Assembly

So, let’s get together the whole thing. Our MEGA came like that:

• The case with the motherboard already installed;
• The card-reader installed into the lower 3.5” bay;
• The cooler.

Thus, our task was to install the CPU, memory modules, optical and hard disk drives. To start with, we take everything out for easy processor installation. The CPU cooler is rather bulky and takes nearly all of the free space:

After CPU installation, we take the hard disk drive. A contraption like slides is mounted on it and the drive is screwed to the upper 3.5” bay. The optical drive comes last into the uppermost bay. Note that the HDD is installed upside down (or, electronics up, if you like). The meaning of this engineering decision is rather obscure. Maybe this helps to save a few cubic centimeters of precious inter-case space. Here is the way it looks:

The last thing is installing the memory modules. This process is very easy, even easier than with most standard desktop computers:

So, if you ever choose to make a memory upgrade, you will have no problems with installation at all. Just pick off the system case cover. By the way, the HDD is also replaced with ease. You don’t have to take out the optical drive or cooler, just extract the HDD from aside.

This is actually it. This is the entire assembly. But I’ve got one more thing on my mind - installation of a normal graphics card instead of the integrated graphics core. Those of you, who are going to use the MEGA for office work, watching movies and so on, may skip this section over. But if you want to play a game (even an old and not very resource-consuming one), the graphics card is strongly recommended. Again, we will have the integrated graphics core also tested in the fourth part of the review. For now, just believe my word.

So, let’s get to graphics card installation. This is one of the most unpleasant and complicated parts of the assembly procedure. Nevertheless, it is possible to fit a graphics card into the MEGA. The size of the card doesn’t matter much. Not only slim cards like GeForce4 MX440, but also GeForce4 Ti4400 can be installed into it. If I managed to install the latter card, nearly any other will do, too. The problem with R300/R350 and NV30/NV35 may only arise when you will try to connect additional power.

One more note, though. The only PCI slot available on the mainboard is in fact «shared». It means that on installing the graphics card into the AGP, you will lose the PCI slot. On the other hand, this is not a great loss, since all the peripherals you might want to use are already integrated, save for the optional TV-tuner, which should go into the PCI. Thus, you are offered a choice: running games on a good graphics card or watching TV channels. Or consider buying AGP combos...

Well, guys, the system is practically fitted together, although installation is not over yet.