I dislike a case that is sloppy inside and out. Most of the clutter comes from the power supply wires On every computer I have built in the last few years, form has become almost important to me as function. The first thing you have to get over is the length of almost all of you your cables. No I am not quite insane enough to build my own IDE, SCCI and SATA cables. However, just about every other cable is fair game especially power cables and fan cables. All my case fans are custom length. All my power cables for my hard drives and optical drives are also the same way, I just haven’t cleaned them up yet! Nylon cable ties; sometimes called zip ties or locking ties. Get a whole bunch really cheap in an assortment of sizes from your local home improvement superstore. They will help anchor your round cables and wires to allow for optimal air flow. They can sometimes replace screws, clips and other fasteners when securing hardware. Indispensable! Sometimes flat ATA cables are preferable to round because you can run them in the narrow space behind the MB or between the MB tray and the side panel. I refuse to use cable splitters \ adapters. I have been known to carefully cut down or lengthen the power cables to the MOBO. Lastly, inside the case the shortest route might not be the cleanest route. As far as securing cables if you use plastic tie wraps less is more and make sure all the heads face the same way. Me I prefer lacing cord (a wax covered cotton twin used in telephony equipment installs) I like it for several reason is it never gets hard brittle and the only chance of getting cut with it is upon install unlike tie wraps. If you do use tie wraps make sure use Flush cutters and not diagonal cutters there is a difference and when lengthen or shorting a cable no butt connectors soldiering and heat shrink only. As for the back of the case some small flat stock bent neatly can make that plate of spaghetti back there into something as clean as a bathroom at a Japanese subway station! I tried not to go into too much detail as most of this is common sense and imagination and is entirely up to the user so happy cleaning! Comments or additions? Be sure to post them!
although people do run cables behind/underneath the motherboard, presonally i would never do so, damage can be done and i just wouldn't risk it.
I dont run them that way either, i hide the IDE cables when i can behind the MB tray! Ive also got about 3 feet of fan wire routed all around the case soldered up to each other!
ahh, my case is an absolute mess at the minute, the new power supply has a bazillion and one cables, then there are little wires for the fan controller everywhere...(i'll post pics of the tangle sometime soon in the gallery.
You already did > http://www.hardwareforums.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=80&original=1&c=2&userid=2526 But i'm assuming they are older pic's?
also if you want to round cables/ wrap cables but dont want to spend the money on a cable sleeving kit do what i did on my old PSU, i went to a shop that sells tubing in different diameters and bouth some, split it, put cables inside and cable tie it...it can look quite good and is a cheap alternative to the sometimes expensive cabling kits you buy from the shops.
naaa, for rounded cables just use paper and masking tape lol, and then a some paint and its will be good
heh i just spent an hour and a half re-thinking my computer wires...bit improvement but it still isnt as tidy as some, the main reason being there are so many damn cables....whilst tidying i already puled the little film type covers off of the gatewatch VGA and CPU temperature sensors....havent put them back on but i have tried to get the sensors back onto the places where they were, need more tape i think....i'll try to get the film covers on soon though...if i can be bothered...
Keep the posting on topic please. You could try these "DIY IDE Rouded IDE Cables", as written by Big B. Find it here: http://www.zone365.com/content/rounding-your-ide-cables/1 They come out looking quite good, and will help tidy things up a little.
ahh cool, (sorry about being off topic...) when my computer was made (computer shop made it for me, i worked there for a bit) they rounded their own IDE cables so i didnt have to worry about it, also for case tidying tips, a good place to store excess cables is in the space between the optical drive mounts and the case panel (on the right side of the case as you look at it straight on) being there doesnt affect airflow (unless you have some sort of fan/air duct there which would be rather strange) and you can cable tie them in place using the holes on the drive cage.
Nice one waffles! If your game enough you can also get a craft knife and carefully slice down the IDE cable every 3~4 wires and then put loom tube or heatshrink on them! I'll post an example pic soon.
That guide is excellent I might just do tht because it looks cooler than my current cables that stick out everywhere
That takes patience I don't have...and a very steady hand. That probaly results in the thinnest IDE cables, but it's time consuming. I'd rather buy pre-rounded cables than do it that way. I've spent hours wiring my case up to keep good airflow. I probably spent at least 4 hours the last time I rebuilt my main rig.
use sticky tape or masking tape to tape all that loose wire down to make everyhting nice and flat and neat
