Cable Management, In Case and Out

[ProfessorUtopia]

This doesn't have to do with case modding directly, but it is a question for Case modders... I think

I'm getting ready to build my first PC (Not right this second, but in the next week or so) and one of the issues I'm curious about is how serious PC builders manage their cables... especially ones who are concerned with cooling and esthetics. I'm buying some Thermaltake 18" round cables to replace the ones that come with my mobo, but looking at the issue now it's becoming quickly apparent that I'm still going to have some in-case cable concerns. My case is, or rather will be, a Lain-Li Black Mid Tower PC-61.
Eighteen inch cables, as well as my PSU Cables (Thermaltake 420 W Pure Power) could be considered generously long for a full tower PC. So I'm concerned that I'm going to have a lot of extra cable hanging around, possibly making it harder to work in my case (should I need to) and impeding cooling. That brings me to my first question; How do you guys manage cables in your cases, and are there any products you could recommend to help do it better? (My plan was to use zip ties, but I'm hoping there's a better way)
As far as out of case goes, I don't see how I couldn't have problems there. From power, to speakers, to printer... that's going to be a mess. I guess that's one of the drawbacks of switching from a laptop to a desktop Anyway, the desk I'm buying is very open, and I'd really rather not have a lot of junk hanging around back there. I'm buying a wireless mouse and keyboard, so that should help a bit, but any other suggestions you guys have would be appreciated

Thanks!

[mc2phat]

I use black spiral wrap for the cabling outside of the case. I can't remember exactly what sizes, I believe 3/4 inch for all the power cords and 1/2 inch for everything else. I buy it at an electric supply store, I eyeball it and buy the size I need. here is a link for you, they actually have some measurements and recommendations:
http://www.bestbyte.net/Category.cfm...yID=9&Keyword=

The UV reactive stuff would add a nice touch to the inside of your case.
The computer desk my daughter is using was bought at staples and the frame is made of metal tubing, which provides a nice framework to attach the cables to with zip ties and hide them a bit.

[Vigo]

Electrical tape has recently become my new best friend. Ive been using it to spiral wrap shredded ide cables, led/misc wires, power cables; as well as using it to tape wires and cables to the chasis to hide them (especially cables I'm not using- like loose power cables).

Actually, the power cables have cable ties right now and I'm not sure if i'll cut them and wrap them.

Outside the case I use cable ties when I have them, or supermarket twist-ties. Cheap and work great... though color is usually disgusting, so I use them where they aren't visible.

If you don't want to shred your ide cables and your using ide as opposed to sata, theres some sites with nice articles on the "art" of cable folding. You'd be suprised how neatly you can fold ide cables.

Office supply stores also sell all the little plastic wonders to help manage loose cables outside the box. Anywhere from small bases of plastic clips to wonder of the world cable management "centers".

Look better than those twist-ties.. if.. you want to shell out the cash.

[jimmyrules712]

zip ties are probably the best wya, just cutt off the extra remains. If your case has a mobo tray, it makes this stuff easier. You can usually tuck most of oyur cords behind the mobo tray if you have one.

[Cricket]

I use mostly nylon zip ties and zip tie anchors to manage the wiring inside and outside of my computers.

Cricket

[Tin]

i have a TT 480W and the power leads are very long. in my Lian Li PC60...i just tuck the unused cables behind the motherboard tray. one thing you can put on your power leads is the split loom commonly used to dress up car engine compartments. you can buy it from the autoparts store in many colors. i pay about $3 for 10ft of it. juts wrap it over your wires and use zip ties to secure it.

[flanzig1]

Electrical tape is not very good for cable management in the long run. With the heat in the case, the glue on the tape will soften and stick to wiring and the tape will come off by it self.

[Designer]

If your power supply (like my missus' PC) has loads of excess cabling and it's miles too long then you might want to consider cutting it back a little. I desoldered all the excess wiring leaving just one spare female molex (for any further upgrades) and binned the rest. As for the existing wiring, I just cut the cables back one at a time and soldered them back together, put heatshrink over the joints and covered everything in braided sleeving

[inflames988]

ive been battling with this issue quite a bit--one of the bad things about having a case window. the 18" cables are slightly long, i have a mid tower ish case, but they arent super long...i dont think u can get anything shorter unless it only has two connectors (i did that w/ a 10" for floppy). In terms of PSU, i tried using some stuff from www.svc.com (cheap round cables, cable management, cooling stuff), but i bought it too small, its basically just a type of plastic sleeving that expands to fit around bigger stuff and u can shrink wrap the ends to make it look nice or probably just put zip ties on it. It does fray though and comlpetely falls apart if u cut sections of it too short. Id also recommend getting a few sizes, as the 1/8th inch i got was too small for my PSU cables and was a pain to get on (removing ALL the molex connectors) so i just used zip ties on them. I also have 3 Cold Cathodes in my case, 2 UV ones on the sides of the case, and one blue one on the bottom. i put those all near the bottom so u cant see the cables/they dont create cooling problems. the extra PSU connectors i just threw behind the motherboard tray and above my dvd drive. The real problem for me was the fan and cold cathode connectors (each has one where u plug in a PSU molex connector, then has another connecter that u can plug something else into)....basically i ran 4 fans and 3 cold cathodes off one of the molex connectors just by plugging each one into the next, but that left me with 6 or 7 of those things in my case....i tied them up with zip ties and put them towards the motherboard side of the case behind my hard drives...if i can get my camera working ill take a pic but i dont have hte software for it

[Vigo]

Originally Posted by flanzig1 Electrical tape is not very good for cable management in the long run. With the heat in the case, the glue on the tape will soften and stick to wiring and the tape will come off by it self.

Exactly how hot does your case get?

Probes register about 30 maybe 35 on mine- thats not much above room temperature.

The tape is holding up fine in another case and its been there for a few months. Though, I admit electrical tape is a nuisance in re-applying. Once you peel it off it loses a lot of its adhesiveness.

[idolcrash]

I use split loom, but the main problem is hiding the bulk of unused wires from the window, right now a lot is stuffed into unused drive bays, but a lot still sticks out. I wonder how much room there is behind the motherboard....

[inflames988]

Yea electrical tape shouldnt be that bad. my mobo temps around 27 C (80F) so thats just above room temp...i used electrical tape for a while to make round IDE cables, and i use it to tape stuff behind my mobo, althoug it tends to come off back there.

[ProfessorUtopia]

Cool, thanks for the tips guys.

I'm going to see how zip ties and electrical tape work out in my case. If it doesn't go so well I'll look into other options some more.

As far as outside my case is concerned, I went looking around for a cable management system and I've found one that looks like it might work well. It's a bit pricy for what it does, so maybe i'll wait and see how things look before I buy it...

Cable-Safe

I donno if it'll work well with my desk tho I don't have those funky holes for cords and the edge is rounded.