Cable management help!

dan-fish · 15 Jan 2011 at 14:24

Basically, i've got an NZXT Gamma case but the problem is my PSU isn't modular so wiring is a nightmare. The biggest problem i have is that the wires are not long enough because the psu is at the bottom. They're all cluttered in one area which by the way is very noticeable. I also cannot afford a new psu. I will upload a pic later as I'm very busy at the moment.

any help would be much appreciated!

Tealc · 15 Jan 2011 at 14:52

First of all I would like to say yuk at your choice of cases, although that shelf at the front might be handy to rest a cup of coffee on I suppose.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=48&subid=1898

What you need is some of the cables in this list. Routing cables around the back of the motherboard is important and if you can route the CPU power connector , graphics card power and 24 pin ATX connector around there it leaves less mess to hide.

If you aren't bothered about having braided look cables then choose some plain ones from the list of availables to suit your build.

Use as few of the PSU cables as possible and tuck the remaining unused ones behind the motherboard tray or the hard drives, or even into one of the 5 1/4" bays.

SeraphX · 15 Jan 2011 at 15:00

oooo my old case, not great for cable routing but a little tidy up is possible,
hide most of the cables from the front panel through the drive bay cages

for the power supply and i'm guessing the cpu 4 pin? you'll need to buy an extender something like THIS

Ideally you want to route every cable from the power through the large horizontal slot at the bottom then have each cable come back in at it's given area, so graphics power in the middle, the 4/8Pin cpu needs an extender, and everything thats not being used, tie it up with some black leccy tape and hide it in the bottom of the hard drive cages

heres a picture of my attempt at routing cables in my case, it's not perfect but it's slightly better then it was

dan-fish · 15 Jan 2011 at 20:05

i would regret buying the case but i was on a tight budget of £300. I am looking towards a modular psu but right now it isn't an option and I fitted the M59 window on it (i know i'm so cheap) so wiring is a bigger pain to look at.

It was uploaded with my crappy phone after someone decided to steal our camera so apologies for quality and i know it's just hideous to look at!

oh and also, i had an extender for the 24 pin cable but the problem was that i couldn't hide the excess wire on the other side because whenever i attempted to do that, the case wouldn't close.

Tealc · 15 Jan 2011 at 23:19

It must be mighty tight behind that motherboard tray if you can't get a few wires behind there. It's a cheap case so I suppose corners have to be cut somewhere.

I stuff loads behind there and have to press the middle of my side panel in with my knee sometimes to get it to close. I'm lucky as I have a separate bottom chamber which I can have a right mess in and it's just not a problem.

Anyway you must be able to hide some of those wires behind there. Start with the drive cables and the fans and see what difference that makes. Also the front panel wiring should be able to be tucked away somehow. Some people use an old PSU case next to the PSU to hide some of the spare wiring.

stulid · 15 Jan 2011 at 23:20

Try some cable ties?

d_brennen · 15 Jan 2011 at 23:23

Or a case without a window

Cleeecooo · 16 Jan 2011 at 01:14

Id get the plastic undoable ones. £10 fir 900 from most major hardware and diy stores

FMTopfan · 16 Jan 2011 at 02:25

Cleeecooo said:
Id get the plastic undoable ones. £10 fir 900 from most major hardware and diy stores

I've used plastic ones but the trouble is once you've fastened them you can't make adjustments. Even when you've placed wires where they need to go, you sometimes need to move components+cables for troubleshooting. Once you've cut them off you need to use new ones, well the ones I got given are like that.

I've got about 10 short Velcro cable ties in my case. You can actually buy Velcro cable tie rolls to custom make the length, will cost up to £8 to last you for ages. Just do a google and you'll find plenty of shops.

Xelene · 16 Jan 2011 at 03:17

Go and scavenge some of those food bag ties from the kitchen.

Buchanan0204 · 16 Jan 2011 at 06:47

d_brennen said:
Or a case without a window

This

s innes · 16 Jan 2011 at 09:11

another option is to use some spiral wrap to help tidy up the cables and you can get it in different colours to suit your needs
i use this on all my cables out side the case but you could use it inside aswell
when i get a chance i'll upload a picture of my externa cables to give u an idea of what i mean

FMTopfan · 17 Jan 2011 at 00:14

Buchanan0204 said:
This

No idea what you mean unless your missing the link off the end there :confused:

skylineboy · 17 Jan 2011 at 10:01

FMTopfan said:
No idea what you mean unless your missing the link off the end there

He is agreeing with the quote he made. Yeah I went through about 20 plastic cable ties in the llast 2 months. But if you have an absolute load of thm spare then they would be perfect for the job. Sounds like you could do with a cable hide away box as previously suggested.

dan-fish · 17 Jan 2011 at 18:45

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll try out your suggestions on Saturday which is quite a while away now.

FMTopfan · 19 Jan 2011 at 01:36

I'm lucky in that my new case - Corsair 800D arriving soon - has cable management built in and lots of cable slots to hide them away and filter through the case. I've looked at my current setup and realise that normal cable ties isn't want I want for my new setup, I will try something better. Ordered a roll of velcro self-gripping ties as it suits my needs and represents very good value for money. I will let you know either way if I they were any good (though I could be waiting a week for delivery).

Stormar · 19 Jan 2011 at 01:54

i got the 800d and you will not need ties,everything hides real easy in this case, so easy to do and looks real good when its done

dan-fish · 21 Jan 2011 at 18:04

FMTopfan said:
I'm lucky in that my new case - Corsair 800D arriving soon - has cable management built in and lots of cable slots to hide them away and filter through the case. I've looked at my current setup and realise that normal cable ties isn't want I want for my new setup, I will try something better. Ordered a roll of velcro self-gripping ties as it suits my needs and represents very good value for money. I will let you know either way if I they were any good (though I could be waiting a week for delivery).

that case is almost the price of my computer!

FMTopfan · 22 Jan 2011 at 04:47

Stormar said:
i got the 800d and you will not need ties,everything hides real easy in this case, so easy to do and looks real good when its done

Yes, the majority of wires in the main case will be hidden away in the slots but nothing ever goes to plan, there will be at least a few stray wires which is why I planned ahead.
I got my velcro self-gripping ties yesterday, only waiting on the parts to be delivered from Ocuk before I can test them properly. I'm also rebuilding another PC where the ties will be used lots.

dan-fish said:
that case is almost the price of my computer!

I'm waiting on the H20 version since Monday 17th Jan which a quite a bit expensive. I will get it once non-conductive coolant is in stock as it's not been in all week. Anyone considering watercooling will always get their monies worth in increased performance and stability, plus I need a quieter PC than the one at present.