Getting My Nerd On (Part 3)

(Laying It All Out, Photo By Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

Finally, the long wait is over! All the pieces are in possession and it's time to build! For this, I have asked my good friend Martin to come over and help oversee the operation as he has more experience than I do. I've laid out all the parts in preparation for the assembly, that's the first step, getting organized.

(The Mounted Phenom II X6, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

Now we move onto the second step, the preparation phase. The first item to prep is the Motherboard, before laying it out, I took about 4 pieces of my rubber mats that I use for grappling and stacked them, I chose these because they are non conductive materials, but for added safety, I left the small foam lining that helped store the Motherboard and laid that out on the mats, on top of the Motherboard box, before touching the Motherboard, I made sure to grasp a hold of a metal surface in order to discharge any static electricity I may have, I have silver bracelet on but I just wanted to be extra cautious, I also made sure I handled the Motherboard by it's corners. After placing the board on the laid out surface, I opened up the processor socket latch to prepare for the mounting of the processor. I unboxed the processor and repeated the static discharge action on the metal leg of my table before removing the processor from it's plastic casing. I then proceeded to line it up correctly onto the socket before securing it in place with the latch. After which, I attached the heatsink fan onto the processor and locked the mount into place. The next component I mounted were the RAM modules. These are fairly easy to do, so long as you line them up correctly and make sure they lock into place. 

(All Lined Up, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

(Motherboard Secure On Tray, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

The next step was to unscrew and unmount the motherboard tray, I removed the Power Supply cage as well, this may not be possible with all cases but in my case, I am using the Antec LanBoy Air, which is considered to be one of the most modular and most customizable of cases to date. In order to do this, you must first remove all panels of the case, this will make it easier to get all the cable management and wiring done once you've mounted the motherboard onto the case. After unmounting the motherboard tray, the motherboard is placed on top of the tray, making sure the slots on the board are lined up with the standoffs on the tray. Once these are aligned, the necessary screws can be placed and tightened, securing the motherboard onto the tray.

(Mounted Video Card, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

The next item I mounted was the video card. Making sure that it was lined properly on the correct PCI-e slot. This may require you to wiggle it until it clicks into place. It will feel loose and a bit wobbly at first which may be freaky but then it will be secured once you line it up onto the case and add more screws to secure it's position.

(The PSU, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

The next item that I focused on is the Power Supply Unit or PSU. As mentioned above, the case I am using is built to be very modular and customizable and in this particular situation, it is possible to have the PSU mounted on top or on the bottom, I opted to go with the bottom mounted setup to keep things simple so that my hardware isn't at risk in the weird event that the PSU falls from the top, destroying everything in it's path, in this case, that would be everything attached to my motherboard which is not a good thing. I'm exaggerating of course, but you really can't tell. So better safe than sorry. To mount the PSU, you need to slide it into the provided PSU cage and then this will allow you to slide it back onto the case via the rack that is a part of the case. The orientation of the PSU is up to your personal preference, orientation meaning the fan facing up (showing off the Strike X design which is the cage covering the exhaust of the PSU) or facing down. I decided to go with the orientation having the fan facing down because it's never a good thing to have hot air blowing upward onto the rest of your hardware like your video card and CPU.

(All Mounted, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

Now that everything is where it should be in terms of the motherboard, it is time to put it back into the case. Carefully, the motherboard tray is slid into place using the rails on the case. I had to ask my friend to support the video card as I was sliding the tray back because I was paranoid that it might somehow detach itself and fall off, thankfully it didn't. After the motherboard tray was secured into place, the PSU cage with the PSU was next to follow and secured. After it was in place, the next move would be to secure the back panel of the case, but before doing so, the stock I/O Shield was removed and replaced with the one that came with the motherboard. I also removed the 2nd and 3rd PCI slot covers on the back panel of the case in order to accommodate the ports of the video card. 

(The Mounted Optical Drive, Photo by of Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

The item I mounted was the Optical Drive. I chose the 2nd slot because I was having some difficulty putting it on the 1st slot due to the wiring that was coming from the ports on the front side of the case. Mounting the Optical Drive was a very simple process, simply remove 2 screws that secure the panel slot on the front of the case and slide the drive right in, screwing it into place after. A unique thing about this case is that you also have the option to mount your drive in a sideward orientation, meaning the drive tray would be coming from the side part of your case if you choose to do so. I opted to go with the normal, front facing orientation as this was the simplest and hassle free way to go about it.

(1TB WD Caviar Black on AirMount, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

The next item I mounted was the Hard Drive. This is another unique feature that only this specific case has. Antec uses what is trademarked as the AirMount. The AirMount is basically a hard drive mount that requires no case rails. It has detachable rails that you screw onto your hard drive and within these rails is a piece of flexible rubber tubing, something like bungee cord (one on each side) that has 2 hooks on each end. Now these hooks attach to the designated slots on case frame, thus leaving your hard drive suspended in the air, nothing surrounding it but air, hence the name. Now I know that most of you will think that is somewhat scary, it is at first, but then, after securing the hooks, the hard drive remains securely in place, there is a little play though, due to the fact that the rubber tubing is a bit long, giving the rails/hard drive some movement, if this bothers you, you can put some zip tie between on the tubing so that it doesn't move around. I opted to leave it as is because in reality, who shakes their rig around anyway? Again, you have the option to mount the hard drive in a sideward orientation or the traditional front facing orientation, which I decided to go to as well, simply because it would be easier to plug the cables. Another neat thing about this AirMount system is that it reduces vibrations and noise (not really noticeable noise because everything else is louder. Haha!) when the hard drive spins up because it won't be vibrating against any surface. Also, this system allows more airflow to keep your hard drive cool. The hard drive cage on this case has many levels (about 7), so you're free to place them wherever you see fit, I chose to keep it on the lower 4th level because it would be situated right in front of the 2 front side intake fans, this would mean optimum cooling. After mounting the Optical Drive and Hard Drive, I proceeded to connect the necessary cables used to power and operate these 2 components.

This was the easy part. Now for the more challenging aspect of this build. Cable Management.

(Successful Cable Management! Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

After connecting the PCI-e Power cords to the video card and the 24-pin ATC connector as well as the 8-pin CPU power connector and the 4-pin Molex plugs for the case fans and the front panel connectors to the PSU and motherboard respectively, we are left with a multitude of wiring (despite the PSU being a modular one) to hide behind the motherboard panel which will be shielded by a mesh exterior case. It was quite a challenge trying to get it as clean as possible, hiding cables and wires in the nooks and crannies of the case without causing any interference or blockage to any of the moving parts in the system (the fans!). This took about thirty minutes and an extra set of hands to get the panel in place while making sure no wiring was protruding or casing the panel to bulge extensively. The last step to the assembly process was to connect the 4-pin Molex plugs for the rear fan and the 2 side panel fans to the PSU, hiding the wiring accordingly before fitting the side panel back and screwing it in place. And that's it, the assembly is done!

Now the moment of truth, fire up the machine! Random moment, during my first attempt at firing up the machine, it actually didn't power on. And I was like "Oh shit!" then it hit me, the PSU power switch wasn't flipped on yet. Too much excitement caused the memory lapse. But then once the PSU switch was flipped, the rig fired up with no issues. Like a plane taking off. The Wraith (Yes, I named my PC) was alive.

Here are some photos of The Wraith. :]

(The Wraith (rear), Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

(The Wraith (front), Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang) 

(The Wraith In The Dark, Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

(The Wraith (side), Photo by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

After the PC started up, the Operating System was installed and the hard drive was partitioned accordingly.

My current specs are:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition, currently running stock at 3.3GHz. I have yet to overclock it. >:]
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3
GPU: Sapphire HD 6870, currently running stock at 900MHz. I have yet to overclock it as well. >:]
RAM: G. Skill Sniper 1600MHz DDR3 CL9, 1.25v, 4GB x 4 = 16GB, I have yet to overclock this too. >:]
Storage: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit
Chassis: Antect LanBoy Air
Other items:
-Logitech K260 wireless keyboard and mouse (temporary)
-Viewsonic 24" VX2439WM 1920x1080 Full HD Monitor
-Creative Inspire 5.1 A500 SBS Surround Sound System


Stay tuned for my next post to see how the system performs when using games as benchmarks as well as some regular benchmarking tools!

Also stay tuned for when I put the Antec claim of positive airflow to the test by adding 10 more fans to the current setup! 

To see the steps I took to put this machine together, check the following links in sequential order.


For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html
For Part 2.1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-21.html
For Part 2.2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-22.html
For Part 2.3, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-23.html
For Part 2.4, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/08/getting-my-nerd-on-part-24.html
For Part 2.5, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/08/getting-my-nerd-on-part-25.html

Getting My Nerd On (Part 2.5)

This is it. The final piece is now in my possession. I was finally able to purchase the last component that I need to complete my rig. The RAM, and the reason for keeping this last was because it was more common and easier to get than the other parts that I purchased sooner. The RAM sticks that I chose originally were the Kingston HyperX Genesis Blu series, 1600MHz DDR3 CL9. However, I was struck again with the availability issues that I faced in the earlier parts of getting my parts together. So I had to make a switch. The RAM I ended up picking between was the G. Skill Ares (1600MHz DDR3 CL9, 1.5v) and the G. Skill Sniper (1600MHz DDR3 CL9, 1.25v). Both of these memory modules use low profile heat spreaders, the only difference is that the G. Skill Sniper uses a heat spreader that doesn't cover the whole stick to bring out the embossed rifle design that it has. I was looking at the 2 modules and decided to go with the Sniper simply because it was a cooler looking design in my opinion. It was just something I could resist, the combination between computers and firearms, can't get any cooler than that.

(G. Skill Sniper RAM Sticks, Photo Courtesy of Google)

To get into the more technical aspect of the RAM I chose, here are a few basic characteristics (specs taken from manufacturer website):


CAS Latency
- 9-9-9-24
Capacity 
- 8GB (4GB x2)
Speed
- DDR3-1600 (PC3 12800)
Test Voltage
- 1.25 Volts
Error Checking
- Non-ECC
Type
- 240-pin DIMM

Just to give you a short overview (based on my knowledge), CAS (Column Access Strobe) Latency or CL, refers to the time lag between the moment the memory controller signals the memory controller to access a specific area of data (usually called a memory column) on a RAM Memory Module. In layman's term, take your Memory Controller as a telephone and your RAM Memory Module as another telephone, your CAS Latency would be the number of rings it takes before someone on the other line picks up. These number of rings is referred to as a clock cycle. Now you might be wondering what "9-9-9-24" means, these numbers represent your Memory Timings and I will do my best to explain this as plainly as possible, so here it goes. To give you an example of how memory is organized, just look at it as a library. Books are arranged in rows and columns and the memory controller is the librarian. In order to get the book you want, the librarian needs the proper coordinates in order to reach that specific row and column in order to get the specific book you need.

This in order from left to right with 9-9-9-24 as an example:

1. tCL or CAS Latency- this is the time it takes the memory controller to send a signal to the RAM Memory Module to access a specific area of data. This is considered to be the most important of all the timings because it is the first step of accessing the Memory Modules. This will generally tell you how long the librarian will take to get the book you requested.
2. tRCD or Row Address Strobe (RAS) to Column Address Strobe (CAS) Delay- Once the memory controller sends the "coordinates" of the requested memory, this is the time it would take before it gets to the area of selected data. This will tell you how long it will take for the librarian to get to the book from a specified section of the library.
3. tRP or Row Precharge Time- Once the memory controller reaches the specified area of the requested memory, this is the time it will take to access that area of requested memory. This is the time it will take for the librarian to pick the book out of the shelf.
4. tRAS or Row Active Time- This is the number of cycles that a row has to remain active to ensure that the memory controller will have enough time to access the information that is in a specified area. This is the time that the librarian has to get to the area of the library where your book is located, pick that book out and bring it back to you before you get impatient and just leave the library.

(G. Skill Sniper RAM, Photo Courtesy of Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

I hope that my brief explanation was sufficient enough to give a general understanding of RAM Timings as these will play a role in terms of overclocking your RAM.

 Now that the final piece is in possession, it is time to put everything together. Stay tuned for Part 3 of this Getting My Nerd On series!












For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html
For Part 2.1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-21.html
For Part 2.2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-22.html
For Part 2.3, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-23.html
For Part 2.4, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/08/getting-my-nerd-on-part-24.html

Getting My Nerd On (Part 2.4)

While browsing through my Facebook feed, I came across a post by PCHub, they were having a promo for the Antec LanBoy Air case, it was originally priced at 8,640 bucks (PhP) which is approximately $206 (USD) based on today's exchange rate and the promo mentions a 50% discount which cuts the price down to 4,320 bucks (PhP) which is about $103 (USD). My eyes lit up at seeing this huge price drop so I decided to give them a call, unfortunately, the case was already sold out. Before giving up hope, I checked PCNetmiles (which is nearer to me and more accessible) to see if they were selling the case as well and to my surprise, they too were on sale! Their original selling price was 8,800 (PhP) which is around $210 (USD) and they dropped the price to 4,300 (PhP) which is around $102. This deal was too good to pass up for the following reasons and to explain this I will quote my good friend Martin: "One, it's an Antec. Two, the price.". When this case was first released and after seeing the promotional demonstration as well as the video and written reviews, I was sold. However, what held me back was the original price which was way over my budget. The case that I had in mind in place of the Antec LanBoy Air was the Cougar Evolution, because of the features it presented as well as its price (4,000 Php or $95). But then this deal became the game-changer, because the price drop fell right onto my budget range which is 4,000-5,000 (PhP) or $95-$120 (USD) and on top of that, this was the case I had originally wanted. My plan was to get the case as the last part but this was an unexpected opportunity that I could not pass up. Only downside was the blue one was no longer in stock, so I chose the red instead. Now I know how women feel when their favorite stores go on sale. Haha!

(Antec LanBoy Air, Photo courtesy of Antec.com)

Now getting into the case itself, if you take a look at the photo provided on their website, it's easy to see that this case is truly out of the ordinary, it's like nothing else on the case market as far as I've seen, it actually reminds of a Transformer (especially when you choose the yellow one, which reminds me of Bumblebee, it comes in blue and red by the way). As the label on the photo says, it is a Modular case. This means that almost every panel on this case can be removed and shifted to at least one new location if desired, this also includes the motherboard tray as well as the Power Supply cage. This case can support up to 15 120mm fans, that's a huge number compared to the other cases on the market today. Antec was kind enough to provide their customers with 5 case fans right out of the box, 2 TwoCool LED fans in the front panel (these both have variable speed stepless control knobs), 2 TwoCool LED fans on the side panel and 1 TwoCool fan in the back. One of the things that made me hesitate buying this case was the fact there are not dust filters whatsoever and to me this spelled "Dust Trap" right off the bat, but after doing some reading, the case is designed to generate positive pressure if you configure your fans correctly, Antec claims that this positive air pressure will blowout hot air and dust throughout the panel perforations of the case where there is no airflow involved. Once my setup is complete, I will put definitely put this claim to the test. You have some of the basic front panel port configurations, 2 USB 2.0 ports, Audio In and Out as well as 1 USB 3.0 port.


Another unique thing about this is case is the way you mount the Hard Drives, Antec uses what they call AirMounts which pretty much means that your 3.5" (the case can hold 6) are suspended in midair held by small bungee type cords that hook onto the case, don't worry, they are secure enough unless you do something foolish during installation and to add the concept of customization or "modularity", you can mount the in 3 different directions based on what suits you, of course this isn't a senseless concept, the reason behind this is that this setup reduces vibrations and reduces noise. You also have 2 internal 2.5" SSD bays at the base of the case. And on top of that, you also have the ability to rotate your 5.25" drives which add to the multitude of customizations you could do with this case. The case also comes with flip up carry handles for easy transportation of your rig in the event of a LAN Party or whatnot, hence the name LanBoy. Based on the photos, the case looks pretty flimsy but having handled the case in person, it is the complete opposite, it is a pretty solid case, it's well constructed and sturdy, weighing in at about 20lbs on its own. Once I begin my assembly, I will write about it so that everyone can get an idea regarding the ease or difficulty that is involved when putting the rig together in this case.


Looking back at my checklist, I just need my RAM and I'm set to put it all together. I can smell the completion of my rig getting closer.

(Antec LanBoy Air, Photo courtesy of Antec.com

Thank you PCNetmiles for my case and for the quick and easy transaction as usual! And thank you Janine, my awesome girlfriend for helping solidify my decision in terms of color choice!


Stay tuned for my next post which will essentially end Part 2 of this series which will allow me to move on to Part 3 which is putting everything together.



For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html
For Part 2.1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-21.html
For Part 2.2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-22.html
For Part 2.3, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-23.html

Getting My Nerd On (Part 2.1)

A couple of days ago, I was able to sell my old mobile phone (HTC Wildfire) for a fairly good price given it's condition and age. With the funds earned from this, I took out my PC Rig Checklist and took a look at which part I could purchase with the funds that I have. I decided to go with the Power Supply Unit (PSU). I sent out the necessary inquiries to the stores of my choice and was able to get one reserved from the shop I bought my Motherboard from mentioned in Part 2 (http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html). Now the Power Supply Unit is an important part when building a rig because as the name suggests, this is where you would get the supply of power for all the components of your rig. Simply put, PSU = Power for your machine! But to delve a little deeper, the main function of the Power Supply Unit is to convert the high voltage from the wall outlet into lower voltages that are required by each component of your system. If this voltage conversion is done improperly, it can cause damage to your components and/or system instability. Hence the importance of choosing a PSU that meets the needs of your setup. One of the things to consider are the components that draw the most power, in most cases, it would be the CPU and the GPU. But the PSU generally brings to life the whole system once everything has been put together.

I have selected, I chose the AeroCool Strike X 1100w 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply Unit. I will not go into extreme detail about this item but for more information you may refer to the website: http://www.aerocool.com.tw/index.php/products/strike-x/47-strike-x-power/137-strike-x-power-1100w

But rest assured, this PSU has enough juice to power the current setup I have mapped out as well as leave pretty decent headroom for future upgrades and for a price that isn't too shabby either. The main highlights of this product in my opinion are as follows:

(Photo by Thomas Joseph Huang)

1. High Efficiency Rating: (80 Plus Gold)
2. High Reliability: 120,000 hours MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)
3. High capacity power output: 1,100watts
4. Over Current, Over Voltage, Over Wattage, Over Temperature and Short Circuit Protections in place.


Now I know that this is a whole lot of power and you might be thinking, what am I to do with all of this? As mentioned, I like to leave decent headroom for future upgrades as well as future-proofing my rig. I'd like to be overpowered than underpowered, better to be over prepared than caught off guard.


We'll see how well it performs once the rig is completed.


Thank you PCNetmiles (Eton Cyberpod) for the quick and hassle free transaction!

Stay tuned for the continuation of Phase 2 of the Hardware shopping step (Step 2.2)!


For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html

Sunday Geek Out

Today, I awoke from a dream that brought me back to my childhood, it was a dream of me sitting in front of an old television set, watching reruns of the Batman and Spider-Man cartoons. As well as browsing through the comic cutouts from the Sunday newspaper that might grandfather used to keep for me. This sparked a thought in me, why not get grab some comic books of the superheros I grew up to? Today, I grabbed a few copies from a nearby comic book store near my house called Comic Odyssey. Lucky for me, their back issues were on sale! 50 bucks (PhP) for any one of the back issue items they had! I went over to the store with 1 thought in mind, look for the 1st Issue items (probably not the correct approach taken by the hardcore comic fanatics, I could be wrong though, please suggest as I am open to proper guidance! :])

(Comic Books, Photo taken by Thomas Joseph C. Huang)

Here's what I got:

1. Ultimate Spider-Man: Warriors: Part 1

2. Ultimate Spider-Man: Issue # 1 (Published August 2009)

3. Web Of Spider-Man Issue # 1

4. Ultimate Spider-Man: Hollywood: Part 1

5. Batman: The Legend Of The Dark Knight: Bad: Part 1

This looks to be the beginning of the revival of a childhood hobby. I'm probably not as hardcore as the comic collecting hobbyist/enthusiasts out there, but I thoroughly enjoy comic books and my childhood superheroes. I guess you can say that my childhood never really left me (most of us will and can admit that theirs have never left either.) and that up to this day, I still am the geeky kid I was about 15 years ago and I'm proud of it! :]

(Spider-Man, photo courtesy of Google)

(Batman, photo courtesy of Google)

Getting My Nerd On (Part 1)

A few weeks ago, my trusty MSI EX 460 laptop was called into Silicon Valley Heaven. It was a sad day. From getting me through some school work, to passing the time, to daily activities, to a 24 hour LAN party with friends, this laptop has been through a lot with me. I suppose you could say it served it's purpose quite well. What added to the sadness is that I now have to resort to using my iPhone 4S (which isn't a bad thing, except for the small screen size) as well the office laptop (an old Dell Latitude D630) at home for my daily activities. This sparked a thought, "Why not go back to the Grade School and High School days? Why not build my own PC rig?" and this led to me "Getting My Nerd On".


Ever since I was about 14 years old, I've always had a fascination with technology, tinkering with it, taking it apart and putting it back or simply taking it apart and appreciating all the details (also because there were times when I couldn't put it back together. -_-).  With that being said, I guess it was only a matter of time before I got back into it. And since I have decided to build my rig from scratch, that childlike excitement got renewed in me. 


And this is where my quest begins.


Step zero. Goal setting. Begin with the end in mind. My goal is to build a mid-performance, mid-budget rig. This may be a subjective category though.


Step one. Due diligence. Researching like a beast. Reading specifications. Reading reviews. Watching reviews. Comparing reviews. Comparing parts. Window shopping. It's a very tedious process, but it is a necessary evil. It could also save you a bunch of money if you look well enough. Because in the technological world, things aren't always what they seem, faster is not always better, more expensive is not always the best. This was the simple advice from Martin, a very good friend of mine who has ample experience in rig building.


The first thing I gathered intelligence for was to find the main organs of the rig. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) and the Motherboard. Finding these is like preparing for marriage, the two need to be compatible or else there will be problems. The first piece I looked for was the CPU and the motherboard. Something I learned recently (courtesy of Martin) was the wattage capacity of the Motherboard (e.g. Processor Thermal Design Power (TDP) is 125w, Motherboard only supports 95w). I had no idea about this and it would have become an issue if I hadn't gotten this tip. This certainly helped me narrow my searches for parts.


This will serve as the first part of the series I will be putting together as I progress through my build.


Stay tuned for the next part when I begin purchasing the hardware!