Jess Dowson

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PC Build Project 3/4

Jess Dowson

The next job was to install the CPU AIO water cooling system. This was a little fiddly.

First things first - you need to place a tiny amount of thermal compound on top of the CPU - too much and it will cause the CPU to overheat, too little and the CPU will overheat. However, the compound is toxic, so you must also wear gloves. You also ideally need to get an even spread too.

Next up, once you’ve installed the support bracket behind the motherboard, you attach the pump/reservoir combo onto the CPU itself. Next, you install the radiator w/fans into the space above. This was tricky - ended up having to remove two fan screws (leaving 3 on each, which I hope are enough to secure the fan, and not cause too much vibration) to fit it, as it is very snug with the MoBo.

I still have a lot of work to do:

  1. Attach HDD/SSD (the M.2 is already secured within the MoBo) to the chassis

  2. Attach various cables to the correct positions

  3. Plug in the RAM

  4. Slot in the GFX card

  5. Attach the power cables to the correct positions

  6. Do fan test (i.e. ensure all the fans come on when the system boots, otherwise my CPU will go bye-bye quicker than would be helpful).

  7. Ensure the system goes to POST.

  8. Access the BIOS and ensure that all the settings are correct (for instance ensuring the the M.2 is in PCIe mode rather than SATA, so that my SATA drives can operate at full speed).

  9. Install Windows.

  10. Check to make sure everything is running smoothly.

  11. Install drivers, firewall, AV, QoL software (7Zip, NP++)

  12. And then the fun stuff (SketchUp, LMMS, Steam. I may finally actually be able to play Cities: Skylines, which I have not been able to play since I bought it, due to the last system dying).

I’ve also decided that I think I’ll call this system the “Aolin Mk IV”. Why? Loooong story. Really long. It’d involve regailing childhood fantasies of alien civilisations, sentient energy beings, inter-universe travel, broken promises, vengence, love, joy & untold stories of the rise, fall, divison, amalgamation & evolution of the Connoreadoral & Falcailon along with the ascendency of Feodykift, Simpali & Aurora.