This is a build log the likes of which you have probably never read. It is quite long as it is filled with frustration, anger, and ultimately victory (not to mention my own, wordy writing style). You have been warned.
On August 13, our warrior amassed his components and surveyed his battlefield
Chassis: Fractal Design R5
Motherboard: ASRock H570 Phantom Gaming 4
CPU: Pentium Gold G6405
RAM: GSKill Aegis 2x8gb DDR4 2666 (**or should have been)
Storage: 2, 8tb Seagate Iron Wolf 7200 NAS drives, 2 4tb WD's (from my old system)
PSU: 550w Silverstone 80+ Gold
OS: 64gb Sandisk flash drive
And then chose his weapons of war
Unfortunately before battle could even commence, the warrior discovered problem #1. The RAM he had been sent was not the RAM he ordered and according to the motherboards manuscript, it was not compatible with his processor. The warrior briefly considered trying to use the RAM anyway as it was far more costly than what he had ordered, but instead chose caution. The warrior contacted NewEgg and the cheery young dame immediately arranged a new shipment which she assured the warrior should be received in 2 days. After resolving this matter, the warrior found problem #2. The warrior possessed only right angle SATA cables, and with this motherboard having only front facing SATA ports, these cables just would not work. The warrior feared not since he was already waiting on his new RAM and made an order with the great Amazon for 6 straight SATA cables, also to be delivered on the 15th. Unfortunately due to the warrior's overlords requiring his presence elsewhere, he would be unable to hone his skills on the battlefield until the 17th. So until then, the battlefield would be silent.
On the 15th, the warrior's SATA cables arrived as scheduled from the great Amazon, however, now he would face problem #3. The new RAM the warrior had requested as a replacement, was now showing it would not be delivered until the 20th due to a delay with the great brown delivery service. The warrior was frustrated now. His thirst for battle could not be quenched and he knew his overlords were demanding 16hr shifts of him on the 20th and 21st, making the earliest possible day for battle, the 22nd. The warrior impatiently waited a long 6 days, receiving his RAM just before reporting to his overlords on the 21st.
The warrior arrived to his castle at approx 0900hrs on the 22nd and although now fully prepared to enter the battlefield, he was weary after his previous back to back 16hr shifts, and so he rested to prepare for an evening battle. The warrior rose at approx. 1700hrs on the 22nd and entered the battlefield. This time, there would be no waiting for battle. His thirst would be quenched. The warrior began to slay his foe without mercy. Mounting the case fans, power supply, RAM, CPU and motherboard were all trivial matters that offered no resistance. The warrior then encountered problem #4. When the warrior mounted his CPU cooler it did not want to seat properly. This cooler was an Intel stock cooler with the 4 push pins, but only 3 pins would fully seat. Although the cooler felt secure, the warrior was concerned that as the cooler fan spun it would over time cause the CPU cooler to loosen and and it would surely fall from it's mount. The warrior attempted to reorient the cooler several times, but alas it was found it was always the same pin causing the problem. The warrior finally pushed with all his might on the faulty pin, to the point he feared cracking his motherboard, and it still would not fully seat. (Note upper left, it’s hard to tell in the pic, but that pin is just BARELY touching the bottom of the hole)
The warrior then set aside that problem and continued to wire his motherboard and drives with power, data cables, etc. It was then that the warrior encountered problem #5. The warrior had purchased a USB 3.2 header cable to connect a flash drive directly to the internal port of the motherboard to hold his OS. However this cable was nowhere to be found in his castle. The warrior could have easily used the external 3.2 USB port on his motherboard, but did not like this solution. Now the warrior was angry, he had had all he could stand. He had just seen this cable 2 days prior. The warrior searched his castle high and low and the cable could not be located. Finally, the warriors betrothed spoke up and made a reasonable suggestion, "Master, if the cable was only $14, just order another one". While the warrior conceded this would be easiest, he was still angry and would not relent. After another hour of fruitless searching, the warriors betrothed became angry and demanded he stop this foolishness at once or he would surely sleep with the goats that evening. Finally, the warrior relented. The warrior logged in to the great Amazon again and ordered a new cable, and all the while the problem with the CPU cooler could not be forgotten. He pondered a solution, before finally ordering an aftermarket cooler (which came with a threaded backplate) and thermal compound. These items would not be delivered until the 24th and because of the warriors overlords being so demanding, his earliest availability for battle would be the evening of the 26th. And so the warrior slumbered.
On the 24th at approx. 1430hrs, the castle bell rang as Amazon had brought the new cooler and header cable. Unable to restrain himself and thirsty for battle, the warrior rose from his slumber and again entered the battlefield, mounting the header cable and new cooler with ease. Aye, this warrior will think twice before again using an Intel cooler with that push pin system. The warrior then began the arduous task of cable management, which while time consuming to do right, was relatively easy on the Fractal Design R5 and using lots of zip ties. Again however, 1530hrs arrived and it was time to go serve his overlords once again. This battle would have to rage at least 2 more days.
The warrior arrived home at 0700hrs on the 25th, although very weary, he was eager to deal a death blow to his foe. He finished and double checked his wiring and cables, connected power and Powered On. The fans whirred and his nemesis appeared to have finally fallen as the system completed a successful POST. The warrior made some brief BIOS adjustments but now even with a final victory so close, the warrior knew he must rest. He has learned over these last 2 weeks, 1530hrs comes very very quickly.
On the 26th the warrior arrived home from his overlords in the early hours and rested until 1530hrs. Once rested, he again entered the field of battle for what would surely be the end of this struggle. He installed his OS, to which his oppponent offered no resistance. It knew the battle had been been lost and complete and total defeat was imminent. By 1700hrs, all services had been restored and the warrior basked in his accomplishment. Finally, the savagery was over.
By 1900hrs, the battlefield was empty. The boxes and other debris that had littered the area were now discarded, the work table folded up and put away. No signs of the frustration and carnage that had been endured over the last 2 weeks could be seen as they were now known only to the warrior who carried the scars. There was peace. Peace could not have been more timely, as a new battle will soon be fought. On the 27th the warrior will face a foe he has never faced, and has often greatly feared... on this day his betrothed will become his wife!