Installation
Test Rig:
Intel Core i5 661 LGA 1156 processor
OCZ Platinum DDR3-1333 7-7-7 Low Voltage 4GB Memory Kit
OCZ Z Series 650 Watt power supply
Titan Skalli CPU cooler
Ikonik Zaria midtower
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
Sorry, I didn’t have an mATX case around to put the board in, but I prefer the extra room anyway. The 650 watt power supply is very much overkill for this rig, you could easily run this CPU/motherboard with a quality 400 watt power supply.
Carefully open the CPU socket and VERY CAREFULLY remove the protective cover. The CPU pins in the socket are extremely fragile and damaged easily. Observe the “keys” on the socket and CPU to determine the orientation of the CPU in the socket. Install the CPU, close the retainer and slide it under the lug located on the motherboard. Lower the locking lever and lock it in place.
Prep the CPU by cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth. Apply thermal compound to the CPU surface by the manufacturer’s instructions. Be aware if you are using a CPU cooler with exposed heatpipes that directly touch the CPU surface you need to manually spread the thermal compound with a credit card or other thin flat item.
Install the CPU cooler and memory. The memory will be installed into the light blue colored memory slots, which is the opposite for those accustomed to LGA 775 systems. If you will be using four memory modules, it is usually better to install two before first starting the system, then install the other two after the rig is up and running.
Install the I/O shield into the proper opening in the case, and install the motherboard offsets onto the motherboard tray. Place the motherboard into the case. Be careful not to overtighten the motherboard screws.
Install the other components into the case, wire everything up, double check your work, and you’re done.
Over the past two months I’ve been pursuing a problem w/ASUS…
BEWARE: if you get a case that has an eSATA front port and you connect it to an internal motherboard [Intel H55 and maybe others] SATA port, it cannot be configured to have an eSATA hard drive ‘safely removed’. You will have to turn off caching (slow) or risk data corruption when removing it.
ASUS customer service is terrible and it will further adversely affect their bottom line because they are ruining their reputation. …So much for their “goal of 100% customer satisfaction”.
They ½-answer submitted technical inquiries to show they care, even though it is obvious they do not want to get to the root of or appropriately solve a problem system builders may be encountering and finding annoying. They do not seem to know Windows very well nor comprehend the underlying problem, nor do they spend any measurable time even reading the history of the problem, trying to determine where the problem really lies. They defer simple system builders to Microsoft $upport when it is clearly not a Microsoft problem. Concurrently they defer to Intel support (the maker of the chip/driver likely causing this problem and a company not selling chips to/supporting end-users) – when ASUS should be contacting Intel themselves, as an integration partner, to resolve issues such as this.
Over the past two months I’ve been pursuing a problem w/ASUS…
BEWARE: if you get a case that has an eSATA front port and you connect it to an internal motherboard [Intel H55 and maybe others] SATA port, it cannot be configured to have an eSATA hard drive ‘safely removed’. You will have to turn off caching (slow) or risk data corruption when removing it.
ASUS customer service is terrible and it will further adversely affect their bottom line because they are ruining their reputation. …So much for their “goal of 100% customer satisfaction”.
They ½-answer submitted technical inquiries to show they care, even though it is obvious they do not want to get to the root of or appropriately solve a problem system builders may be encountering and finding annoying. They do not seem to know Windows very well nor comprehend the underlying problem, nor do they spend any measurable time even reading the history of the problem, trying to determine where the problem really lies. They defer simple system builders to Microsoft $upport when it is clearly not a Microsoft problem. Concurrently they defer to Intel support (the maker of the chip/driver likely causing this problem and a company not selling chips to/supporting end-users) – when ASUS should be contacting Intel themselves, as an integration partner, to resolve issues such as this.