Once I received all the hardware, I expected the rest to be easy. I was very, very wrong.

My difficulties came almost immediately, while installing the motherboard. Although the concept of standoffs had been explained to me in words, I had not truly understood the real-world implications. The motherboard is suspended from the case by tiny cheap metal prongs that have screw ends on the bottom and a bowl-like flat top in which there are additional screw threads. The motherboard rests on several of these metal standoffs, and you attach it to the case with mounting screws.

My first mistake was to install the motherboard before installing the I/O shield, or faceplate. This covers the external connections (USB, Ethernet, etc) and is made of the cheapest metal in the entire computer (and there are many flimsy looking things). It snaps right into the case, not the motherboard, so you snap it on before you install the motherboard. My girlfriend said I sweated a lot, but I think I was sweating because I felt foolish about screwing up and having to take out the motherboard, not because I was working hard. I also felt bad because I cut my thumb on the faceplate, which did not hurt very much but was very messy.

As I was removing the motherboard, I bent some components. In retrospect, I believe that I may have broken the motherboard at this point (if it was not already defective).

At this point, I did not yet know that the motherboard was busted, so I connected the other components.

The first order of business was the Intel CPU and the fan system. Intel provides a marvelous video (also available on YouTube). However, I found it difficult to figure out whether the processor was correctly aligned.

Next, I installed the CPU heatsink-fan. Again, it was shocking to find such primitive technology in a computer. You place four plastic bolts, one at each corner of the CPU. The fan sits on top of these. It has four pin-like contraptions that fit not into threads like a normal screw, but merely serve to spread out the plastic a little bit until it is locked tight in the motherboard's mounting holes. Surely, manufacturers could build a better technology than this.

The memory installed easily and the power supply fit nicely. The case vents the Corsair power supply out the right hand side.

The hard drive installation was not impossible, but it was difficult. Again, I had to get used to a concept that had been explained in words. The hard drive is held in place by screws in a cage. The cage attaches to the case with more screws, and fits into slots along the floor of the case. The screws align horizontally, and were difficult for me at first, but after I had installed and uninstalled these cages a few times, I found them easy to work with.

Physically, the CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives, similarly, fit easily in the cage, as did the floppy disk.

The fans and the cage lights all connected simply and easily. The hard drive, DVD drive, and CD drive connected easily, but I found that the cheap SATA connectors that were supplied with these drives were inferior to one extra connector I had bought in a store, which snaps into place and stays there. Connecting the floppy drive was extremely unpleasant. The complaints I had read about the case suddenly made sense. Jamming the floppy connector into place required removing the DVD and CD drives and then reinstalling them. Case makers should have better internal designs so that components like DVD and floppy drives are an easier fit.

It was time to turn on the computer. Would it pass what the book called "the smoke test"?