Installing Intel CPU gone wrong?

[Ruru]

Be aware... Noob that i am, there might be more questions coming, but for now, i cannot thank you lot enough for advising and helping me through this! So sooo grateful!

That's what we're here for

 

[winterwonderland]

Uhm... There are 3 stickers attached onto the cover... Do i need to remove these before i continue, or? And are there more stickers "hidden" somewhere that should remove before i continue? Yes, the sticker on the ALF ii 360 i will naturally remove...

 

[basco]

i think these are only for 3x nvme drives so if you are not using one then don't bother

looks like this:

Western Digital WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD 1TB, M.2 2280 / M-Key / PCIe 3.0 x4 (WDS100T3B0C) ab € 87,63 (2025) | Preisvergleich Geizhals Österreich

✔ Preisvergleich für Western Digital WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD 1TB, M.2 2280 / M-Key / PCIe 3.0 x4 (WDS100T3B0C) ✔ Bewertungen ✔ Produktinfo ⇒ Kapazität: 1TB (entspricht ca. 931.32GiB bzw. 0.91TiB, weiterführende Informationen ) • Bauform: Solid St… ✔ Solid State Drives (SSD) ✔ Testberichte ✔...

geizhals.at

 

[skizzo]

those are thermal pads for M2 format drives. what you removed it actually a heatsink cover. the pads help transfer heat from the drives/chips into the heatsink, which your case fans will dissipate said heat from the heatsink. Are you installing a M2 drive in any of those spots? if yes make sure to peel back the sticker/film first. if no, there is no harm leaving them on. I'm not sure if this true or not, but I would leave them on to preserve the thermal pads integrity until you actually need to use them. I'm not sure if they degrade faster once you peel the film off but it wont hurt anything leaving them on if you're not installing a drive into any of those ports

NVMe is a protocol if I am not mistaken, M2 is the format of the drives. I mention that because a M2 drive could still just be SATA rather than NVMe

 

[winterwonderland]

i think these are only for 3x nvme drives so if you are not using one then don't bother

looks like this:

Western Digital WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD 1TB, M.2 2280 / M-Key / PCIe 3.0 x4 (WDS100T3B0C) ab € 87,63 (2025) | Preisvergleich Geizhals Österreich

✔ Preisvergleich für Western Digital WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD 1TB, M.2 2280 / M-Key / PCIe 3.0 x4 (WDS100T3B0C) ✔ Bewertungen ✔ Produktinfo ⇒ Kapazität: 1TB (entspricht ca. 931.32GiB bzw. 0.91TiB, weiterführende Informationen ) • Bauform: Solid St… ✔ Solid State Drives (SSD) ✔ Testberichte ✔...

geizhals.at

those are thermal pads for M2 format drives. what you removed it actually a heatsink cover. the pads help transfer heat from the drives/chips into the heatsink, which your case fans will dissipate said heat from the heatsink. Are you installing a M2 drive in any of those spots? if yes make sure to peel back the sticker/film first. if no, there is no harm leaving them on. I'm not sure if this true or not, but I would leave them on to preserve the thermal pads integrity until you actually need to use them. I'm not sure if they degrade faster once you peel the film off but it wont hurt anything leaving them on if you're not installing a drive into any of those ports

NVMe is a protocol if I am not mistaken, M2 is the format of the drives. I mention that because a M2 drive could still just be SATA rather than NVMe

Ah, i understand. Well, i have only 1x m2 drive, and that i have put in here (see photo) + pulled off the sticker. I saw on a YT of someone who did the same.

Ok, then i will put this back on WITHOUT removing any of the stickers.

The fan connector for the ALF ii 360 that you see on the photo... Should it be placed on cpu_fan or cpu_opt? Does it matter, or?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

See if you have a header marked AIO or pump? connect the 4 pin to that, CPU/opt are for fans on the cooler.

Seems you can connect the pump to any fan header, so on the CPU header, and fans on any other fan headers you can get them on

 

[winterwonderland]

See if you have a header marked AIO or pump? connect the 4 pin to that, CPU/opt are for fans on the cooler.

Seems you can connect the pump to any fan header, so on the CPU header, and fans on any other fan headers you can get them on

No AIO or pump. Only what you can see on the previous attachment. So then i should just plug it to the cpu_fan i take it?

Also, should i have the top part of the case OPEN or closed once i mount the 360 to the top of the case?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Yes on CPU_Fan, and OPEN for sure if your radiator is mounted in the top

 

[winterwonderland]

Yes on CPU_Fan, and OPEN for sure if your radiator is mounted in the top

Oh crap... Did i mess it up now? Is this too little or? I had to remove the part on the left side as it came out too much on that side.. does it look good enough or?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Oh crap... Did i mess it up now? Is this too little or? I had to remove the part on the left side as it came out too much on that side.. does it look good enough or?

It'll be ok, it'll spread out with cooler on

 

[looniam]

Oh crap... Did i mess it up now? Is this too little or? I had to remove the part on the left side as it came out too much on that side.. does it look good enough or?

a little too much is better than a little not enough. mount the heatsink but then take it back off to see how it spread, then clean and start over.
btw, you're doing great, stop doubting yourself!

 

[winterwonderland]

Great... Upon trying numerous screws on the motherboard, i came into another problem: do i need different types of screws for the different type of holes, or?! The screw that is mounted in the hole as you can see on the attachment, does not come off anymore nor will it tighten if i try to tighten it. The same type of screws does fit in some of the other holes though.... Am i even using the right screws, or?

I have the Gigabyte z690 gaming x mobo...

 

[sneekypeet]

M3 versus 6/32" pitch of the threads.

If you look closely, cases come with two similar sets, one with fine threads (M3), and one with wider gaps (6/32).

Hard to say for certain, but it appears the screw you show is M3, does it match other mobo screws? There is a chance that the chassis standoff has a burr or is stripped.

 

[looniam]

Great... Upon trying numerous screws on the motherboard, i came into another problem: do i need different types of screws for the different type of holes, or?! The screw that is mounted in the hole as you can see on the attachment, does not come off anymore nor will it tighten if i try to tighten it. The same type of screws does fit in some of the other holes though.... Am i even using the right screws, or?

I have the Gigabyte z690 gaming x mobo...

those look like the slightly smaller screws to mount HD/SSDs and DVD/optical drives. i've used them in a pinch but look for some screws that have a fatter head to cover the points for grounding (i believe).

check where you left any "spare parts" (a little bag of screws, that hopefully came w/case.)

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Great... Upon trying numerous screws on the motherboard, i came into another problem: do i need different types of screws for the different type of holes, or?! The screw that is mounted in the hole as you can see on the attachment, does not come off anymore nor will it tighten if i try to tighten it. The same type of screws does fit in some of the other holes though.... Am i even using the right screws, or?

I have the Gigabyte z690 gaming x mobo...

There are a couple of screw thread types that came with your case, and you probably used the smaller of the two. All MB screws should be the same, and are the larger size (#6-32 thread, 1st pic) for the R6. The "smaller" screws (M3 thread, 2nd pic) will have visibly tighter thread spacing, enough that you should be able to tell them apart. You may need to lift up on the board slightly while turning the screw to back out the one you've already installed.

Judging by the R6 manual, the MB screws included will look like this, but black:

The screws like the one you pictured look to be for 2.5" drive mounting only in this case:

 

[winterwonderland]

Ooook... Them probs keep on piling up...

Looks like the RAM are TOO high profile that they collide with the ALF 360, making it difficult to screw the 360 in place, as you can see.

I cannot move the 360 further up as it collides with the HDD part of the case...

As it is now, it looks like i am forced to place the 360 to the FRONT of the Define R6....

Any suggestions on how i can solve this without moving the 360 to the front..?

Edit: I got the screws in place!! Buuut... Does the RAM handle the tiny pressure from the 360...?

 

[Ruru]

Edit: I got the screws in place!! Buuut... Does the RAM handle the tiny pressure from the 360...?

Very likely the little pressure isn't going to cause any problems. I've dealt with tight fits before and never had any problems.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

If you can't get the screw holes to line up with it on the top, put it on the front, it is still going to cool ok. And don't screw the motherboard screws down really tight, they don't need to be mega tight.

 

[winterwonderland]

Thanks again for the tip, people!

Progress!!

Ok, now i need to sort out the remaining cables:

Where should these cables be plugged in:
1: big cable with blue end? Usb, yes, but which port? The port labeled usb3.2, yes?

2: 2x evga-marked power cables goes to the GPU, correct?

3: Cables marked power sw, power led + and -, reset sw, hdd led, they go to the port named F PANEL, yes? Does it matter in which order?

4: 2x cables labeled cpu.. where do those go?

5: Cable labeled USB, which usb port does it go to?

24pin cable i know where to put.

Hd audio cable is connected to the audio port.

Any other cables im missing?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Thanks again for the tip, people!

Progress!!

Ok, now i need to sort out the remaining cables:

Where should these cables be plugged in:
1: big cable with blue end? Usb, yes, but which port? The port labeled usb3.2, yes? Yes

2: 2x evga-marked power cables goes to the GPU, correct? Yes

3: Cables marked power sw, power led + and -, reset sw, hdd led, they go to the port named F PANEL, yes? Does it matter in which order? you will need to look at the FP connector layout in the manual

4: 2x cables labeled cpu.. where do those go? These go to the 1 or 2x 8 pin connectors on the top of the board usually on the top left.

5: Cable labeled USB, which usb port does it go to? It could be a USB 2 header cable which is probably at the bottom of the booard

24pin cable i know where to put.

Hd audio cable is connected to the audio port.

Any other cables im missing?

1: big cable with blue end? Usb, yes, but which port? The port labeled usb3.2, yes? Yes

2: 2x evga-marked power cables goes to the GPU, correct? Yes

3: Cables marked power sw, power led + and -, reset sw, hdd led, they go to the port named F PANEL, yes? Does it matter in which order? you will need to look at the FP connector layout in the manual

4: 2x cables labeled cpu.. where do those go? These go to the 1 or 2x 8 pin connectors on the top of the board usually on the top left.

5: Cable labeled USB, which usb port does it go to? It could be a USB 2 header cable which is probably at the bottom of the booard

 

[Ruru]

Also be careful with the USB3 cable as the pins of a motherboard are easy to bend. I talk from experience.

 

[winterwonderland]

1: big cable with blue end? Usb, yes, but which port? The port labeled usb3.2, yes? Yes

2: 2x evga-marked power cables goes to the GPU, correct? Yes

3: Cables marked power sw, power led + and -, reset sw, hdd led, they go to the port named F PANEL, yes? Does it matter in which order? you will need to look at the FP connector layout in the manual

4: 2x cables labeled cpu.. where do those go? These go to the 1 or 2x 8 pin connectors on the top of the board usually on the top left.
View attachment 232408

5: Cable labeled USB, which usb port does it go to? It could be a USB 2 header cable which is probably at the bottom of the booard

Ok, and as you can see, i have 2x4 pins, so those should go to the spot with 2x4 pins yes? Not 1 on the port with 4 pins and 1 on the port with 2x4 pins, i take it...

And finally, what is that PVM cable? Where do i plug that? Do i plug that to the fan panel behind the case or to the cpu_opt..?

Fiiinally, im getting ready to power ON the pc! Anything else i should do before i boot up the pc? I have only 1 sata hdd connected and 1 m2 connected... Will it automatically choose the m2 where i will install windows 10 or?

 

[Ruru]

Yeah, that 4+4pin goes to the 8pin connector from motherboard. Practically you can plug the fans on any PWM header you want, I'd put them where they can be plugged with some cable management.
edit: Then I'd just check which fan is which and tune the fan speeds from the BIOS.

Also I'd unplug the HDD for now, install the OS and plug it after the OS has been installed.

 

[looniam]

i usually keep just the target OS drive w/installing windows. use to be if any other drive was connected and then later died, caused windows to go flakey. not sure if thats a thing anymore from habit.

anyway its keeps the choices easy if asked where to install, no wrong answer. install, power down, connect data for HD, reboot and then format.

 

[Ruru]

i usually keep just the target OS drive w/installing windows. use to be if any other drive was connected and then later died, caused windows to go flakey. not sure if thats a thing anymore from habit.

anyway its keeps the choices easy if asked where to install, no wrong answer. install, power down, connect data for HD, reboot and then format.

Yeah, as Windows MAY put some hidden partitions to an another drive sometimes. Your tips are what I'd recommend as well though if the HDD has already something like Steam library or similar, then it's not needed to format it.