8
DROP IN THE GPU
Our MSI board hosts two
physical x16 PCI-E slots.
We say “physical” because
only one actually oper-
ates at x16 data rates.
That’s the one closest to
the CPU. We’ll want to use
that slot for our GPU to get
the best performance out
of it (image A). Before you
install the card, remove the
two expansion slot covers
from the rear of the case
where the card’s ports will
emerge. You can toss the
covers or keep them asBefore you can mount the mobo, you
must install the I/O shield—that little
metal plate that frames all the inputs
and outputs on the back of your case.
The shield should have come with your
mobo. If it didn’t, you’ll have to contact
the maker for a replacement or mountthe board commando. Use the butt
of your screwdriver to pop out the
shield that came with the case. Now
take the shield that came with your
board and pop out the squares for
the necessary ports. Make sure the
grounding arms for the Ethernet,
eSATA, and PS/2 ports are bent in
toward the case’s interior (image A).
Otherwise, they’ll get tangled in the
ports when you install the board.
Next, fi nd the bag of brass
motherboard standoffs that came
with the case. Install these in the
case, making sure you have one for
each mounting hole in the moth-
erboard. Use pliers to torque them
down enough so they don’t back
out should you need to remove the
mobo (image B). Take note of how
many mounts you installed. The typi-
cal number is nine. Now drop the
board in and screw it down (image
C). Use just enough force to keep
the screws from backing out, but not
enough force to crush the PCB.7
MOUNT THE MOTHERBOARD
We briefl y toyed with the
idea of using AMD’s new
Phenom quad core for this
year’s $1,500 PC. After all,
AMD has priced the new
CPU quite attractively.
There’s also an argument
for the forward-looking
upgradability of the AM
platform. In the end, how-
ever, we decided to go with
Intel since its performance
roadmap is unquestionable
right now.
We’re a little nervous
about where AMD is head-
ed. The company seems
to change direction each
quarter and is again delay-
ing the release of Phenom
9900, so it’s safer to go with
Intel. And it doesn’t get any
safer than the Core 2 2.4GHz
Quad Q6600 CPU. Our chip
is a Rev G0, so it will over-
clock well to boot!
Last year, we over-
clocked a dual-core proc,
and we considered that
option for about a second
this year. But enough appli-
cations now take advantage
of four cores, so we felt
compelled to go quad with
this year’s box. We also like
that it gives us a roadmap to
the company’s 45nm CPUs.
This also helped us decide
which motherboard/chipset
to use (see the sidebar on
page 26).
In a nutshell, we see
Intel’s 45nm Penryn pro-
cessors as the future for
Intel. We fi gure we’ll run the
Q6600 for another 12 to 18
months and then see what
cheap goodness Intel can
bring us after that. Heck,
by that time, we’ll probably
be able to buy a 3.66GHz
Penryn for $250.Intel’s Core 2
2.4GHz Quad
Q6600 CPU
WHY WE CHOSE
24 MAXIMUMPC | APR 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
A
A
B
C
$1,500 PC