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What exactly to do

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onetwenty8k

2[H]4U
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
Messages
2,554
During the holiday, I want to wire my case for style. Currently it is a jungle and I want to make it clean. I am going to take out everything and start over and make sure the wiring is completely out of the way. I don't have a dremel, but I do have an electric saw that can cut holes if necessary. Please give me a list of what I need to buy/get/do in order to make my wires disappear. I'm not overly concerned about sleeving, I don't care how the wires look, I just don't want to see them.

Case: Lian Li PC-60 Black
PSU: Antec TPII 550W Not Sleeved
Mobo: DFI Lanparty Ultra-D

Extra Information:

- I have two Hard drives, one PATA, the other SATA. I am considering adding another PATA drive for DVD Backups at a later date if needed.
- I have two optical drives. DVD±RW and a CD±RW/DVDROM Drive.

If you need any more information, please just ask.
 
Materials I used...

Wire loom
Lots of Electrical Tape

What I did? Stuffed all the excess wires behind the motherboard tray by using electrical tape to keep it stuck to the tray, and found ways to route case fans and hard drive power to make it as invisible and unrestrictive to airflow as possible. I still need to make my IDE cables round and loom them, i'll probably do that some time this weekend.

It really helps a TON if you have a case with a side door for the side behind the motherboard, helps a ton for wiring.
 
I would suggest approaching this in several stages. First I would sleeve and prep my power supply so that it is completely finished. Once I had that done, I would place all my components into the system and then approach each device individually as to where the cabling should run, Make carful notes as you go, including how much slack you have in each line. If you need to run an extention line you should figure that out now.

Now, I cannot remember which Lian Li I had back a couple of years ago, but they are all pretty sweet to work with. I think that I would cut an oval into the backplane that is directly in line with where the cables exit the power supply, and about 3 inches from the exit. You want it to be large enough to pass all the cabling through the hole. Once you are through, divide the cables into zones based on what part of the case they are headed to. Liberal use of Zip ties and clips are a good thing. Make some marks in the motherboard tray as to where you might want to make cuts to pass through the power, PCIe, and atx cables. You might also take a look at cutting the pan to pass the ide cables through. I suggest some cablegami with flat ribbon cables rather than the round ones. If you use the round ones, you might want to cut the horrid flared ends from them. That will neaten them up nicely.

The rest is pretty much common sense. Right angles always have a neat appearance. Go to your local electrical supp[y shop and get some adhesive backed clips to hold cables into position. Use electrical tape, and take your time to get a nice clean shape.

Remember, if it cannot be hidden, it must be featured.
 
a soldering iron and some 20ga wire won't hurt either for rerouting those ugly fan wires. clip off the molexes, they're big and ungainly.
 
I've also recently been introduced to the low profile power of ribbon IDE cables. Get Really long cables, and you can flatten-fold the cables to go just about anywhere with VERY little airflow issues.

My current IDE setup is running from bottom of board(where the IDE connector is, under the MB, and up the back of the case, zero affect on airflow, out of the way, and with proper folding, I can get the cable to exactly where I need it to go.

Ribbon cables are only ebil if you're being lazy, if you're willing to work a bit, ribbons are much better for cable management.
 
Can someone direct me to a site where I can get the stuff mentioned? And what I'll need from that site.
 
Buy a huge pack of zip ties (like a 1000 pack of black ones), some heatshrink, sleeving, a 1" hole saw, C moulding, and you're set. all can be had at performance-pcs, or your local electronic stor\e / home depot.
 
onetwenty8k said:
Can someone direct me to a site where I can get the stuff mentioned? And what I'll need from that site.
Click to expand...

You can find most of what you need (wire ties, electrical tape, adhesive clamps) at the local home depot or such. Also, the split corregated plastic sleeving can be useful for moving groups of wires together. Find it at any automotive shop. dry fit everything into it's general position prior to taping and zip tieing.
 
Never under-estimate the power of the twisty tie! :D

They are free and completely reusable. Venture to guess you have received many black ones with corded items. Bread bags are a good source too.
 
Honestly I really don't want to wrap my wires, I just want to make them disappear. How do you people suggest I start? Should I take out everything from the computer (including the PSU, take out all the current zip ties (they're not doing much) and then start all over, cut a hole in the motherboard tray, then proceed to routing within the case with all the components back. The thing is that I have a Scythe Ninja so it is kind of hard to take that thing off.
 
Honestly, to do a really clean wiring job, you really have to plan for it from the get go. I spent maybe 12 hours routing wires/etc trying out different arrangements before I finally decided on the cleanest one. And I'm not real interested in the "no wires visible" as I am in the "No wires in the airflow". My case has no window, and I don't really care how it "looks", I want it clean to cut down on the fan work needed to keep air moving through it, and I want to make it easier to clean in the future.

At the same time, i might post a pick of my system once it gets the last few parts that are on the way, just to show what I mean.

That said, yes, I think to do a wiring job justice, you have to strip the computer, and really plan/arrange the wires before you "install" anything.
 
Okay, and I can plan which Molex connectors can go where. I think during the holidays, I'll make a day project and do that. Shouldn't be that hard and I have the tools and zip ties so I'll see what I can do.
 
definately plan it before you start. Make notes and diagrams on paper. At the very least I suggest you get lots of zip ties and a role of black electrical tape. you will want to protect wires from cut edges and such. Also, spiral wrapping a 4 inch length of exposed wire with black electrical tape will cut down on the noise of air flowing through the wires, and tidy up greatly.

Plan ahead and know what you want to cut in the case and where. You should not have to remove anything if you are careful. But you might want to plan on taping off the bottom or the case if you decide to cut a passage for all the wiring to the backside of the case. And you can remove the motherboard without removing the Ninja provided you are careful (got one on my AT8 32X and no problem. Moved it twice).

To bad you aren't local, I would be happy to help but I ilve in the pits. Up a squirrel trail. We have to pipe sunshine in here.
 
Well, I'll be back in NJ after exams are over. So if anyone is close to there, hit me up with a PM.
 
Well this is an old topic but I didn't do it during winter break, I am doing it now. I've removed everything and I'm going to the Home Depot tomorrow. I gotta buy some electrical tape and I also am going to see if I can pay one of them to cut a chole in the board 3" from the PSU. I'll post pics when I'm done tomorrow. I just want the most amount of airflow. And boy, I had a lot of dust...
 
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