Vanquish: Level 4 Arrived

Well, after a little over a week of waiting on FedEx, my Vanquish L4 SE is now home and allowing me to make this post...I literally turned it on 5 minutes ago.

So far, everything seems to be in order. The one hiccup was a loose jumper rattling around in the case...it looks like it was the one used for clearing the CMOS, according to the manual. I popped that back on to the proper pins. I also installed an extra SSD for my FSX install; however, there are no spare SATA cables in the system, so I'll probably be stealing the one off the HDD until I pick up another one, lol.

I'll post up some pics later...I think my dog is starving by now. ;)

Edited by Burnspot - 06 Sep 2013 at 7:42am

The lack of an extra SATA cable isn't that big of a deal as I'm cannibalizing one from a dead Dell here in the office (mobo dead in it) today.

Got all of the Windows updates installed last night and started the process of putting MS Flight Simulator X on the machine to the point where I could start to do some basic optimizations and setup. I can't do serious scenery stuff until I get the HDD back online this evening, but I did get a chance to briefly test out the installation with the brand new PMDG 777....it was BUTTER SMOOTH and looked fantastic. That new triple 7 is awesome by the way...

I'll get my DCS stuff and other games loaded over the weekend; those should be no sweat for this system.

On with the unboxing pics...

Big box. Still strapped up, but all of the security tape was rolled off and clinging to the bottom of the box...I suspect it was slid around more than carried throughout its journey.


Suspending plastic was still intact, system floating nicely in box.


Foam in place.


Sitting on the table. I heard something rattling around inside when I picked it up out of the shipping box.


The guts...clean.


The source of the rattling...a jumper. I consulted the mobo manual and determined that this had to be the CLRTC jumper. Re-installed it in its default position.


Looks like I got the Asus version of the 770, nice!


After seeing this photo this morning, I see it looks like I perhaps missed removing the plastic film over the cooler?


I have a rolling computer desk with two low-hanging shelves on each side...one's for the box...here it sits glowing. PLENTY of air clearance. The rolling desk is setup so the only "hanging" cord I have is the plug for the UPS...makes moving the whole rig around the house pretty easy, especially with the wood floors throughout the house.


Initial bootup. Looking forward to Windows 8.1 so this one annoyance can go away.
Windows 8 is fantastic once you get over fretting about the Metro front door. The speaker you see in this pic is part of an Altec Lansing system I've had since around 2000, they're rock solid and sound incredible. Can't bring myself to replace them, lol.


Edited by Burnspot - 04 Sep 2013 at 8:04am

Nice pics.    Thanks .

Nice, clean looking system. Happy to hear it arrived safe & sound and is running like a champ! Enjoyed the photo reveal! Now, time to get your game on!!

 

Most beauteous. An excellent review. Enjoy!

Nice pics

Looks like your enjoying your new system!

Beautiful screen shots! Nice review too. Make us feel like we have been invited into your home for a look see at your new rig. Congratulations and happy flying!

After seeing those pics, you've piqued my interest into getting back into flight sims.    My HOTAS Cougar setup with TrackIR and DCS A10, Falcon BMS ,etc   have been collecting dust lately.

Enjoy.

Once you go TrackIR, you'll never go back.     Can't fly without it. 

Greats setup! Congrats on the kick arse system =)

Great Pics and review. Congrats on the rig.

Wouldn't that plastic on the H60 gotten hot and possibly melted with 72 hours of stress testing?   

Nice pics and review!! Enjoy!!