The Pentium finally showed up, so in Part 2 of my Budget Server Saga I get stuck straight into the fun bit: CPU, RAM, and cooler install… while also figuring out if I’ve accidentally bought a paperweight. The main headache here is the stock cooler I’m using needs a backplate, and my motherboard didn’t have it on, so I had to pull the whole motherboard out of the tiny case just to fit the bracket properly. If you’ve ever built in a small box with too many cables, you’ll know exactly how “fun” that is. Once the bracket’s on, I drop the Pentium in, slap on my usual Arctic MX-4, and do a proper test boot outside the case on a cardboard box (not elegant, but it works). I throw in a couple of 4GB DDR4 sticks I also grabbed second-hand, confirm the system posts, and then chase a classic issue: RAM not clicked in all the way. After reseating it (twice, because apparently I like pain), I’m up and running with 8GB RAM and a 4GHz Pentium Gold. Next part is where it actually becomes a server: drives and an OS install.