I need some tips on cleaning up my case please.

M

MrHood22

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
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Hey. My case is messy, wires everywhere ~_~

Does anyone have any tips on cleaning up my case?

I don't want to go out and drop $100+ on a nice modular PSU because the PSU I have now is working perfectly.
 
How about posting a picture maybe? We can then point out any area that needs work. Zip ties are your friend! :D
 
I think the best thing you can do is find places to tuck the wires, ie; behind the mobo tay, in empty drive bays, etc.

This is a very tight case and a non-modular psu:
IMG_3064.jpg
 
Edit: Whoops I replied to the wrong poster. Sorry. Moderators please remove this post.
 
Some decent cable management there mate.

tuck those back behind the tray and cages a little though.
 
Thanks, I still have to tie them up and get them to cling closer to the top and re-route the sata hdd cable to completely come from underneath the cage. I was just in a hurry to get it running. :)

I just wanted to show the OP that it can be cleaned up without a modular PSU.
 
Eeee, you'll need some zip ties. Twisty ties don't do a very good job. My advice would be put the power cables you arn't using and hide them in the drivebay aslong as there isn't a fan blowing in there. It wouldn't be a bad idea to put the majority of the wires in the drivebay and then route them to where they need to be from there. BTW, what case is that?... Like delvryboy stated, lots of tucking and hiding.
 
I've had the "cheap" twisties (that I get to close my bread/ect) and i've had them in for a month or so and they seem fine. Will they work alright or will stuff start to melt off? If so, what type of twistie should I get or stay away from?
 
While it doesn't have the same hardware as yours, you can have a relatively clean case with the X-Dreamer II:
IMG_7054.jpg


And here's where I tucked most of the wires:
IMG_7057.jpg


Also, to improve airflow, I highly recommend cutting out the rear grill like so:
IMG_6285.jpg
 
Looks nice danny.


What did you use to cut out the back grill?

Why did you tape up the back?
 
I've got a suggestion for yah , but it's a little work......

Turn your harddives around , so the wires face forwards...It'll allow you to hide em a little easier.

Here's a shot of mine :

newrig25.jpg




:D
 
Well I gave it a shot. I figured I have about 20 days or so before my Mobo comes so i'll mess around with it now so I have an idea how I want it setup once I upgrade.

http://img80.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture004kn2.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture005pw0.jpg
http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture006kp1.jpg


I added in a new fan just for the hell of it. I realize I lose some visual points but i'd rather have (slightly) better cooling. In this picture it looks like the fan is right up against my case but it's about 3 inchs inward.

http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture009fw0.jpg
 
1) Use zip ties to bind unsleeved wires. Wrap the zip tie around the wire every few inches and cut off the extra.
2) Layer your cables. Do your IDE cable first. See if you can fold it flat along the side of the case, and use folds to make it reach the destination.
3) If possible, have the SATA power and PCIE power cables run along the motherboard tray side.
4) 9700NT is facing the wrong way. :/
5) As suggested above, flip your hard drives.
 
I thought that would be the best way to put it since it makes the air blow up towards my exhaust fan. Was I wrong/
 
BrainEater said:
I've got a suggestion for yah , but it's a little work......

Turn your harddives around , so the wires face forwards...It'll allow you to hide em a little easier.

Here's a shot of mine :

newrig25.jpg




:D
Click to expand...


Nice wire sleeving, it almost looks like copper?


Also what cooler is that on your striker.
 
MrHood22 said:
I thought that would be the best way to put it since it makes the air blow up towards my exhaust fan. Was I wrong/
Click to expand...

You should have it facing rearward, that way the air gets pushed through the HS and straight out the rear exhaust fan.
 
delvryboy said:
You should have it facing rearward, that way the air gets pushed through the HS and straight out the rear exhaust fan.
Click to expand...

I was under the assumption that you can either point the air to flow up or down. Is there a way to adjust it?!?
 
MrHood22 said:
Am I not seeing something?

I don't think I can be rotated in 90 degree increments. I think I can only turn it 180 degress. The way it's connected is by push pins. As you can see in the photographs (link below) it can only be faced 2 ways.




Photo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...CNPS+9500+AM2+2+Ball+CPU+Cooling+Fan/Heatsink

Link to cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118004&Tpk=CNPS+9500
Click to expand...

Update: i'm trying to make it go through the heatpipes but I can't seem to get it. Any help on the topic?
 
Alright. After like 20 minutes of struggling, some new cuts, and a AS5 stain on my favorite shirt, it's finally in. I don't see much of a temp difference (if any) but my temps didn't go up so that's a good thing.
 
i got several cuts for putting in a 9700cnps, you are not alone.

also, make sure your fan in the front is intaking as well as fan exhausting in the back so you'll have a better airflow.

edit: make sure your hsf fan is in the right position (a link to my case)
 
Yeah my airflow is fine. In the front I took out the 2 panels hiding my 5.25 drive bay and I put in an 120mm intake and then on the back I have a 120mm exhaust and in the middle is my CPU.
 
What i think you should do is just take apart everything and just start over and that way you will be able to put cables behind the motherboard and you can turn th zalman idk why you cant you just have to take it off and replace it the other way...
pic of my zalman

CIMG3852.jpg
 
i have the coolermaster elite 330. Yes i was also tired of seeing all the wires in my case as this case has no cable managment (what do u expect for a $30 case). I first turned my hard drives around and got my dad to dremel out a rectangle infront of the psu where the wires come out to tuck them behind the motherboard
IMG_0005-1.jpg
 
Pac said:
and i think that's a 9500cnps.
Click to expand...
Nein.

Black nickel, green fan. 9700NT.
9500CNPS is all copper, and was never made into a NVIDIA version. Also, its relatively small.
9700CNPS is all copper.

Just saying.
 
thebeephaha said:
Nice wire sleeving, it almost looks like copper?


Also what cooler is that on your striker.
Click to expand...

Thx ! :D

It is copper.It's 'soft' copper tubing.I remade all the cables from scratch.

---------

That is a thermalright xp-90c heatsink.
 
It is a 9500CNPS actually. The AM2 only version.

As for my case. I'm going to "start over" with it when I do my upgrade in april because i'm gonna have to swap Mobo's anyway. I think i'll also pick up a 5.25 Bay converter (link below) and then move all my HD's up and then remove my HD bays on the bottom. I don't know if I want to pick up a new case though because that's another $70 i'd have to spend plus the case wouldn't be that much bigger then what I have now.




5.25 bay converter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999141


9500CNPS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118004

Looks very similar to the 9700 though.
 
I think you are overdoing it.

Does that case of an blowhole on top with a fan?

If it was me I would remove that bottom (90mm?) fan under the video card. Find the PCI slot plates that cover up the empty slots to improve airflow. Measure the approximate airflow in and out of your case. And match the remaining fans up so that the air is relatively equal.

Just make sure you have a powerful enough 12cm fan in the front and you should be fine.
 
I can't put the covers back on. You have to pull them off not unscrew them so once they're off, they're off for good.

Should I use Duct tape to cover them up or something?!?

Would that converter help much? It would free up 2 of my 80mm's infront of my HD's to push air towards the back.

And yes, on the top of my case is an exhaust fan.
 
alright. I found 2 slot plates from my brothers case and I used those to plug up some holes but I still have 2 slots open. I also took the fan out in the bottom left. I also noticed that someone who posted a picture of how they set their case up had the vent holes in the bottom left (beside the PCI plates) duck taped up, should I do that aswell?

Why is it better to limit the places hot air can escape?
 
MrHood22 said:
alright. I found 2 slot plates from my brothers case and I used those to plug up some holes but I still have 2 slots open. I also took the fan out in the bottom left. I also noticed that someone who posted a picture of how they set their case up had the vent holes in the bottom left (beside the PCI plates) duck taped up, should I do that aswell?

Why is it better to limit the places hot air can escape?
Click to expand...

bump
 
Personally, I think you're overdoing it with the case fans. As for the drive bay converter, I'd advise against it as it would take away space for bundling wires away from your PSU.

As someone else said, turn your hard drives around so the connectors are at the front of the case and not visible from the window. Make sure the wires don't touch the 80mm fans you have up front though.

Check to make sure that you're not using too many PSU wires as well. I know that when I'm adding in new components in haste, I just use any connector I can find on my PSU. Go back and see if you can consolidate one wire with multiple connectors to the hard drives. Also see if you can tape down wires against the back of the case so that they are going straight down and then across to the respective component instead of going across the motherboard.

Finally, a couple of nice pictures would be helpful. Get a couple of shots perpendicular to the side of the case, showing the whole side of the case instead of close-ups at angles so that we can get some perspective. Turn off the flash as well as it just makes metal and stuff overly bright, use some other ambient light instead.
 
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