ASSEMBLY PROCEDURE:

Now, we use the plastic bag that the case came in, and lay the case down on top of it. Make sure you wash your hands with soap and water, or you may end up with hard to remove oily fingerprints. If you don't trust your soap or water, invest in a pair of latex gloves (without the powder), this will ensure that the case remains spotless on the inside.

Just so you know, plan to have a power supply in advance, and make sure it is an SFX12V power supply. Do NOT get a PS3 micro-ATX power supply as that will not fit. We were lucky to be able to use the premises of MJP Computers to construct the system, and they provided us with all the components to fit in the case. But, they didn't have any power supply that would fit. About an hour of research later, we informed their purchasing department which one we would like, and they ordered it from their distributor. But, it would take a day or two to arrive, so we moved on (note - this is NOT the best thing to do, you should install the power supply FIRST!).

Without a power supply, we were going to be dead in the water, but decided to move on and construct the case. First off, empty and separate the content of the Ziploc bag, as this will make things speed along during construction.

Now, the motherboard installation is a bit tricky. You need to pass the long screws through the four holes in the back, but the case needs to be flat. How do you get the screws to stay? Some use tape, but we used the parts themselves. Stand the case upright, pass the long screw through, place the stand off over it, and then just loosely attach the retaining nut. Do this for all four, and now the screws stay! You won't need to clean up tape residue anymore.

Lay the case down flat, remove the retaining nuts. Now it is time to exercise extreme caution as every single part you put in will have corners, and these corners like to find their way to the case and scratch it where you know it will be seen.

Place the back I/O plate through the cut out in the back. Some plates, such as those provided with Intel motherboards, will stay in place due to their design. Others, however, may need to be taped to stay in place. If you do use tape, use it on outside so the motherboard won't trap it in.

Exercising caution, install the motherboard. This may be difficult with some longer boards, such as the Intel board we are working with. Minding where the corners of the board go, while attempting to line up the board on moving screws can be time consuming.

Remember, the screws WILL have to move in order for the board to make it in, so if you had used tape to hold them in, it may not allow the screws enough "wiggle" to let the motherboard find it's way in. You will need to get the front of the motherboard under the "drive cage" section, and then bring down the back of the motherboard to the same level.

Phew, wasn't that fun? So far so good, right? You haven't scratched anything up, did you?

Check whether everything is lined up with the I/O plate, and if everything is good to go, use the nuts to secure the motherboard in place. It is suggested that you hand tighten as much as possible, and then use a pair of pliers to give it another quarter turn. To tighten the nut located under the drive cage, some ingenuity might need to be used if your hand is a bit big. We found the following methods worked quite well:

• Using someone else with skinny hands


• Holding the nut with the proper bit while tightening the screw itself


• Holding the screw, while hand tightening the nut with a bit

Continuing the assembly procedure...