Hexagon v3: Part 3 – Case Assembly

This is a post about my new custom build PC. To see all posts, check out Hexagon v3: Part 1 – Main Components 

 

Finally, all parts for Hexagon v3 have arrived. Time to get this rolling.

Starting with the assembly, I first installed the standoffs for the motherboard into the case. While it’s empty, this is very easy to do. I used all available screw holes of the EX58-UD5, so at the end I installed nine standoffs.

Next was to completely disassembled the Twelve Hundred. As I said, I want to exchange all fans it has with the SilentWings ones.

I started with the two case fans at the back. It’s a complete no brainer, you only need to remember to push out the two speed  switches from the back of the case.

A little bit more work is needed for the three drive bays. The problem is that the SilentWings use push pins and require a slightly bigger hole than the screws Antec uses. Left is the picture of the fan holder as delivered, on the right after the rework.

 

I only changed three holes, because one isn’t usable (speed controller knob) but three will keep the fan in place also. Once finished, I had four fan holders, three of them are for the front of the drive bays, one for the back (extra CPU cooling). Oh, and I also have five Antec TriCool spare fans now :-).

Assembling the drive bays again isn’t quite a problem. However, due to the size of the push pins the air filter needs some force to be installed again.

After that, I temporary installed the main board to get an idea how the cabling should be. Given that both the DVD drive and the floppy are installed with those ugly, old, wide and non flexible cables, I decided to install them at the bottom. That way, the cable aren’t going through the entire case.

Getting the floppy drive installed was the hardest part of the entire assembly. I spent nearly an hour to get it done right. To me, it looks like nobody at Antec has ever used that floppy spare. I ended up securing the adapter, as it chipped out somehow all the time, with the extra cover I installed for the power LED.

So the complete assignment of the bays is as follows (from the top):

• 1-3: One drive bay with two HDs
• 4-6: One drive bay with extra fan on the back (no HDs)
• 7-9: One drive bay with two HDs
• 10: extra cover with power LED
• 11: Floppy
• 12: DVD