• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

I really hate sleeved PSU cables, but I can't find non-sleeved ones

Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
5,239 (0.75/day)
Location
Ikenai borderline!
System Name Firelance.
Processor Threadripper 3960X
Motherboard ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
Cooling IceGem 360 + 6x Arctic Cooling P12
Memory 8x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3200 CL16
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage 2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
Display(s) 3x AOC Q32E2N (32" 2560x1440 75Hz)
Case Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Logitech G613
Software Windows 10 Professional x64
Remember when PSUs used ribbon cables for everything? Remember how easy it was to route those cables because of their smooth plastic coating and bendiness?

Now we have the "innovation" of sleeved cables. Which get stuck on any sharp edge or protruding screw on a chassis and tear the sleeving and look atrocious while you're trying to route them, and the sleeving makes them stupidly thick and bulky so it's difficult to bend them into the nooks and crannies you need them to go. It also really helps (/s) that the biggest and bulkiest cables (ATX, EPS, GPU) are the ones that get the sleeving.

What happened to good old ribbon cables? I'm talking about the flat ones that we still get with SATA power connectors. I remember years ago I had a PSU that used those cables for everything and it was awesome. They were simple, looked good, and worked well. You can still find such cables on specialist sites like ModDIY e.g. https://www.moddiy.com/products/Corsair-Style-12-Conductor-Flat-Ribbon-Cable-Wire-(18AWG-Black).html but that obviously has no connectors, is 18AWG instead of 16AWG, and is also not in white.

Does anyone know where I can find these mythical unicorns, fully assembled? Or at least where I can buy 16AWG 12- and 4-strand ribbon cable in white?
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
12,015 (1.86/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
What happened to good old ribbon cables?
They got in the way of good air flow through the case. So they did away with them, and frankly, that was smart. Flat ribbon cables could bend, but that also meant they could kink - not good.

If your braided cables are getting stuck on sharp edges, blame the braiding - or the sharp edge.

As for looks, I never thought flat ribbon cables looked good - except, maybe in laptops feeding the monitors where they really served a good purpose.

What you need to do is next time buy a case that supports good cable management.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2020
Messages
9,166 (6.11/day)
Location
Louisianna
System Name Ghetto Rigs z490|x99|Acer 17 Nitro 7840hs/ 5600c40-2x16/ 4060/ 1tb acer stock m.2/ 4tb sn850x
Processor 10900k w/Optimus Foundation | 5930k w/Black Noctua D15
Motherboard z490 Maximus XII Apex | x99 Sabertooth
Cooling oCool D5 res-combo/280 GTX/ Optimus Foundation/ gpu water block | Blk D15
Memory Trident-Z Royal 4000c16 2x16gb | Trident-Z 3200c14 4x8gb
Video Card(s) Titan Xp-water | evga 980ti gaming-w/ air
Storage 970evo+500gb & sn850x 4tb | 860 pro 256gb | Acer m.2 1tb/ sn850x 4tb| Many2.5" sata's ssd 3.5hdd's
Display(s) 1-AOC G2460PG 24"G-Sync 144Hz/ 2nd 1-ASUS VG248QE 24"/ 3rd LG 43" series
Case D450 | Cherry Entertainment center on Test bench
Audio Device(s) Built in Realtek x2 with 2-Insignia 2.0 sound bars & 1-LG sound bar
Power Supply EVGA 1000P2 with APC AX1500 | 850P2 with CyberPower-GX1325U
Mouse Redragon 901 Perdition x3
Keyboard G710+x3
Software Win-7 pro x3 and win-10 & 11pro x3
Benchmark Scores Are in the benchmark section
Hi,
Corsair still sells flat cables with all their psu's think the store sells sets to
Think they're cheap looking frankly I perfer bunched sleeving like evga packs in their psu's
Only the custom corsair cables need wire combs.
 
Joined
May 8, 2021
Messages
1,978 (1.87/day)
Location
Lithuania
System Name Shizuka
Processor Intel Core i5 10400F
Motherboard Gigabyte B460M Aorus Pro
Cooling Scythe Choten
Memory 2x8GB G.Skill Aegis 2666 MHz
Video Card(s) PowerColor Red Dragon V2 RX 580 8GB ~100 watts in Wattman
Storage 512GB WD Blue + 256GB WD Green + 4TH Toshiba X300
Display(s) BenQ BL2420PT
Case Cooler Master Silencio S400
Audio Device(s) Topping D10 + AIWA NSX-V70
Power Supply Chieftec A90 550W (GDP-550C)
Mouse Steel Series Rival 100
Keyboard Hama SL 570
Software Windows 10 Enterprise
Perhaps look for "OEM" PSUs. When I bought my FSP power supply, it was sort of OEM power supply, but at same time it was perfectly standard ATX unit. FSP is still huge in OEM PSU business. There are other OEM brands too, but I'm not aware of them selling such power supplies. The only disadvantage is that they come without any box, meaning no screws, manual, bad, power cable. That also likely means no modular PSUs either.

They got in the way of good air flow through the case.
What? If you route and manage them properly they are exactly the same as unsleeved ones.
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
12,015 (1.86/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
If you route and manage them properly they are exactly the same as unsleeved ones.
Exactly the same? Not even. With a quality case that has good behind-the-motherboard cable management options, you can minimize air flow restrictions - depending on the location and orientation of the motherboard's main power connection. But any way you look at it, a flat 24-pin main power cable is much wider than every round main power cable out there. Therefore, they have a greater impact on air flow. Will there be exceptions? Of course. But anecdotal exceptions don't make the rule.

The question asked was, "what happened to... ...ribbon cables". With that question in mind, I stick to my answer. They "got in the way of good air flow". So for that reason, as well as aesthetics, PSU makers got rid of them.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
12,280 (2.37/day)
Location
Oregon
System Name Juliette // HTPC
Processor Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s) ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s) Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro
Corsair and Super Flower have flat plastic cables with no sleeve. Hard as F to bend but no sleeve. I like to heat them up a little to route them
I used to know where to get cables. I'll see if I can find it

EDIT" Here ya go for custom cables with no sleeve
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 17, 2021
Messages
807 (0.90/day)
Location
People's Republic of Banania
Processor Threadripper 3955WX
Motherboard M12SWA-TF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 4U SP3
Memory G.Skill Trident Z DDR4-3733 (2x8GB)
Video Card(s) 5700XT + 3x RX 590
Storage A lot
Display(s) ViewSonic G225fB
Case Corsair 760T
Audio Device(s) Sound Blaster Z SE
Power Supply be quiet! DPP12 1500W
Keyboard IBM F122
Software 10 LTSC
Remember when PSUs used ribbon cables for everything? Remember how easy it was to route those cables because of their smooth plastic coating and bendiness?
Heh. Remember when PSUs used the proper colours for each wire so you didn't had to poke around with a multimeter every time you wanted to know what voltage each wire had? I do.
I know, "just search for the pinout, duh", but it's easier to see a yellow wire and know it's 12V.

I've grown to hate ribbon cables though, particularly SATA ones as the spacing between each connector is always too much or not enough and that's a problem when you have to plug in 9 hard drives and 3 ODDs, I have to start bending it in weird shapes so that it fits and eventually the wires will simply snap off the connectors.
 
Joined
May 8, 2021
Messages
1,978 (1.87/day)
Location
Lithuania
System Name Shizuka
Processor Intel Core i5 10400F
Motherboard Gigabyte B460M Aorus Pro
Cooling Scythe Choten
Memory 2x8GB G.Skill Aegis 2666 MHz
Video Card(s) PowerColor Red Dragon V2 RX 580 8GB ~100 watts in Wattman
Storage 512GB WD Blue + 256GB WD Green + 4TH Toshiba X300
Display(s) BenQ BL2420PT
Case Cooler Master Silencio S400
Audio Device(s) Topping D10 + AIWA NSX-V70
Power Supply Chieftec A90 550W (GDP-550C)
Mouse Steel Series Rival 100
Keyboard Hama SL 570
Software Windows 10 Enterprise
Exactly the same? Not even. With a quality case that has good behind-the-motherboard cable management options, you can minimize air flow restrictions - depending on the location and orientation of the motherboard's main power connection. But any way you look at it, a flat 24-pin main power cable is much wider than every round main power cable out there. Therefore, they have a greater impact on air flow. Will there be exceptions? Of course. But anecdotal exceptions don't make the rule.

The question asked was, "what happened to... ...ribbon cables". With that question in mind, I stick to my answer. They "got in the way of good air flow". So for that reason, as well as aesthetics, PSU makers got rid of them.
I was talking about ketchup and mustard standard cables, not those weird Corsair flatties. Those are just awful and not standard. And there weren't any ribbon PSU cables ever. Only IDE cables, which were for data only.
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
12,015 (1.86/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
6,875 (1.02/day)
Location
USA
System Name Computer of Theseus
Processor Intel i9-12900KS: 50x Pcore multi @ 1.18Vcore (target 1.275V -100mv offset)
Motherboard EVGA Z690 Classified
Cooling Noctua NH-D15S, 2xThermalRight TY-143, 4xNoctua NF-A12x25,3xNF-A12x15, 2xAquacomputer Splitty9Active
Memory G-Skill Trident Z5 (32GB) DDR5-6000 C36 F5-6000J3636F16GX2-TZ5RK
Video Card(s) EVGA Geforce 3060 XC Black Gaming 12GB
Storage 1x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe (OS), 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB (data 1 and 2), ASUS BW-16D1HT
Display(s) Dell S3220DGF 32" 2560x1440 165Hz Primary, Dell P2017H 19.5" 1600x900 Secondary, Ergotron LX arms.
Case Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s) Audiotechnica ATR2100X-USB, El Gato Wave XLR Mic Preamp, ATH M50X Headphones, Behringer 302USB Mixer
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000W 80+ Platinum White
Mouse Zowie EC3-C
Keyboard Vortex Multix 87 Winter TKL (Gateron G Pro Yellow)
Software Win 10 LTSC 21H2
I really like the cables on my Seasonic 660 XP2 Platinum, they are all flat, unsleeved, and black, with the exception of the 24pin.
1653613804198.png
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2021
Messages
2,623 (2.59/day)
System Name daily driver Mac mini M2 Pro
Processor Apple Silicon M2 Pro (6 p-cores, 4 e-cores)
Motherboard Apple proprietary
Cooling Apple proprietary
Memory Apple proprietary 16GB LPDDR5 unified memory
Video Card(s) Apple Silicon M2 Pro (16-core GPU)
Storage Apple proprietary 512GB SSD + various external HDDs
Display(s) LG 27UL850W (4K@60Hz IPS)
Case Apple proprietary
Audio Device(s) Apple proprietary
Power Supply Apple proprietary
Mouse Apple Magic Trackpad 2
Keyboard Keychron K1 tenkeyless (Gateron Reds)
Software macOS Ventura 13 (including latest patches)
Benchmark Scores (My Windows daily driver is a Beelink Mini S12. I'm not interested in benchmarking.)
I really like the cables on my Seasonic 660 XP2 Platinum, they are all flat, unsleeved, and black, with the exception of the 24pin.
View attachment 248942
I have two Seasonic Focus Gold power supplies and they have the same shape cables. Only the 24-pin mobo cable is sleeved and round.

My memory is a hazy but I believe cables on Nineties-era PSUs weren't flat but they were unsleeved often with multi-colored wires (mostly black, red, yellow and maybe white). Most of the ribbon cables were internal data cables: IDE, SCSI, parallel, etc. Those were nearly always light grey.

Pretty ugly but back then PC cases didn't have tempered glass windows. I remember the first PC cases with windows. They were ugly AF with some small plexiglas pane and a huge rubber gasket in the side panel. But yeah, a great novelty.

There are third-party PSU cable extensions that provide this type of cable aesthetic but you need to find room in your case to accommodate them like this:


One can order a custom unsleeved motherboard cable from places like CableMod.com.

It looks like a Nineties-style rat's nest unless you use cable combs.

Unless you have the right shaped chassis, the flat 24-pin motherboard power cables are rather annoying, particularly with cases that have cable management channels (like the NZXT cases) that are designed for round power cables.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
5,363 (1.04/day)
Location
Gougeland (NZ)
System Name Cumquat 2021
Processor AMD RyZen R7 7800X3D
Motherboard Asus Strix X670E - E Gaming WIFI
Cooling Deep Cool LT720 + CM MasterGel Pro TP + Lian Li Uni Fan V2
Memory 32GB GSkill Trident Z5 Neo 6000
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ OC RX6800 16GB DDR6 2270Cclk / 2010Mclk
Storage 1x Adata SX8200PRO NVMe 1TB gen3 x4 1X Samsung 980 Pro NVMe Gen 4 x4 1TB, 12TB of HDD Storage
Display(s) AOC 24G2 IPS 144Hz FreeSync Premium 1920x1080p
Case Lian Li O11D XL ROG edition
Audio Device(s) RX6800 via HDMI + Pioneer VSX-531 amp Technics 100W 5.1 Speaker set
Power Supply EVGA 1000W G5 Gold
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core Wired
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless
Software Windows 11 X64 PRO (build 23H2)
Benchmark Scores it sucks even more less now ;)
The Enermax Revolution XT II has flat cables as do Corsair and Seasonic and Silverstone so there's plenty of choice there
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
Remember when PSUs used ribbon cables for everything? Remember how easy it was to route those cables because of their smooth plastic coating and bendiness?

Now we have the "innovation" of sleeved cables. Which get stuck on any sharp edge or protruding screw on a chassis and tear the sleeving and look atrocious while you're trying to route them, and the sleeving makes them stupidly thick and bulky so it's difficult to bend them into the nooks and crannies you need them to go. It also really helps (/s) that the biggest and bulkiest cables (ATX, EPS, GPU) are the ones that get the sleeving.

What happened to good old ribbon cables? I'm talking about the flat ones that we still get with SATA power connectors. I remember years ago I had a PSU that used those cables for everything and it was awesome. They were simple, looked good, and worked well. You can still find such cables on specialist sites like ModDIY e.g. https://www.moddiy.com/products/Corsair-Style-12-Conductor-Flat-Ribbon-Cable-Wire-(18AWG-Black).html but that obviously has no connectors, is 18AWG instead of 16AWG, and is also not in white.

Does anyone know where I can find these mythical unicorns, fully assembled? Or at least where I can buy 16AWG 12- and 4-strand ribbon cable in white?
Seasonic use ribbon cables

I really like the cables on my Seasonic 660 XP2 Platinum, they are all flat, unsleeved, and black, with the exception of the 24pin.
View attachment 248942
My PSU and focus line are the same way.
 

Chloefile

S.T.A.R.S.
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
10,879 (2.64/day)
Location
Finland
System Name 4K-gaming
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite
Cooling Custom loop (CPU+GPU, 240 & 120 rads)
Memory 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury @ DDR4-3466
Video Card(s) PowerColor RX 6700 XT Fighter
Storage ~4TB SSD + 6TB HDD
Display(s) Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case Fractal Design Define Mini C
Audio Device(s) Asus TUF H3 Wireless
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse Logitech MX518
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO
VR HMD Oculus Rift CV1
Software Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores It runs Crysis remastered at 4K
Haven't those "liquorice mat" cables been a thing for ages? Even Corsair HX620 from 2006 had its modular cables as ribbon ones, the hardwired ones were mustard and ketchup though.
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
Haven't those "liquorice mat" cables been a thing for ages? Even Corsair HX620 from 2006 had its modular cables as ribbon ones, the hardwired ones were mustard and ketchup though.
For me Since 2014 when I jumped from my Athlon XP to the Sig Rig.
 
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
3,472 (0.55/day)
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
Processor Ryzen 5700x
Motherboard Gigabyte X570S Aero G R1.1 BiosF5g
Cooling Noctua NH-C12P SE14 w/ NF-A15 HS-PWM Fan 1500rpm
Memory Micron DDR4-3200 2x32GB D.S. D.R. (CT2K32G4DFD832A)
Video Card(s) AMD RX 6800 - Asus Tuf
Storage Kingston KC3000 1TB & 2TB & 4TB Corsair LPX
Display(s) LG 27UL550-W (27" 4k)
Case Be Quiet Pure Base 600 (no window)
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1220-VB
Power Supply SuperFlower Leadex V Gold Pro 850W ATX Ver2.52
Mouse Mionix Naos Pro
Keyboard Corsair Strafe with browns
Software W10 22H2 Pro x64
Most cables suck. I’d like to have something like sjoow extension cord. Round. Very flexible. Just use them forever.
 
Top