Finally the big packages arrived. The hardware I decided on before came in two packages and in three plastic bags. I got the hardware from two different dealers - what I could get locally was bought at a local store the rest ordered online. I began building a pyramid in my corridor.

Although I was tempted to start building right away, I tried to document everything for you. The Enermax case is really huge but it was lighter than I thought it would be. I expected the build quality being better for the price - the case only gets an OK on my internal checklist.

Nothing special on the backside.

Something special on the left side. A huge 250mm fan. I know already that the fan won’t help much for the CPU cooling, but maybe it is a way to keep board and graphics card cool. I’ll test this later.

Yes, it is indeed huge.

The inside of the case.

The mainboard comes in a typical box.

Nothing special in the inside. All you expect from an Asus board: Manual, drivers, cables, slot bracket and hopefully a board.

Ah, there is everything.

Finally, the board is there.

An eyecather is the heatpipe transporting the northbridge heat to the rear fan.

The socket - protected from abuse.

Get connected.

The CPU. It’s an Intel Q6600 with G0-stepping. This can be verified by looking at the code on the processor, SLACR. Basically the G0 consumes less power and is allowed to get a bit hotter then the old stepping, B3. Although in practice the difference isn’t significant, I wanted a new one.

The Zalman 9700LED is really huge …

… but it looks great …

… and the polished plate is really nice.

Memory looking as expected …

… just like the HDD.

For the biggest price of a component at least you get the biggest package.

Gainward really likes ladies.

Two slots for the card.

Is it a clown?

The Soundblaster X-Fi Music …

… has a shiny golden slot bracket.

Oh, look A keyboard.

The Pioneer DVR-212 SATA in his bulk plainness.

Power!

You get the modular cables delivered in a nice black bag.

Laser, yeah.

The additional back fan.

Well everything is here now

In the next part I’ll try to assemble the parts and create new life … or so.

What do you think of the components?

Read part 1 of the building a new computer series here.

Read part 3 of the building a new computer series here.

Read part 4 of the building a new computer series here.