Case Swap

Its not very difficult to do as long as you take proper precautions.

The biggest is to ground yourself before touching any of the components in the case, you can do this by wearing an anti-static wrist strap, or touching the metal of the case first to discharge any static on your body.

ALWAYS make sure the components are unplugged, after you unplug, press the power button on the computer to discharge any residual electricity.

You should not need to remove the cooler from the CPU, so dont.

I would start by disconnecting all the parts of the power supply, and removing that and swapping it to the new case, then your hard drive, optical drive, etc. Be careful with the hard drive, they are fragile, don't jostle it around or drop it.

I would do the motherboard last, if you think you need to label things, then go ahead and do so, however, most plugs only go in one way, so its pretty obvious where they go. The only exception is the wires for the front case panel, this would be your power/reset switch, Hard drive LEDs, they can be confusing as the printing on the motherboard that says which pins are for what is very tiny to see, however, if you wire those up wrong, theres no risk to damage, the computer simply will not boot when you push the power button.

If you have a friend who knows what hes doing, why not ask him to do it with you? That would be a good way to learn.

Don't feel intimidated by this process, it isn't difficult.

If you aren't sure about the connections, the best thing to do is take pictures. It is hard to mess things up when you have a dozen pictures from different angles.

Secondly, the radiator thing is good, but there are a lot more steps you can take to protect your computer during this process.

1) Ideally, it is better to stand on tile or wood rather than carpet.
2) Ideally, it is better to have the computer sitting on tile or wood instead of carpet (a wood table if you are standing, or wherever you are sitting if it is on tile/wood).
3) Touch the case early and often. If you touch the case with one hand and plug in things with the other hand, that is best. If you need two hands to install a part, then touch the case right before you pick that part up.
4) Keep the windows around you closed and air circulation to a minimum.

Honestly, even if you did all that stuff wrong the risk of damage wouldn't be that high, but if you are an unlucky person or you just like to limit risk to the greatest extent possible, I would do them just in case.

I'll throw in my 2 cents. When removing the motherboard make sure that you count how many screws you remove and ensure you use the same amount of standoffs and screws in the new pc case.

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the prompt and detailed responses, I very much appreciate it!

I have just taken the side panel off the new case and found a whole buch of wires with tiny led connections etc, and sata cables, one labeled HD Audio etc, and I am a bit put off by so many connections LOL!!

If as nekulturny has stated, the worst that can happen is that the system simply wont boot, and I do take pics etc so I know where everything goes on my mobo, you think I will be ok?

And my friend, who actually system bulds for a living, lives too far away to be able to get here for a few weeks as he is away on holiday, and I mithered the wife for this case, and she would not approve if I left it standing for a fortnight LOL!!

I need to/want to learn, I am going to give it a try, wish me luck!!!

Thanks!!

Take the pictures and take the precautionary steps. Keep the manual handy and you will be fine.

If there are any hiccups, we are around.

Like Raiddinn said, keep the manuals handy, and we're here. If you feel you have to take notes to be comfortable with it, do so. Really the only thing that gives me trouble are those tiny little wires for the front panel connections. Nice thing about my Asus board, it has a quick connect with everything labeled in better writing so I don't have to squint at the board.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your sound advice. I truly appreciate it. Makes asking the question all the more worthwhile!! I am in the UK, and it's 7.30pm here and despite it being an old game, I am really deep into Half Life 2 again LOL!!. So, TBH I am going to leave it until tomorrow. My good friend did say to me in a text message a while ago, that the only thing I could do that would really cause harm, would be to plug a USB cable in a 1394 firewire plug, as this would fry the usb drive?!

And that USB is blue, and firewire Red?

And is the case I have bought in anyones opinion, any good?

Thanks, again to you all, and I may be back tomorrow to ask some questions again!!

i have always found it helpful to practice on a friends computer before i do it to my own
 
just kidding, you'll be fine.

The 690 case isn't as popular as the 9x2 series, but they are OK. Having a bottom mount for the PSU is the most important thing.

I would have stuck with a more traditional case if I were you, a HAF 912 or 922.

That is do what I say not what I do stuff, though, given that I have a Lian Li case.

The way I see it, the HAFs are like Toyota cars. Reasonable price, good quality, good reliability. The Lian Lis are more like BMWs or Mercedes.

To tell the truth, I was going to get a HAF 912 myself until I saw the Lian Li case just as much on black Friday, so I snapped that up instead.

I like the 690II case as evidenced by my signature. The only thing I hate about it is the mesh and lack of filters. The mesh keeps catching little things that are a pain to get out. Overall I really like mine though. Good cable management and solid with good airflow.

Hey Guys,

I am back, with all my components in my nice new shiny case LOL!!!

It did take me longer than I thought, but I have finished it, and am actually quite proud of myself  

I have just finished applying the overclock on my i7 930 so that it's running at 3.8ghz, and am all finished!!

Thanks to everyone who offered advice, and didn't just say one brand of case was better than another, as that's not really what I was asking in the first place!!

Thanks again, your advice was very much appreciated!!

E

nice going. next up is you building a rendering farm, eh?