Cable Management Helpdesk

[Thrackan]

Step 1: the one cable going towards your front bays. Tuck is through the top hole shown on pic 2 and reroute it back through the side of the 5.25" bays where you need it.

Step 2: figure out which cables can be eliminated and stuff them through the top hole as well.

Step 3: in order to keep your cabling in 1 place, you could move the HDD's upwards. Reroute the power cables for it like you did with the one in step 1.

Step 4: see if you can route the 24-pin cable in straight lines: From PSU to the front, make a curve inside the 5.25" bays and straight back to the socket on the mobo.

Step 5: front panel (usb) cables. From the front panel, route them through the 5.25" bays out sideways toward the right (seen from the front) and stick them back in the small hole on the bottom. If possible, see if you can even get them through the big lower hole behind the mobo.

Step 6 is a bit personal, but I tend to refrain from tying up bunches of PSU cables. Makes it look like a big knot imho.

Step 7: post new pics to see if we can help you more

[_jM]

also try and take advantage of the holes behind the mobo for your front panel connections and route them behind the mobo and down to the connections on the bottom of the mobo.

[kurosagi01]

this is what i manage to come up with so far as managements:

[welly321]

So guys what do you think of this ??

[kurosagi01]

the bottom looks very messy lol,well it looks messy to me

[freaksavior]

Originally Posted by welly321

So guys what do you think of this ??

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8563/dsc00146fzk.jpg

http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/2083.html

follow that and you'll be golden

[Thrackan]

Originally Posted by welly321

So guys what do you think of this ??

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8563/dsc00146fzk.jpg

Unused PSU wires? Through the hole near the PSU. just keep em on the back of the mobo tray.

Used PSU wires? stick em through there as well if you're using them for anything in the front.

Front panel wires can be directed through the hole in right side of the upper 5.25" bay on top, then behind the 5.25" bays and if length permits, through one of those holes just below your mobo.

Now I know the hole near the PSU isn't that big, but I can fit the ATX, 4-pin, 8-pin and 2 Molex/Sata PSU cables plus a fancable through there. Just make sure to do the ATX plug first

Oh, and bunching up SATA cables is good, but do it after they run out of sight

[beyond_amusia]

my case it a MESS inside - I'll have to take pix and post them later - I've actually considered chopping out the cables I don't use and capping off the 'stumps' with those electritians wire caps.

[Velvet Wafer]

i hope you didnt want to loose any rma rights?^^

[beyond_amusia]

Originally Posted by Velvet Wafer

i hope you didnt want to loose any rma rights?^^

I don't give a crap about RMA rights.. too poor to mail it back anyway, lmao!

[Thrackan]

Warranty is for those who don't trust their own skills when it comes to seriously cutting stuff up

[beyond_amusia]

Originally Posted by Thrackan

Warranty is for those who don't trust their own skills when it comes to seriously cutting stuff up

Amen!

[Velvet Wafer]

if i thought so i had lost exactly 140 euro...i used my legitimate rights, to return not physically damaged hardware to its buying place (in my case a relatively big internet shop), and got my board the third time, now they tell, it was heatbugged,died fast thru it, and i got revision 2.0 board for my old revision 1.0 (which was bugged, but not destroyed thru heat,read further)

i have literally screwed an asus 3870... i hacked several transistors off (with a very pointy, very big and heavy screwdriver),ripping a little line in the red pcb, i bridged them with pencil, and sealed them with arctic ceramique. the card ran half a year before it died. taking the pci-e area of the chipset with it, so not even onboard worked. i wasnt able to rma the card.... but i got my actual board back as replacement^^

[FelipeV]

A few hours and a lot of zip ties later.

[Thrackan]

Nice work FelipeV!

[GeneralDodo]

Tons of great pics of cable management on here.. gives me more ideas! =)

This is actually my first attempt at cable management.. Sometimes it just seems impossible to find a place to put the extra PSU cables. That and with mid-tower cases it's a damn pain to try and tuck them in somewhere out of sight. At any rate, tell me what you think.
Any suggestions on what I can do about the bundle of cables i've got visible there would be nice though.

[Velvet Wafer]

try to reroute the 6v cables from the back through the harddisk-cage to you card, so i did

lol i don't get it whats so hard about cable managment ://
i love doing it... to others

[Ocean Master]

Hi There

Totally new to computers so please excuse my ignorance if I get things horribly wrong.I read that you require a photo etc but hope that my question is so somple to answer that this won't be necessary.

I have an Apevia X - Cruiser case with Fan Speed , Temp and VU dials on front of case. I've wired up all of the internal components and am ready to switch on but there is one connector from the front of the case which is puzzling me. It is the Fan Speed output connector whch is of the 4 pin Molex type but which has only one yellow and 1 black wire.
Specs on this Molex connector are (0.23A 5 Fan Max 1.2A).

Having checked and checked I can find no slot to plug this into.

Can you help maybe please?

System Specs

Motherboard = Asus Deluxe M4A79
PSU = Akasa 850W PowerMax 850
Processor = AMD Athlon x 2 7850
Graphics = Gainward NVidia 9500GT
SeaGate Barracuda 7200 500GB hard Drive

Originally Posted by tkpenalty

After several barrages of PMs for cable management help, I've decided its necessary for this, to improve TPU's system's standards. Here are some instructions:

=============================
Instructions to request and recieve help
=============================
Post request, and post images in a similar way to this, image under, camera angle and image wise (except size, using small image as an example)

http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1350/1.jpg
Several requirements need to be met at the initial image post:
-Image must be clear and unblurred; must have clarity
-Flash MUST be used, to show everything off; remember you need help to repair it, you aren't showing it off, do not leave flash off and post your systems with the neons running; I'll just ignore you
-Image MUST be at least 1024x786 OR 786x1024. Anything lower will be ignored.
-System specifications must be noted
-Images MUST be posted as URL links please refrain from using imageshack/photobucket and use www.techpowerup.org instead.

Recommendations:
-Show both sides of the case, front side of the case (where you usually look) and the back side of the motherboard tray; this will significantly speed things up.

============================
NOTE: Please if you feel that any of my instructions will damage your hardware tell me, I do not want to be responsible if you accidentally tear a capacitor while trying to route something. Safety of your hardware first!

If anyone needs help please ask! Please keep discussion ON TOPIC. One sentence posts that are not of any relevance/constructive. I'll ask a moderator to delete those messages. (a moderator is looking at me in invisible mode!)

============================
Self Help tips
============================
-Vertical/horizontally running wires generally tend to look better
-Pay Attention to how much slack the wire has, if there is no slack then that is good, however make sure that it ISNT under too much stress
-Try to exploit ever nook and cranny of your case to hide the wires, out of the way of an airflow channel
-Check the space behind the motherboard tray, or behind the 3'25/5'25 bays, use cable ties to hold spare cables/cabling (such as DATA cables etcetra) there using the spare holes on unoccupied drive bays.
-If you have IDE, rather than spending money on rounded IDE cables, instead fold your cables, make sure you carefully and neatly fold them as you can damage the IDE cable by just scrunching it, if its too long, fold it back and zip tie it, however making sure that the zip tie only is tight enough to hold it in place.
-With unsleeved cables, such as fan headers, try twisting them up. This ensures that they will be bunched together and overall look better, however do not overdo it as you may end up doing damage on the wires; too much stress.

============================
[i]Purchase Tips[i]
============================
-Stay well away from cases that have been proven to have poor cable management. One recommendation, if you have a look at Antec, their Plus View II, SOHO file server; there are many cases based off that chassis; that kind of chassis is generally poor for cable management
-Tall cases make it difficult for cable management thanks to the massive space between the PSU and the motherboard
-Make sure to purchase a PSU that uses either mesh sleeving or the flexforce type of wiring, especially the flex force as they are very thin in comparison to meshed, and unsleeved. Either option will ensure that your cabling looks cleaner and more professional. Moreover, sleeved/flex force wires are less aiflow impeding.
-Modular PSUs are a good choice, however in some cases such as the RC690 or Cosmo 1000, they aren't necessarily the best choice as their cable management features greatly negate their advantage

============================
Bad cases for cable management (without modding)
============================
-Antec P180
-Antec PLUS VIEW, or any case based off that chassis
-Thermaltake Soprano, VX, etcetra
-Coolermaster Stacker 830

============================
Recommended cases
============================
-Antec SOLO/Sonata PLUS/Sonata Designer (the same case) - Cannot fit some ROG boards, but very tall standoffs to allow many cables to be routed under
-Coolermaster RC690
-Antec 900 (latest revision with cable management features)
-Coolermaster Cosmo1000
-Coolermaster Centurion 5 (requires a hole next to the PSU for the case to really be good, at stock it is fairly decent, but not near impressive, howver with the easy mod, the case is an excellent choice), or any other case that is based off this (most gigabyte cases, Coolermaster Mystique, etcetera)
-Apex PC series (Generic, very cheap on newegg with good quality)
-Lian Li VCool Series
-Ultra M988 (yay for the power grid block)
-Thermaltake Armor/Kandalf

=============================
Recommended Motherboards
=============================
Generally, do not purchase motherboards with the 24 pin power towards the rear of the board, best only to purchase motherboards with the 24pin power on the normal positioning (right of the RAM sockets). Take note of where the front IO cables are, they are best at the bottom edge of the motherboard, and not somewhere in the bottom half of the motherboard. SATA headers which are angled from the motherboard are something to look out for, they are far neater in comparison, and basically hide your cables (in some circumstances the traditional SATA layout looks better.

Recommended boards:
-DFI current lanparty series for Intel and AMD
-DFI Blood Iron series (similar to gigabyte)
-Gigabyte's X38/P35/P31 S series - Simple standard layout, on DS3P/DS4/DQ6, recommended due to full ATX size.
-ASUS Republic of Gamers motherboards with 90* SATA at edge of case, extremely neat for SATA routing.
-ASUS P5K-E WiFi - on edge, but not 90* SATA headers, however supplied with 90* SATA cables so cables can be neated EXTREMELY neatly like on the ROG boards.

. RECOMMENDED 1024x786, IF YOU WILL NOT BOTHER TO DOWNSIZE THEN POST THE IMAGES AS LINKS[/b]

[Thrackan]

Originally Posted by Ocean Master

Hi There

Totally new to computers so please excuse my ignorance if I get things horribly wrong.I read that you require a photo etc but hope that my question is so somple to answer that this won't be necessary.

I have an Apevia X - Cruiser case with Fan Speed , Temp and VU dials on front of case. I've wired up all of the internal components and am ready to switch on but there is one connector from the front of the case which is puzzling me. It is the Fan Speed output connector whch is of the 4 pin Molex type but which has only one yellow and 1 black wire.
Specs on this Molex connector are (0.23A 5 Fan Max 1.2A).

Having checked and checked I can find no slot to plug this into.

Can you help maybe please?

System Specs

Motherboard = Asus Deluxe M4A79
PSU = Akasa 850W PowerMax 850
Processor = AMD Athlon x 2 7850
Graphics = Gainward NVidia 9500GT
SeaGate Barracuda 7200 500GB hard Drive

Hi and welcome!

If the plug you mention looks exactly like a Molex 4-pin, I suggest you wire it up to your PSU (Power supply unit).
Yellow and black are the typical lines for 12v (yellow = 12v, black = ground) and, if I am guessing correctly, this connector is used to power up your Fan Speed thingy.

If your fan speed thingy has knobs and can actually control fans, it is not all too uncommon having to plug in a molex on it.

[Ocean Master]

Hi Thracan

thanks for the very quick reply. I thought the same as you did but I'm still very wary that I've already connected the 12v Molex Connector for the fans.This Molex Connector has an off-shoot which is labelled as an Output (0.23A 5 Fan Max 1.2A).

My best guess is that this is for the actual speed of the fans in the case and somehow needs connecting to the motherboard perhaps?

Thanks
Ocean

Originally Posted by Thrackan

Hi and welcome!

If the plug you mention looks exactly like a Molex 4-pin, I suggest you wire it up to your PSU (Power supply unit).
Yellow and black are the typical lines for 12v (yellow = 12v, black = ground) and, if I am guessing correctly, this connector is used to power up your Fan Speed thingy.

If your fan speed thingy has knobs and can actually control fans, it is not all too uncommon having to plug in a molex on it.

[Thrackan]

Originally Posted by Ocean Master

Hi Thracan

thanks for the very quick reply. I thought the same as you did but I'm still very wary that I've already connected the 12v Molex Connector for the fans.This Molex Connector has an off-shoot which is labelled as an Output (0.23A 5 Fan Max 1.2A).

My best guess is that this is for the actual speed of the fans in the case and somehow needs connecting to the motherboard perhaps?

Thanks
Ocean

Hmm, I can see 2 options then:

1: the connector has female pins (like a normal PSU molex connector) and is directly connected to the connector you used for your fans. In this case it's just an extension so you don't "lose" a molex by plugging in your fans.

2: the connector has male pins. In this case it's most likely you need to plug a molex in it to power *something* up.

If you could provide a pic it would be helpful.

[Ocean Master]

Hi

Pics attached .Apologies the quality is not so good.

1. Left Molex is the Output Molex , Right Molex is the Power Supply to the Front Panel

2. Pic of Left Molex showing Female connectors x 2

3. Pic of front panel

The front panel has a speed control dial which controls the fan speeds within the case.All fans are/can be linked to this one connector and each fan is then runs at exactly the same speed.

Thanks again for the help

Originally Posted by Thrackan

Hmm, I can see 2 options then:

1: the connector has female pins (like a normal PSU molex connector) and is directly connected to the connector you used for your fans. In this case it's just an extension so you don't "lose" a molex by plugging in your fans.

2: the connector has male pins. In this case it's most likely you need to plug a molex in it to power *something* up.

If you could provide a pic it would be helpful.

[Thrackan]

Hmm, I need to take a closer look. Does the manual say anything by the way?

[Ocean Master]

Hmm

I wish it did.The one thing missing with the case when it arrived was the manual!!!

I've not been able to locate the manual online yet , although I've been looking hard.It would be great if I could find it , it would probably solve this riddle.

I guess I could still power my baby up and start loading the Windows operating system.As long as the fans are running this should not pose a problem?

Originally Posted by Thrackan

Hmm, I need to take a closer look. Does the manual say anything by the way?