Project Zoro

[Jhaemes]

Apologies for the lame name, the plan was something with starting with a Z due to the case used. It's named after Roronoa Zoro from One Piece, not that other Zoro

Specs are as follows:

Zalman Z9 Plus case
Gigabyte GA-Z68P-DS3
700w OCZ ModXStream
Intel i3 2100
4GB Crucial Ballistix RAM, got this from a friend who's just upgraded from it.
Sony Optiarc DVD-RW
EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
300 GB hard drive (will be the main one with a clean install)

The initial plan was a budget build that would play Skyrim and have a nice upgrade path for the future. When the system needs it, I'll get an i5 2500k and a nice cooler and overclock that.

Now, although the board doesn't support Sli fully, it will do Crossfire ; in a slightly crippled manner. I'll likely upgrade to a better card in the future, got the 550 Ti second hand from local adverts. It'll do for now. I'm still waiting on delivery on most of the parts, so far I just have the card, case and optical drive.


Pictures so far:


Parts minus the case


Side of the case, some pre-installed cable management?


Front cover off, ready for the optical drive going in.


All done, just need the rest of my parts now.

Sorry for the picture quality, that's all I can do currently.

 

[spenncerr]

Good to see another Zalman Z9 user! Post more pictures as you go mate.

 

[Jhaemes]

Major update time! Got the rest of the parts this morning, built it all. Had a small issue with the system fans which meant the entire system wouldn't turn on.

All sorted now, ready for an OS. Going for a dual-boot of Zorin OS and Win 7. (Rest of the family want "proper windows")


Today's delivery.


All the bits together.


I'll snap a quick picture of the whole thing when I've got the OS sorted.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has helped me on these forums, whether it's been spec checks or build guides, thanks.