shortening IDE cables

[matthewrpenny]

can it be done?

the cables you buy (flat and round) are always so much longer than needed, would it be possible to shorten them myself? i can solder and have access to tools and stuff at work. has anyone tried it b4?

thanks

ttfn

 

[pelvis_3]

Yes, it can be done!
But it's NOT advised, as it will severely cripple the cables transfer speed and data rates!

 

[Big B]

The IDE standard calls for 18" long cables. I know that a few companies have come out with 24" cables, but this can affect data integrity and speed.

I'm not even sure if you can order these, but Shuttle has some pre-shortened IDE cables that they have in their SFF barebones systems. That might be something worth checking out if you don't need to hook up two drives on the chain.

You could also get some zip ties and pull the cables out of the way. It's cheap, gets the cables out of the way and doesn't really screw with data integrity.