Making own PSU cables?

Associate
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For those in the know, is it worth the hassle/experience of getting the cables the exact colour you want and combing them perfectly to fit?

I have some extensions but the wires have always been stiff and not very attractive to look at because when you bend them, the wires are of course all the same length so don't exactly contour very well around the cabling routes of the chassis.

In terms of pricing to do it myself would I be looking at more/less or about the same as a set of for example OCUk sell specific PSU cables for around 80-90 by Moddiy I think. Saying that I'm only really interested in doing the 24 pin ATX, the 3 X PCIe wires I would need + 8 pin EPs cpu wire. Nothing else is really on show tbh
 
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You can do it easily enough but I am not sure it would be cheaper than buying the aftermarket cables. You will need tools, quality cable of the same spec or better than the originals, sleeving and heat shrink and probably the most difficult to find, connectors, especially the psu end. Buying cable and sleeving/heat shrink in bulk is easy enough and I always buy my cables from here. I usually get my sleeving and heatshrink from Ebay as it usually works out cheaper.

Silicon wires are nice and flexible so it's much easier for cable routing and tight bends. The 24 pin is usually 16awg, the 8 pin EPS and 6+2 pin pci-e leads are usually 16-18awg (personally if they are 18awg I would upgrade them to 16awg), Sata/Molex can be anything from 18-20awg although budget brands can be thinner. A decent review of your psu should show you what awg cables you will need.

As for tools, you will need a set of crimps, I use a ratchet crimping pliers similar to this that I have been using to make cable extensions for a few years now and they do the job perfectly. You will also need a set of pin removal tools which you can pick up for a tenner. A heat gun for the heatshrink is handy as well so that's another £10-15. Finally you will need a wire stripper so another fiver or so.

The plugs and pins to go in them can be a pain as I usually have to get them from multiple sources as nobody ever seems to have all the ones I need in stock at the same time. The psu end can be problematic, especially if the manufacturer has used non standard connectors. One option would be to unpin the existing cables but you will need to make sure that every cable goes in exactly the same position that it came from. One way to do this would be to wire up the other end of the cable first and then unpin the psu connector one cable at a time replacing it with the correct wire from the new cable.

It can be expensive to get all the tools and other bits but after the first set the cost will come down as you should have everything that you need, especially if you bought the wire, sleeving and heatshrink in bulk.
 
Soldato
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Are the power connectors moulded these days? So I would think it is very very difficult to do these at home.

if you end up doing the cables and connector as clip in ie like the molex connectors. You run the risk of damaging the connections or end up with loose connections.
 
Soldato
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You can do it easily enough but I am not sure it would be cheaper than buying the aftermarket cables. You will need tools, quality cable of the same spec or better than the originals, sleeving and heat shrink and probably the most difficult to find, connectors, especially the psu end. Buying cable and sleeving/heat shrink in bulk is easy enough and I always buy my cables from here. I usually get my sleeving and heatshrink from Ebay as it usually works out cheaper.

Silicon wires are nice and flexible so it's much easier for cable routing and tight bends. The 24 pin is usually 16awg, the 8 pin EPS and 6+2 pin pci-e leads are usually 16-18awg (personally if they are 18awg I would upgrade them to 16awg), Sata/Molex can be anything from 18-20awg although budget brands can be thinner. A decent review of your psu should show you what awg cables you will need.

As for tools, you will need a set of crimps, I use a ratchet crimping pliers similar to this that I have been using to make cable extensions for a few years now and they do the job perfectly. You will also need a set of pin removal tools which you can pick up for a tenner. A heat gun for the heatshrink is handy as well so that's another £10-15. Finally you will need a wire stripper so another fiver or so.

The plugs and pins to go in them can be a pain as I usually have to get them from multiple sources as nobody ever seems to have all the ones I need in stock at the same time. The psu end can be problematic, especially if the manufacturer has used non standard connectors. One option would be to unpin the existing cables but you will need to make sure that every cable goes in exactly the same position that it came from. One way to do this would be to wire up the other end of the cable first and then unpin the psu connector one cable at a time replacing it with the correct wire from the new cable.

It can be expensive to get all the tools and other bits but after the first set the cost will come down as you should have everything that you need, especially if you bought the wire, sleeving and heatshrink in bulk.


How important do you think it is to ensure that 16 AWG cable is used for certain ones over that of 18 AWG throughout...?
I am thinking more of the EPS, ATX main 24 pin and then the GPU cables.
Many of the kits sold either don't mention the gauge of wire used or often come in 18 AWG gauge.
I have seen an Antec one who claim that theirs is 16 AWG, but as a kit doesn't quite meet what I would need, meaning I would need to buy two kits...! Also their EPS leads are 4pin, meaning there would be a need for a total of four of those cables, rather than them selling an 8 to 4+4, if that makes sense.
Having a motherboard which requires two 8 pin EPS cables tends to be an issue with many pre made kits.
Not that easy to find 16AWG kits.
 
Soldato
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The ATX spec suggests 18AWG for everything that carries significant current, so it should be enough.


Thanks, I'm understanding that also in what information I have found. I have noted some comments of suggesting that AWG 16 is needed and that crashes, melting etc could occur if anything less is used. But that doesn't seem to be supported apart from being someone's thoughts or opinions.
I have bought a kit that is AWG 18, altho I did need to buy two of them for all the needed cables, and it is not paracord braided but PET type.

The only consideration that a AWG 16 cable set might offer over the AWG 18 is their ability to remain in a folded shape, altho they are supposed to be less flexible, so I'm not sure about that contradiction, lol.
 
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Never tried it but it should be easy enough to make extensions. Because you can make a loom in two minutes flat you can get them exactly the right length/bend for your case. Just a question I suppose if you can actually find the wire you need in the colour you want.
 
Associate
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For those in the know, is it worth the hassle/experience of getting the cables the exact colour you want and combing them perfectly to fit?

I have some extensions but the wires have always been stiff and not very attractive to look at because when you bend them, the wires are of course all the same length so don't exactly contour very well around the cabling routes of the chassis.

In terms of pricing to do it myself would I be looking at more/less or about the same as a set of for example OCUk sell specific PSU cables for around 80-90 by Moddiy I think. Saying that I'm only really interested in doing the 24 pin ATX, the 3 X PCIe wires I would need + 8 pin EPs cpu wire. Nothing else is really on show tbh
some are easier than others. i found molex to be a right pain in the ***.

Hinestly unless youd find it fun youre better off buying them premade.
 
Associate
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Bristol, South West
Never tried it but it should be easy enough to make extensions. Because you can make a loom in two minutes flat you can get them exactly the right length/bend for your case. Just a question I suppose if you can actually find the wire you need in the colour you want.
2 mins flat? Jesus mine took me hours each cable to do??!?!

Just though as well op I have loads of green sleeving and shrink if youre interested. like luminos green
 
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