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My New Cable Management Job

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Mak3

Registered
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Thank you to some of you who recommended a cable management solution for my case. At the time, I did not know that there was actually a purpose for the holes behind my motherboard and that my other side panel came off! (This was obviously my first build.)

So, it has been a year, I picked up a Gigabyte P35 DS3L and I decided to do some rerouting.

BEFORE:
DSC00919.jpg

DSC00921.jpg

AFTER
DSC00934.jpg
DSC00937.jpg
 
Also try putting the extra hard drive cage in there, it really helps to block out the wires behind it and make things look neater. Trust me, I know!
 
B+ Could do better ;) lol. Why not round the PATA cable, then you could really make it look tidy.

You also changed the Heatsink around - is it cooler now?
 
I'd give it a C. This is what you need to strive for:

I agree that the OP can do MUCH more to eliminate the clutter, but I do not agree that we should all strive for a system with little to nothing installed! :) Anyone can manage wires beautifully with just a hard drive installed, but it becomes more difficult when you actually have a computer with a video card, sound card, DVD-RW, CF readers, and more than just ONE fan.

I would highly suggest using the back of the mobo plate to hide more cables, and to "fold" the IDE cable so that it can be routed behind the mobo (also suggest using a an 80-pin, for they bend easier). If nothing is in the direct flow of air, just leave it be, no need to have everything completely tucked away if it adds nothing but aesthetics. Keep the cage out, and route those cables near the fan else where.

bryan d
 
I agree that the OP can do MUCH more to eliminate the clutter, but I do not agree that we should all strive for a system with little to nothing installed! :) Anyone can manage wires beautifully with just a hard drive installed, but it becomes more difficult when you actually have a computer with a video card, sound card, DVD-RW, CF readers, and more than just ONE fan.

I would highly suggest using the back of the mobo plate to hide more cables, and to "fold" the IDE cable so that it can be routed behind the mobo (also suggest using a an 80-pin, for they bend easier). If nothing is in the direct flow of air, just leave it be, no need to have everything completely tucked away if it adds nothing but aesthetics. Keep the cage out, and route those cables near the fan else where.

bryan d

I'll give routing more cables behind the motherboard a try. The problem is that the large 20 pin connector is big one to fit back there and I had a little trouble getting the other side panel on. I'll see if there is more room to fit some of the cables near the fan back there. It really doesn't disrupt airflow, but it would look a lot better.

Thank you for your opinions and suggestions, not just to you, but to everyone.

B+ Could do better ;) lol. Why not round the PATA cable, then you could really make it look tidy.

You also changed the Heatsink around - is it cooler now?

I could do some more wire management. I will try twisting the IDE cable to make it smaller. And I really haven't seen any temperature differences between my old heatsink setup and rotating it 90 degrees. I thought I would give it a try since more people have it setup like that than having it the original way.
 
I agree that the OP can do MUCH more to eliminate the clutter, but I do not agree that we should all strive for a system with little to nothing installed! :) Anyone can manage wires beautifully with just a hard drive installed, but it becomes more difficult when you actually have a computer with a video card, sound card, DVD-RW, CF readers, and more than just ONE fan.

I suggested it is what it should look like with only those items installed. If he could get it to look like that, then add the things he needs, it would still look good.
 
I suggested it is what it should look like with only those items installed. If he could get it to look like that, then add the things he needs, it would still look good.

But that's also a different case and the Nine is one of the worst cases to get good cable management in without drilling some holes or gettng VERY creative. There are a few Nine cases here that have some VERY good cable management. baditude_df has his Nine setup pretty well and is very clean. It's always good to look at other peoples management ideas to give you an idea of what's possible. I'd suggest you look here for some ideas.

It does look much better than the initial attempt though. :beer:

Axis
 
my last 3 setups.
Picture045Large.jpg

better example. however gfx needs to no external power. but thats a cable or two.
 
a good tip with IDE cables. try wrapping them around the motheboard itself. The standoffs will give you enough room to fold the cable inbetween the mobo and mobo tray to come out to your optical drive.
 
it's really tough to make those fatass IDE cables ever look good. If you want a pretty computer, get a SATA dvd burner like me ^_^
 
It's not a bad job. Does it look phenomenal? No. Is it functional? Yes. The whole point of cable management IMO is to maximize airflow. It looks like your intake is mostly unobstructed and your exhausts are fine. Good job but you could do better for bragging rights.
 
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