Internal cables and temperatures.

dagwoood · 3 Feb 2006 at 02:57

I know it's recommended that you do this to improve airflow, but does "tidying up" of the cables inside of your pc case make that much difference to your temperatures?

I ask as my PSU/fan/dongle extension cabling is a bit of a mess(to put it lightly!)and it would be a real pain in the proverbial to try and tidy them up; but I would try it if I thought It'd improve my temperatures considerably.

dagwoood.

Jimbo Mahoney · 3 Feb 2006 at 09:08

vanandjuanunited · 3 Feb 2006 at 09:31

More likely that flat ide cables would be better replaced with rounded ones but other than that not really.

DaveMac · 3 Feb 2006 at 14:03

Depends how bad the cabling is and the airflow potential within the case, the only way to know for sure is to try it and see.

dagwoood · 3 Feb 2006 at 16:13

Thanks for the advice guys.

I do have rounded IDE cables, it's the cables from the PSU and fans that are creating a mess at the bottom of my case.

I've recently installed a 120mm Akasa Amber at the front of my case and since installing it my idle GPU temp has dropped by 4 degrees, so the airflow from the bottom(where most of the "mess" is)can't be that bad.

dagwoood.

Dirk · 3 Feb 2006 at 16:18

Tidying up cables is more likely to have a positive effect on noise levels than air flow. If you run a silent pc you may hear the air turbulance more with untidy cables.

Of course if the inside of your case looks more like an old telephone exchange it may be worth having a tidy up

dagwoood · 3 Feb 2006 at 21:16

Dirk said:
Of course if the inside of your case looks more like an old telephone exchange it may be worth having a tidy up

That's a pretty good description of how it looks I'm affraid

Dirk · 3 Feb 2006 at 21:33

If it's really that bad it may be worth having a tidy

It doesn't have to be an onerous chore if you try and make it worthwhile in other ways at the same time. Perhaps you could mod your case by fitting a side window or buy a clear side panel if the manufacturer sells one? That way while you're doing the tidy you could sleeve your cables in something uv reactive, add some lights and generally pretty up your rig.

dagwoood · 4 Feb 2006 at 13:05

Dirk said:
Perhaps you could mod your case by fitting a side window or buy a clear side panel if the manufacturer sells one?

The case came with a clear side panel and a fan in it the glows blue; luckily how my computer desk is laid out you can't see the mess at the bottom

I don't think adding lighting is a good idea as that'll just create more wiring

Thanks for the suggestion though

dagwoood.

pegasus1 · 5 Feb 2006 at 01:52

Just get some cable ties or some electrical tape and group it all together, it does make a difference at the end of the day whatever Jimbo says.

Jimbo Mahoney · 5 Feb 2006 at 14:51

dagwoood said:
... it would be a real pain in the proverbial to try and tidy them up; but I would try it if I thought It'd improve my temperatures considerably.

pegasus1 said:
it does make a difference at the end of the day whatever Jimbo says.

True, but it really isn't going to drop temps more than 1 or 2 degrees by having a serious case-tidying session, hence my initial response.

If you're after every single degree drop, why not? But the OP suggests it's gonna be a pain and not worthwhile unless 'considerable' temperature improvements are the result.

pegasus1 · 5 Feb 2006 at 18:16

There are also other factors, if the case has a crap fan layout and is getting poor airflow then a cable tidy session will do very little. Take a look at the whole airflow situation and see if by a little modding and tidying you can drop the temps.
As an example my old 2500XPM/9800pro rig (Cpu/Mobo temps) runs 12C hotter in my sons Jeantec Phong than it did in my generic but well vented case