SFF PSU/Cable modification.

[DeathPrincess]

I'm planning on building a mod based on a SFF case, so I wan't the innards to be neat and presentable. It takes a full size ATX, but of course this means reems and reems of cabling, which, though not normally a problem, becomes so when working in such a small space.

So i'm intending to shorten all the cables down to the optimum size, to save space and increase airflow etc. Is there a preferred method to doing this other than snip the cables and solder, tape? I've got an old PSU to play around with.

Then, i've never seen one sold, but is there such thing as a switching sata (data) cable? For example, if you had a system where all SATA plugs were full, and the PCIe slot was taken up. You wanted it so by the flick of an externally mounted switch you could alternate between a rarely used DVD drive and a HDD or between a pair of different OS holding HDDs (not during use). I know you could use USB externals, but this isn't quite so neat or fast. Or could just switch the cables manually, but the case is a PITA to open (6 screws and remove the PSU to get the the plugs). Is this availible or doable?

 

[Synomenon]

Cut cables to the proper lengths, crimp new pins on and put new connectors on. Better than cutting and soldering the ends back on.

 

[jeremyshaw]

Cut cables to the proper lengths, crimp new pins on and put new connectors on. Better than cutting and soldering the ends back on.

yep, I'm doing something similar for my AX850

 

[DeathPrincess]

Makes sense, thanks! Would be much neater too without the mass of tape and cables between. Would also be able to replace the connectors...and the braiding/heatshrinking would be easier.

Oh, one thing I forgot. As i'm going to be doing 2 branches of SATA for sets of drives and 1 of molex for acessories. As i'll be converting molexes to SATA, do you know if there are any drives that bother with the orange/pink 3.3vdc yet, or is it not worth bothering with? The drives i'm using are Samsung F3/4s (mind blank and have forgotten which the label only lists +12 and +5) and SSDs (all the 2.5" drives I have use +5 only according to the label). I'm just thinking about future compatibility.

 

[Machupo]

Makes sense, thanks! Would be much neater too without the mass of tape and cables between. Would also be able to replace the connectors...and the braiding/heatshrinking would be easier.

Oh, one thing I forgot. As i'm going to be doing 2 branches of SATA for sets of drives and 1 of molex for acessories. As i'll be converting molexes to SATA, do you know if there are any drives that bother with the orange/pink 3.3vdc yet, or is it not worth bothering with? The drives i'm using are Samsung F3/4s (mind blank and have forgotten which the label only lists +12 and +5) and SSDs (all the 2.5" drives I have use +5 only according to the label). I'm just thinking about future compatibility.

Another vote for just cutting, crimping, and putting connectors on (if you've got a connector removal tool, you can reuse the connectors too), much easier than soldering -- I had to learn the hard way, lol.

I don't know of too many drives that use the 3.3v rail -- it was supposed to be a move that they were all going to make but it seems that a couple years ago they all gave it the middle finger. I wouldn't worry about it -- since SATA connectors are easy snap on / snap off, you can add one later if you absolutely need it.

 

[bastage]

My vote would be for cutting being too damn much work.. just buy a Silverstone Strider series modular PSU & the pp05 short cable kit from silverstone.

 

[Machupo]

My vote would be for cutting being too damn much work.. just buy a Silverstone Strider series modular PSU & the pp05 short cable kit from silverstone.

Unfortunately, typically modular psu's are longer than non-modular psus -- that's the problem I ran into trying to stuff a modular strider into a sugo 06, it's 160mm long whereas the nexus compact is 125mm long. That gives me just enough room to squeeze the antec's radiator into a blowhole config.

Besides, sometimes, even the PP05 kit's cables are too long / don't have the correct plug config / etc.

 

[bastage]

Unfortunately, typically modular psu's are longer than non-modular psus -- that's the problem I ran into trying to stuff a modular strider into a sugo 06, it's 160mm long whereas the nexus compact is 125mm long. That gives me just enough room to squeeze the antec's radiator into a blowhole config.

Besides, sometimes, even the PP05 kit's cables are too long / don't have the correct plug config / etc.

I wouldn't call a 125mm long PSU standard ATX which is what was described int he original post.

 

[Machupo]

I wouldn't call a 125mm long PSU standard ATX which is what was described int he original post.

Nor would I call a 160mm long psu a standard ATX (spec references 140mm length in the figures on the psu design guide). Anyway, it's a moot point as the important part of the spec is height and width, so that it mounts to the case; the length really depends on how much room the OP has.

 

[CMadki4]

I did the exact same thing only I cut out the cables I didn't need, desoldered the cales from the board, cut them to length and resolderd them back in. A bit arduous, but it worked. Then my PSU failed...

 

[DeathPrincess]

Its going to be based off a lian li qo8, which is quite spacious for a SFF. So the maximum possible PSU length is around 16/17cm (a 7 inch graphic card fits without the lower cage removed) leaving some space for cables to excape from.

I looked at the silverstone short cable kit, but all the cables are 35cm/13inches long which would still unfortunately cause a load of spare cables on the 24pin and between the SATA drives. So it seems the cable shortening is unaviodable! The strider series do look good. I've always been a corsair (antec) kind of person, but silverstone are a decent brand too. Having 6 sata plugs helps too (most corsair/antec PSUs now only have a 4/5 on the less expensive models). The corsair model I was looking at doesn't appear to be made anymore

This has reminded me i've got a pile of unused modular cables I could practice on/canabalize for sata/molex/PCIe plugs. It looks like no drive manafacturer has bothered with the 3.3v, so nor shall I. It will save 20% of the work per connector too! Ill take it to the first connector and terminate it there, to keep things tidy.

 

[DeathPrincess]

I did the exact same thing only I cut out the cables I didn't need, desoldered the cales from the board, cut them to length and resolderd them back in. A bit arduous, but it worked. Then my PSU failed...

On it's own? Thats always a PITA. I'm assuming the warranty was way beyond voided? I think ill hotwire any PSU and leave it running for a week or two to check for a early death. I've only ever had a single dead PSU.

But this is the kind of thing i'm looking to do (but in purple or black). How tricky is it to desolder the cables? From the pictures it looks like it would be difficult to get the right wires from the mass that's in there . I can solder, but I wouldn't call myself experienced!

How close is the PSU to that shuriken? It looks pretty snug.

 

[CMadki4]

On it's own? Thats always a PITA. I'm assuming the warranty was way beyond voided? I think ill hotwire any PSU and leave it running for a week or two to check for a early death. I've only ever had a single dead PSU.

But this is the kind of thing i'm looking to do (but in purple or black). How tricky is it to desolder the cables? From the pictures it looks like it would be difficult to get the right wires from the mass that's in there . I can solder, but I wouldn't call myself experienced!

How close is the PSU to that shuriken? It looks pretty snug.

Yeah, just gave out. I think it has something to do with the 12v rails. Everything else is getting clean voltage and it spins up, no problem. I'll see if I can't fix it sometime soon.

It isn't too tricky to de/resolder the joints. Looks intimidating from all the wires, but honestly they all just lead to the same places. Of the 48 wires or so I think there are only 30 or so heads inside the PSU. If I were to do it again I'd recommend the pin tool and crimper. Makes it easier to sleeve them too. But if you're doing it on the cheap, do what I did, just without the psu failure.

The PSU is about 6mm off the face of the big shuriken. Yeah... super close. But my temps are good. Lots of air flow in that tiny little case.

 

[DeathPrincess]

Would it be any worse just cutting the cables short and insulating the ends, I don't think I could trust any soldering job I would do enough to switch it on

Do you know what width sleeving a 24pin cable uses roughly? I intend to grab a pin tool (usual supplier has run out as usual, as typical) I'm looking to replace the power connectors for something a little more color coordinated, so they shall probably all have to go (depending on the PSU I end up with trying to find the right price/features).

At 6mm, regardless of tempretures, worry would mean i'd have already reached for the watercooling! Even then it would be tight fitting in the waterblocks/h50 etc! Good to see the scythe slims doing a good job. Just picked up 2 of them!

 

[CMadki4]

If you want to cut mid-cable, removed a length of cable, then resolder, make sure you use heat shrink tubing to insulate. But since you're getting the pin tool, pins and crimper, I would stick to removing the length from the end of the cable and adding your new pins and color-matched plugs.

Not sure about the sleeving width for the 24pin ATX bundle. I know the cheap kit I got from Newegg didn't have one large enough for mine.

H50 won't fit in there. An H70 would or the new Kuhler 620. But I was wanting to spend as little as possible on this as it isn't my main rig. It's a guest rig for people who come over and want to game it up. Hoping to have the GTX260 in there as soon as I replace the PSU with something with a little more umph*.