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round IDE cables

S

Seraphim974

Gawd
Joined
Nov 7, 2003
Messages
928
What manufacturer makes decent round IDE cables. I have heard of data loss and things occuring in round cables so is there a company that makes quality cables? I saw Unincom or something like that on newegg.
 
readthefaq.jpg


Cables: Rounded / Glow in the dark / UV IDE/Floppy cables

http://www.so-trickcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=S&Category_Code=C
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=1&submit=Go&description=round,cable

Cables: Rounding your own
http://www.twistedmods.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=34
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/guides/rc/index.shtml
http://www.gideontech.com/rcable01.shtml
http://www.twistedmods.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=34

as for the data integrety, its been discussed a lot, google it if you like...

ive been using round scsi and ide cables for years and have never had an issue YMMV but with all the people that use them, if there was a problem, you would be sure everyone would know
 
Flemcom, your RTFAQ image need to be a little more fun ;) Maybe an animated gif of something? :)

Under normal use you won't see data loss, but don't run them in a server. (duh)
 
The CoolerMaster Round Cables have a grounding wire to ensure proper grounding and reduce interference and what not. The UTC line cost a few dollars more, but I've never had a single error(at least that I know of...) while using them. I haven't seen any others that do that. I have some cheaper cable that I picked up at CompUSA in an older computer and the quality difference is noticeable. And NewEgg rules!:D
 
Coolermaster UTC are the best. Why not make your own though? It doesn't look hard. Just take a razer, seperate the wires, take two tie wraps put them at each end, then use tape to cover it up. Does that sound hard? it'll save you some cash.
 
These are supposed to have extra shielding but I don't know how they compare with Coolermasters.

Ken
 
From what I have heard it isn't that it is hard to do just takes a bit of patience and a steady hand with a razor blade. If you even nick a wire you bound to cause yourself problems obviously. It doesn't cost that much to buy them and generally they will look better if you have a window case. But don't let me stop you. Just try to stay dead center in the insulation.
 
the low down on rounded cables:

do it yourself: very hard to make it look good. if you nick a wire, you're screwed.

standard rounded cables: for the most part, they are dirt cheap and are pretty good, although the clear plastic on my vantec cables has started degrading (aesthetics here, not performance)

premium rounded cables:
coolermaster: from what i've heard, these are pretty pimp

antec cobra: these aren't so bad, it's the lengths they come in that suck

RD3XP: they seem over priced and from what i've heard, not worth the money.

Guidlines: Minimum length for ATA cables I believe is 10-14 inches. 18 is the maximum. i have the 24 inch cables and not a problem yet. 36 inch is ridiculous.

other alternatives: folding cables. i believe that this, when done right, can be REALLY good looking. the origami that some people are pulling off is really slick, and if you can find black flat ATA cables (i think asus or abit included them with some motherboards), thats even better.

good luck and please ask more questions.
 
i found them on newegg, the coolermaster UTC, search for, i believe, "round ide cable" and on the 3-7the page you will find them scattered around, including a floppy drive one. and sniper, thanks for the info, i was gonna get the largest cables i could find but screw that, ya know. and that is a good idea to simply fold the cables. i have a lian li case without a window so all i care about is pretty much what will function the best. I need airflow but not necessarily good looks. although good looks(cable management, round cables) seem to go hand-in-hand with good airflow. Maybe there is a way to hide the ribbons behind the mobo tray or other things.
 
I had been looking at the cables on svc, mostly due to cost. I read a few reviews on different sites, most of which said the 'generic' brands seemed to work pretty much as well as the more expensive name brands. I think it was like $10.50 including shipping for two 18" dual device IDE and one 18" single device floppy from svc. I know newegg charges $4.00 to ship one, but I'm not sure if that's per or what, I haven't checked.
 
Newegg says that although shipping is quoted by the item, they are given shipping discounts by FedEx(because they ship so much with them). Anyways, add the stuff to your cart and click the 'calculate shipping' button, and you may see a lower than estimated shipping cost.

-EPS
 
I bought the cheap ones from Comp-USA here in town before I had a chance to really look around online. I'm kicking myself everytime I see a $3-5 round IDE cable now since the "cheap" ones I bought were $10 each + tax so like $35 for two IDE and a floppy. *ouch*

As for data quality I had heard that as well. I personally think its just marketing hype and nonsense spewed out by the manufactures of "premium" round IDE cables. Perhapse someday I will do a side-by-side comparison between the two with some IDE dataloss test program. (wonder if there is one of those)

So in my opinion dont bother yourself about dataloss. Just get what you think looks good! :)

I forgot to mention I have seen ZERO ill effects from switching to cheapo rounded cables. This is why I say just get what you think looks good.
 
I use rounded cables in my comp. I dunno what brand they are, but they do have the grounding/interference wires, which I taped to my case's frame. I haven't noticed any real difference between them and the normal ide cables.
 
i forget whose case this was, (Username's?), but he had folded like origami the ribbon Ide cables behind the mobo and had them creep out right next to the drives that they nurture. I would actually like to find some cases that have that done so i can take another peek.
 
Originally posted by Seraphim974
i forget whose case this was, (Username's?), but he had folded like origami the ribbon Ide cables behind the mobo and had them creep out right next to the drives that they nurture. I would actually like to find some cases that have that done so i can take another peek.
Click to expand...

As sad or as interresting as it is (depending on how you feel about Dell) all our new computers we install up here at work are Dell OptiPlex GX240's and the inside of them are actually pretty tidy. The IDE drive is mounted to the top of the desktop case which flips up like you would open the hood of your car (except hinged at the front). They did some nice cable folding in there to get it all to fit. Wish I had a camera up here at work to show ya'll. :)
 
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