As we said before, the case is an important part of the computer, not the least since it protects all of the components against the dangers of the world, but a stylish case also makes it easier to hide it, or just fit in among the rest of the furniture. We've chosen a miditower case which means we will have relatively decent amount of space when working inside the case, while it is not too big, making it stand out.

The first you should consider when about to install any components is course to open the case and with regular tower-cases it is usually the left side of the case that has to be opened to be able to get inside. The panel is most likely held in place with two or three screws, and if you're lucky it's with thumbscrews, then you will only need a good grip, and no screwdriver, to get in. With our Antec case they've chosen to use thumbscrews to hold the left panel at place while they've used regular screws for the right side panel, as seen below.

When inside the case we first of all notice that Antec P180 is a bit different than most other case. But this doesn't really matter as many manufacturers use different layouts for the inside nowadays. If you just know the basics you will be able to work with most cases. First of all, we chose to remove the extra fan bracket aimed towards the graphics cards, a must during a complete installation.

On the pictures below we first of all see a spacer which is an important component when installing the motherboard, one of the harddrive cages are seated in the front of the case and on the last picture we see the expansion slots. Here you will have to remove the brackets one by one as you decide to install more expansion cards such as graphics cards, sound cards etc. More about this later on.
The spacers are screwed on to the motherboard tray inside the case, onto which you then install the motherboard. These spacers sometimes come in a plastic bag, or as in our case preinstalled. As you will later see, it is important to check which spacers that will be used with your motherboard specifically. You don't want too few, but not too many as incorrectly placed spacers will short-circuit the motherboard.

If you can remove the harddrive cage(s) don't hesitate to do so to make room during the installation, you're going to want as much space as possible. Another detail you will have to solve before starting to install any more components is the I/O bracket. The I/O bracket is the flat metal piece on the rear of the case where all of the motherboard's in and outputs goes. More or less all cases are delivered with a default panel which rarely fits your specific motherboard as the motherboard manufacturers choose their own designs. Therefore you usually have to replace the I/O bracket. To loosen the panel you push it into the case. Then find your motherboard's I/O panel and fit it into place from the inside. Our panel came with a map of the various inputs and outputs, which is becoming more and more common, usually the panel is just "plain" with small imprinted symbols at each connector.

When you've prepared the case, the first component you want to install is the motherboard, representing the heart of the computer. Usually you can install the motherboard first and then the remaining components, but in some cases, as in ours, you should install the processor first. It is usually easier to install the processor before the motherboard is installed into the case, even if you don't have to. You simply have more space to work with when installing the cooler and cooling paste before attaching the motherboard inside the case. Therefore we will now move on to the processor installation which is a bit different from platform to platform.