I just built a new PC. It is an i7 3770k cooled by an Corsair H60 (2013) installed in a Maximus V Gene with a 16Gb Kit of Corsair Vengeance 1600 CL10, an EVGA GTX 670 FTW, a Samsung 840 Pro 256Gb SSD; all powered by a Seasonic X-750 80 Plus Gold power supply housed in the boutique NZXT Phantom 410. I have researched this build for the last month, pouring over reviews. I have degraded myself by watching the nerdiest of unboxing videos. I feel soiled yet I think that I have put together the ingredients for a an awesome build.
I put forward the handsome sum (for me) of $1000 NZD as a deposit and the rest comes from finance at 22.5%P.A.. $2637.85 is the total. I read every word of the contract. Do I really want to do this? 2637-1000 is 1637. Then there is a $90 establishment fee and a $181.42 payment waiver. This comes to a loan balance of $1909.27 before I have paid a cent. Total interest over the 18 month course of the loan is estimated to be $357.96. Over 78 payments I will pay $2316.60 on top of the $1000 that I have already shelled out on a $2600 computer. Am I getting ripped off? Probably. Do I still want to do this? Hell yes.
I am already planning to buy a set of custom dust filters imported from South Africa for the Phantom 410 and a set of single sleeved cables for the Seasonic from Hong Kong. I read about how to replace the side panel with an acrylic sheet and aluminium strips with magnets to hold it onto the chassis. Am I insane? Maybe.
I go to the shop and sign the contract and pick up my goodies. I feel a bit sick. What have I done? The build goes fine except for some minor annoyances with the Phantom 410 (I kind of hate this case) and the H60 mounting mechanism. Eventually it is time to power up my little monster. The redline LED strip in the MVG lights up as do the "start" and "reset" buttons. So far so good. I press the "start" button and am greeted by the mortifying sound of...nothing. No fans. No pump. No beeps (the case doesn't have a speaker so I guess there won't be beeps.) No error codes. NOTHING. Plugging in my monitor confirms that nothing is happening. I check all the connections and affirm that everything is indeed connected properly. I look for solutions online and go through the checklist of things to do. I try the DIMMS in different slots and one at a time. I take out the GPU and eventually I just take everything apart and breadboard it. For all my being careful and reading the manuals have I somehow cocked something up? Was that weird crunching sound I heard when closing the socket bracket the destruction of my precious 3770k? I remove the H60 and pull the chip out fully expecting to see hell on earth only to find a field of pristine non-bent pins.
At the suggestion of the dealer I take the motherboard, CPU and RAM to the shop and after about 30 mins the technician returns the boxes to me and tells me that "everything was f***ed" and that he has replaced it with brand new parts. OK...that's weird...I take the new stuff home and rebuild the system again from scratch.
I clean the H60 cold plate with turps and apply new thermal grease. I am EXCEEDINGLY careful with everything. My hand is always touching the case like it's my new religion. My cable management is about as near to perfect as I can achieve. Time comes for the moment of truth. Again I flick the switch at the wall and on the PSU and the lights come on. I press "start". I press the case power button. I press "reset". I flick the PSU off and let the cathodes drain before I flick it back on and try again....whatever I do, NOTHING HAPPENS. WTF is going on? Am I cursed?? Am I being trolled?!? Does the table cloth have something to do with it??? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?! HOW THE F*** HAVE I KILLED 2 COMPUTERS IN 1 F***ING WEEK?!?!?!??
I put forward the handsome sum (for me) of $1000 NZD as a deposit and the rest comes from finance at 22.5%P.A.. $2637.85 is the total. I read every word of the contract. Do I really want to do this? 2637-1000 is 1637. Then there is a $90 establishment fee and a $181.42 payment waiver. This comes to a loan balance of $1909.27 before I have paid a cent. Total interest over the 18 month course of the loan is estimated to be $357.96. Over 78 payments I will pay $2316.60 on top of the $1000 that I have already shelled out on a $2600 computer. Am I getting ripped off? Probably. Do I still want to do this? Hell yes.
I am already planning to buy a set of custom dust filters imported from South Africa for the Phantom 410 and a set of single sleeved cables for the Seasonic from Hong Kong. I read about how to replace the side panel with an acrylic sheet and aluminium strips with magnets to hold it onto the chassis. Am I insane? Maybe.
I go to the shop and sign the contract and pick up my goodies. I feel a bit sick. What have I done? The build goes fine except for some minor annoyances with the Phantom 410 (I kind of hate this case) and the H60 mounting mechanism. Eventually it is time to power up my little monster. The redline LED strip in the MVG lights up as do the "start" and "reset" buttons. So far so good. I press the "start" button and am greeted by the mortifying sound of...nothing. No fans. No pump. No beeps (the case doesn't have a speaker so I guess there won't be beeps.) No error codes. NOTHING. Plugging in my monitor confirms that nothing is happening. I check all the connections and affirm that everything is indeed connected properly. I look for solutions online and go through the checklist of things to do. I try the DIMMS in different slots and one at a time. I take out the GPU and eventually I just take everything apart and breadboard it. For all my being careful and reading the manuals have I somehow cocked something up? Was that weird crunching sound I heard when closing the socket bracket the destruction of my precious 3770k? I remove the H60 and pull the chip out fully expecting to see hell on earth only to find a field of pristine non-bent pins.
At the suggestion of the dealer I take the motherboard, CPU and RAM to the shop and after about 30 mins the technician returns the boxes to me and tells me that "everything was f***ed" and that he has replaced it with brand new parts. OK...that's weird...I take the new stuff home and rebuild the system again from scratch.
I clean the H60 cold plate with turps and apply new thermal grease. I am EXCEEDINGLY careful with everything. My hand is always touching the case like it's my new religion. My cable management is about as near to perfect as I can achieve. Time comes for the moment of truth. Again I flick the switch at the wall and on the PSU and the lights come on. I press "start". I press the case power button. I press "reset". I flick the PSU off and let the cathodes drain before I flick it back on and try again....whatever I do, NOTHING HAPPENS. WTF is going on? Am I cursed?? Am I being trolled?!? Does the table cloth have something to do with it??? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?! HOW THE F*** HAVE I KILLED 2 COMPUTERS IN 1 F***ING WEEK?!?!?!??
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