okeee

I ordered all parts at a webshop. I asked to send hardware in unopened boxes only, just to be safe. But when I received the hardware, some of them seem to have been opened already. I haven't build or test the hardware yet, but I like to know if it is supposed to be like this.

-LG DVD-recorder. Without box, DVD-recorder was just covered in plastic bag.

-Asus P5Q-E motherboard. No seal on the box, box, could immediately be opened.I'm not sure if the guide is used, but all accesoires are sealed in the bags.

-EVGA en260gtx. The box was wrapped in plastic, and there are seals "inspection quality check". One of these seals was broken.

-Corsair XMS2 - 4 GB ( 2 x 2 GB ) DDR2 - 1066 MHz / PC2-8500 - CL5 - 2.1 V
Box could immediately be opened, no seal.

wrench97

The DVD is most likely a bulk package item.
Most of the time the boxes are plastic wrapped, the retailer may have opened to ensure all the components are in the package?
The Ram could also be bulk packaging it the box a Corsair box or a hard plastic blister pack?

okeee

The RAM was in a hard plastic blister pack.

I'm mostly worried about the videocard, why would any of the seals be broken, but the box wrapped in plastic? It's possible to open the box with the wrapped plastic still covering the box, if shoved aside carefully. But all papers seem to be unused.
I'll check videocard. If it looks used, or the bag has no seal, should I immediately return it?
I'll also check the static bag of the motherboard, if it has no seal, should I return it?

wrench97

Is the retailer you got the items from reliable?
If so I would think they are ok, perhaps a call to the retailer to see why the boxes arrived opened would shed some light.

okeee

Ok I started to assemble some parts. A few questions:

-The IO-shield from the motherboard (Asus p5q-e) has some foam on it. Do you have to remove this? It seems glued on the IO-shield, but it can be removed easily. The motherboard does not fit well in the case (Antec Three Hundred), probably due to the thickness of the IO-shield.

-There are 4 memory slots: dimm_a1, dimm_a2 (channel a) and dimm_b1, dimm_b2 (channel b). dimm_a1 and dimm_b1 have better overclocking performance, but I won't overclock any hardware. I have 2x2gb memory modules, in what slots could I best position them? CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

wrench97

Have you removed the Antec shield? If the foam is holding the motherboard out of place remove it.

Use A1 and B1 for the faster dual channel mode.

okeee

Yes, the antec shield doesnt fit with the motherboard components, it's the asus shield that has the foam. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be used, or that it is just a protection package. the guide mentions about the IO-shield, "special anti-static measurements" but it's not very clear.

greenbrucelee

you take the foam off, the padded bit on the io shield you leave on. Well I did anyway.

The io shields can be hard to get into place properly on the case just take your time with it.

okeee

There is no padded part, just the foam glued to the metal IO-shield. The IO-shield does fit ok in the case. there were no instructions, but I inserted the IO-shield from the inside of the case.

the foam on it seems to be too thick so that the motherboard does not fit well on the stand offs. I'm not sure if I should force the motherboard components against the foam.

greenbrucelee

Does this foam have pictures on it or is it just white foam?

okeee

It's gray foam, no pictures. It seems designed as if it supposed to be used with the foam attached but then all the ports have about 5 mm foam between the IO-shield and the ports from the motherboard. If you push the motherboard components hard into the foam, there is still about 2,5 mm foam.

greenbrucelee

mine had grey foam on the inside of the i/o shiled and went around all of the ports if it is what I am thinking off it will come about 2mm of the i/o shile and look as if all the connections wont be made but trust me they will.

okeee

Ok the motherboard does not fit well on the standoffs. should I force the ports against the foam? I'm afraid some might get damaged.

greenbrucelee

the motherboard should fit perfect on the standoffs make sure they are all in tightly. As for pushing the ports against the io shield don't be afraid use a little bit of force to do it, I have nevr built a system yet where the ports just slide into the i/o shield.

Face the io shield as if you are looking at the ports on an alread built computer and hold it with one hand whilst sliding the mobo into place with the other. But make sure the stand offs are ok first.

okeee

The IO-shield and foam seems to be designed that way, but the problem is that the motherboard is hard to fit in the case due to the foam.
I managed to install the motherboard, using some force by pushing the ports against the foam of the IO-shield. It fits ok now, but could it damage the ports due to the pressure of the foam against the ports?

About the videocard with the opened seal box, I checked the videocard and it does not seem to have been used and there was no dust on the fan. So can I conclude that the videocard is new, or what else can I check?

Also on the back (bottom) of the videocard itself is a sticker "guaranty void if removed". But won't this sticker melt due to the temperatures of the videocard?

wrench97

No the sticker won't melt.

As long as the ports are through the I/O shield it will be ok.

okeee

I'll install them and see if they work. There are some 3-pin connections that are not used: PWR_FAN, CHA_FAN1, CHA_FAN2 and CHA_FAN3. I can't find any cables that could be connected to either one of them. The guide only says that they should be connected. What are they used for?
The fans from the case all have a 4 pin molex connector, so they are only connected to the PSU.

Also there is a HD audio connection and a AC 97 connection in the case. The motherboard supports either of them. 1 of them has to be connected, which should I choose, what is the difference?

wrench97

The PWR_Fan header is used if the PSU has a connector yours like 90% of the supplies doesn't use it. the chassis fan headers(CHA_FAN) would be used if the case supplied fans had a 3 pin to control fan speed, lacking that you don't need to hook them up.

For the front audio if you plan the use standard head phones use the AC97 plug(most times that what is used).

If you have Hi Deff headphones and mic then use the HD.

okeee

I try to manage the cables properly but it is quite hard. I'm worried that there is not sufficient airflow due to the cables. Most of them are over the videocard and then scattered around the motherboard. Should I try to put some cables into the hard drive cases instead, out of the center of the case, but in front of the fans? Could you give an example of handling cables properly and not properly?

Also the cables from the PSU are bend in 1 direction. Would it damage the cables if I'd bend them in the exact other direction? Sometimes the sata connection just doesn't fit in the other direction. And how much can I bend them? The motherboard connection seems rather stressful if I bend the cables near the connector to smaller than 90 degrees.

wrench97

Run them behind the motherboard tray see this image>