cable management

dannywaugh1

dannywaugh1

dannywaugh1

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21 Jul 2007
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Newcastle upon tyne
ok sorry if this is in the wrong section.
ok cable management! aaaagggghhhhh i hate it, i i think some of you may also hate it.
My computer runs ok etc but i am wanting to sort of all the cables inside evertime i go to do it i give up. anyways what tips and advice can you give me?
how would you sort your cables?
if it helps i have the antec 900 gaming case.
 
BFG_9000 said:
The Antec 900 not a good case for cable management, post pic's of inside your case for advice..;)
Click to expand...

heres a pic.

Untitled-1.jpg
 
...and that PSU is modular...could you imagine if it wasnt :p

1 word of advice: cable ties are your friends, pop down to B&Q and pick around 100 up for 2/3 £ and cable tie the hell outta everything :p
 
Dunno what case that is but you're never going to hind the cables completely in that!

Firstly invest in some cables ties :D

Secondly the best advice I can give is first route both the 4 pin P4 header and 24 pin ATX connector behind the mobo.

SATA cables should be fairly easy to bunch together albeit they'll be on show, other than both ends the IDE cable should be fairly easy to tuck out of the way either being tied or taped out of sight.

Lastly the power to the rear case fan I'd try routing along the top of the case (again either with ties or some tape) using the same cluster of connectors used on the optical drive

I'm afraid there's not a lot you can do with the power to the GFX card and case fan on the side panel.

To be honest a lot of it is just trial and error trying to clear as many cables out of sight as possible ;)
 
I got the 900 and its not half as bad as that. Use the ties that are kon the back of the case by the MB.

Heres mine.... :)

case.jpg
 
Its a nice looking case shame its not longer, just looks really cramped with whatever you do with it, the 900's bigger brother the "Antec 1200" looks much better, I think Antec introducing the 1200 have learnt by the 900's mistakes..;)
 
cablestidy.jpg


i win ;)

I made my own power cables. One molex string (Hidden under mobo) powers both my DVD-RW drives and my raptor/secondary drive. They are reversed in the hard drive cage with right angled plugs (Both SATA and Molex). The motherboard header has also been extended and routed under the motherboard. Same for the USB for the front card reader. The P4 plug has been extended from the PSU too, to take it around the side. It looks a lot tidier than the pic, as the viewing angle for the window is 10-20 degrees.
 
PhillyDee said:
i win ;)

I made my own power cables. One molex string (Hidden under mobo) powers both my DVD-RW drives and my raptor/secondary drive. They are reversed in the hard drive cage with right angled plugs (Both SATA and Molex). The motherboard header has also been extended and routed under the motherboard. Same for the USB for the front card reader. The P4 plug has been extended from the PSU too, to take it around the side. It looks a lot tidier than the pic, as the viewing angle for the window is 10-20 degrees.
Click to expand...
Thats really good, nice one. :)
 
as people have said, cable ties are your friend. try and bundle any excess wiring inside or behind drive cradles or behind lips on the case. as you have a modular PSU making your own custom cables would be a piece of cake. PhillyDee's case is about as tidy as it'll get, but if you think thats a difficult one to do...

I've just put a full system inc: dvd-rom, 1xATA hd, 2xsata HD, GFX & vga silencer, loads of cards, and a non-modular 480w tagan PSU in a small ATX desktop case that was really too small for it all, being as it was originally like a 433 celeron system.. what a pain in the rear that job was - had to have 3 or 4 goes at it all and only got away with it because the DVD-ROM is a short drive that doesnt protrude any behind the 5.25 cradles.. It's an old SKTA DFI mobo with the IDE's at the top on the side so there is precisely no space available in which to route the ATX cable, the 24pin adaptor bit, 2x ATX12v connectors, 2 rounded IDE cables, and loads of molex power plugs..

This PSU is probably not going to stay in the rig so i'm just going to leave it as it is for now. can't wait to get a modular PSU and make up my own connectors for it though

oh yes and i can see an upgrade to entirely SATA stuff coming :p gots ta love those thin cables. Back in the day i'd have trimmed the psu's connectors..


I'd advise you to teach yourself how to make your own super good cables mate that's the only way you'll get that super tidy.
 
Yeah i'd say its taken me about.. 2, maybe 2.5hr to build this desktop. when you consider that all but about 10 mins (the time in which i can build a normal pc) was messing about trying to get all the wiring in and tidy without breaking my BH5 DIMMS.

To put that into perspective, I could have taken my psu apart and customised the cables, sorting the vast majority of the problem in less time..

Disclaimer: I, and i'm sure OcUK, do not condone dismantling and modification of Power Supply Units by anyone except correctly trained engineers as such items contain deadly amounts of electricity and can cause fatal damage to pc's also. I happen to be trained sufficiently in electronics to safely do such work.

:D
 
I have the 900 too, with a modular PSU, and its a complete mess inside :(
I'll try the cable tie idea, see if I can get it a bit cleaner inside.

Having tidier cables will also improve the circulation, and thus lower temps slightly, right?
 
iviv said:
I have the 900 too, with a modular PSU, and its a complete mess inside :(
I'll try the cable tie idea, see if I can get it a bit cleaner inside.

Having tidier cables will also improve the circulation, and thus lower temps slightly, right?
Click to expand...



In theory yes, in practice don't expect much. My cables were all over the place (were because it's currently in bits awaiting a replacement motherboard) but temps never exceeded 4oC above ambient (the Holy Grail is of course ambient temps inside the case) even with an E6600 at 3.6GHz, 3 x SATA HDDs, 2 x DVDs and an 8800GTX inside there.

More for cosmetics (and ease of use in some cases).


M
 
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