IF ONLY IT WAS as simple as just popping in the SSD. We
love the way this board looks, so wanted to keep this look
without removing any heatsinks. Unfortunately, we had to do
this as our first SSD came with a heatsink itself. Note that
we said ‘first’—this SSD wouldn’t fit with the motherboard’s
covers on top. Initially, we unscrewed the bottom SSD
heatsink cover. This was one big long cover that has two
slots underneath, one for a conventionally sized SSD, and the
other could fit another and also a longer SSD. The problem
is that if we use one side, the other side is exposed with the
heatsink film, making the board look pretty ugly.BEFORE WE DIVE straight into this one and pop the
motherboard into the case, we first need to prep it for the
CPU. It’s also much easier to attach all the necessary parts
to the board before installing it. Yes, there is a lot of room
around the board with this case but it’s a good habit to work
out the case first. Before we touch the CPU, we remove the
plastic piece under the CPU latch. You don’t actually need to
do this, as it will pop out when you secure it down anyway,
but it works either way round. To open the latch, lift the
retention arm up slowly out of its catch. Push it down initially
and to the right to release it. Easy-peasy.WE DIDN’T WANT to have an exposed empty M.2 slot, so we
decided to use the top M.2 slot just under the CPU, which is
technically a better slot. Again though, with the cover on top,
this wouldn’t fit over our WD_Black SSD due to its heatsink.
Thankfully, the stars aligned perfectly as we happen to have
the exact same SSD without a pre-installed heatsink lying
around in our studio. We unscrew the top heatsink cover and
slot in our SSD at a 30° angle to the port. Then, we secure it
with the plastic screw covers that came with the board. After
a few mishaps and then a little bit of luck on our part, the 2TB
SSD from Western Digital was secured.NOT ONLY DOES Intel’s new processor bring a vast amount of
architectural and generational changes but it also features
a new socket, the LGA 1700, found on our Z690-E board from
ASUS. Thankfully, this doesn’t alter how we insert the CPU.
Align the two triangles from the processor and the socket to
make sure it’s going in the right way. Then by grabbing the
sides gently, rest it down into place, making sure not to touch
any of the pins underneath. Once it is seated correctly, we
pull the retention arm back down towards the latch and tuck
it in to lock it in place.MOTHERBOARD PREP
SSD SUCCESS
ALDER LAKE INSTALL
HEATSINK WOES
2 3
5 6
FEB 2022 MAXIMU MPC 23
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