Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8—The contents of the Maximus VI Formula box
Installing the CPU
Like with all other steps involving electrical components, use caution when
installing the CPU. You will be touching the brain and heart of the computer,
and you can easily damage them if you're not careful. Some hardcore PC
builders use antistatic shelves while standing on antistatic mats, wearing
antistatic gloves when performing this step.
If you can't guarantee a static-free environment, consider wearing
an antistatic wrist strap to mitigate unexpected static-electricity
discharges.
While those precautions might border on the extreme, the takeaway message
is clear. Do not touch the CPU or motherboard until you are fully discharged
(by touching metal such as the exposed unpainted interior of the 500R case,
for example) and assembling while standing in a low-static environment, such
as on a concrete or tiled floor. A healthy additional precaution is to wear an
antistatic wrist strap if one is available, though it's not absolutely required.
For this step, don't bother removing the motherboard from the
box. Instead, just lift up the protective see-through packaging to
expose the top of the motherboard. Locate the CPU socket on the
motherboard. Look closely at the protective lid covering the LGA
