A NEW GENERATION

LENGTH OF TIME: 2-3 HOURS

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: MEDIUM

1 CASE OPENING

HERE IT STANDS, all tall and proud. We’ve said it before, but this is one huge battleship. The 7000D AIRFLOW is an impressive feat from Corsair and feels as rugged as ever. Yes, it’s pricey. But the build quality and size lends itself to this type of price tag. It features great accessibility with tidy cable management solutions around the back. There are also plenty of panels that pop off to allow for easier cable routing. We also love the wing-style side panel doors, reminiscent of a supercar. For a showcase build, we think it fits the profile nicely. First though, we pop open the wingstyle panels and take off the front panel.

2 MOTHERBOARD PREP

BEFORE WE DIVE straight into this one and pop the motherboard into the case, we first need to prep it for the CPU. It’s also much easier to attach all the necessary parts to the board before installing it. Yes, there is a lot of room around the board with this case but it’s a good habit to work out the case first. Before we touch the CPU, we remove the plastic piece under the CPU latch. You don’t actually need to do this, as it will pop out when you secure it down anyway, but it works either way round. To open the latch, lift the retention arm up slowly out of its catch. Push it down initially and to the right to release it. Easy-peasy.

3 ALDER LAKE INSTALL

Intel’s new processor bring a vast amount of architectural and generational changes but it also features a new socket, the LGA 1700, found on our Z690-E board