GPU DRAMA ASIDE, we turned our attention over to the CPU and
SSD installations. Again, this involved some tearing down too,
on our SSD that is. The XPG GAMMIX S70 we picked looks great
but unfortunately, we had to take off its heat shield as it didn’t fit
flush on our board, plus the mobo has a pre-installed heat sink.
To do this, there were two tiny screws holding the top part of the
casing on, and then we had to use a gentle bit of heat gun magic to
separate the bottom section.
Then, the SSD slides into the port at around a 30-degree angle
and a tiny screw swivel fastens it into place. As for the CPU,
this went swimmingly, as these 12th Gen chips with the new
rectangular design are easier to fit than ever. You still need to
align the corner with the one on the motherboard of course, but at
least it removes two points of failure. To open the CPU, raise the
retention arm from under the hook and lift up, rest the CPU onto
the pins and then lower the arm back under the hook.
ONCE THE CPU IS IN PLACE, we need to add our first liquid cooling
component. For our CPU cooling block, we’ll be using the Hydro
X Series XC7 RGB PRO from the Corsair kit we have for this rig.
Whatever CPU block you’re using, always make sure that it’s
compatible with your socket type, in our case, that’s an LGA 1700
socket for our 12th gen Intel chip. This step isn’t too different from
a usual AIO block.
Start off with aligning the corresponding bracket to the back of
the motherboard. What is different is the orientation of the pump,
you’ll need to make sure that you’ll be able to join up your tubing
with the inlet/outlet holes on the CPU block further on in the build.
When planning, organize your build out on a piece of paper. After
you’ve figured out your plan, align the block to the CPU and then
tighten the screws corner to corner to get an even tension. Our
block came pre-applied with some thermal paste, but it’s always
good to check—if it looks a little small, add a bit more.AGAIN, we’re setting the GPU aside and turning our attention to
the radiators. We’ve got two contrasting Corsair Hydro X Series
XR5 360mm rads, one white and one black. We had intended to
have the tubing come out the front end of the top radiator but
noticed that it would be a tight fit to get our pipes to angle that way.
So, we changed our plan and had the pipes for the top radiator
come out towards the rear end of the case. For the front radiator,
we placed the inlet/outlet valves at the bottom of the case.
Another change we had to adjust for was the three SP120 fans
in the XH303i cooling kit. We were going to install these inside the
radiator to shine some of the RGB glow around, but this left no
clearance for the top of the mobo and meant we’d have to go crazy
with the fittings. Apart from that, installing the radiators was a
breeze using the long threaded screws that came in the kit. The
front-facing fans act as our intake and the top fans, with the faces
aiming inside the case, are used for the PC’s exhaust.
ONE COMPONENT we can install that won’t get in the way of our
cooling system is the PSU. This NZXT C850 unit has more than
enough wattage to power this rig and the cooling pump. As it’s a
modular design, we only keep in the necessary cables and make
sure they are all secure first before installing them in the case.
To fit the PSU, align the screw holes with the ones on the case.
Annoyingly, these were fairly tight but we managed to screw it in
safely and with the fan of the PSU facing downwards.BRAIN AND STORAGE TIME PROCESSOR COOLING
TOTALLY RAD ADDING THE POWER SUPPLY
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JUN 2022 MAXIMU MPC 21
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