panel. This is probably advisable for anyone wanting to use all four ram modules in their builds. That is if my theory works and the temps dont get to hot!
The next hour or so was used connecting cables that werent already connected and double checking the connections ready for the first boot!
And low and behold- it worked first time- i left the sides of the case to check all the fans were working and getting a feel for how the airflow was working around the case.
I then tidied up a few of the cables here and there. Put the removable bezels back on the optical drive slots and then stared to install the OS
And thats it! My first build thread! Thoroughly enjoyed the experience- and pleased i went down the DIY route to save a few quid.
I have since installed all the drivers supplied with the componenets. Transferred some data across from my old computer and dloaded a few programs i use regularly.
Updated the ati drivers to the latest 8.6 i think it was and also updated the motherboards bios.
Temperature wise the cpu is idling at around 27-29. On load the highest i have seen it so far has been 40. Gpu is between 70 and 75. Think these are pretty good and pleased with the cpu temp- reversing the fan doesnt seem to have harmed things.
Next step- off to buy cod and grid tomorrow to test out the gpu!
Sorry its not all step by step- but with it being my first build i was just taking it slowly and then sometimes forgot to pick up my camera at approriate bits.
Still i think this gives a good idea.
Hope this helps people and i will be happy to answer any questions
