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LET’S BEGIN with a case stripdown. Start with the side
panels, which open with a latch and a magnetic clasp,
and can then be lifted off their hinges. Be careful with the
glass panels! Put them in the box until you’re finished.
The metal front panel pops off with a bit of force. The top
panel comes off the same way, but needs more care to
avoid damaging the front I/O. We left that one on for now,
as it only needs removing when installing the case fans
later. Remove the drive cages above the PSU shroud, as
we’re not using them and they’ll hamper airflow. You can
remove the vertical GPU mount, too. Lastly, remove the
case fans, and donate them to a pal with a dusty case.EXCESS EXTRACTION
4
TIME TO PUT that board inside the case. Often, we’d
recommend fitting an air cooler before doing this, but the
MasterAir MA610P is a big cooler that’ll get in the way
of our fan installation. Before you mount the board or
get stuck in with fans, though, take a look at the various
screwpoints and standoffs around the case. You might
want to file some of these down; during our build, blood
was spilled when an errant thumb caught the sharp edge
of an unused screw hole. Remove the largest M.2 heat
shield from the motherboard first, as it covers the hole
for the central mounting peg. Lower the board in, making
sure all the holes line up with the standoffs and the rear
I/O, before screwing it down with the circular screws.
Once secured, replace the M.2 shield.MOTHERBOARD MOUNTING
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30 MAXIMUMPC MAR 2020 maximumpc.com