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Wire Management Q

P

pibrahim

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 10, 2006
Messages
193
Howdy,

Have stocked up on zip ties to hopefully sort out my mess of wires, but was wondering what else you guys use to make everything so tidy? Do you just use double-sided tape to attach wires to the side of the case, out of view of the window? Or is there something a bit more complex than just stocking up on tape..?
 
Lots of people will make holes in their motherboard tray to run wires behind the motherboard tray and between the right side of the case. Not all cases have enough space for that though. That seems to be the most effective way to clean up wires.

Also, face your hard drives so wires are facing away from the window (if possible), and tuck away any wires you're not using also.

More advanced stuff would be making your own cables and removing uneccesary stuff from the power supply (auxillary connector is a common victim). Getting a modular PSU wouldn't be a bad idea either.
 
If you can't hide the wires most people will use wire wrap or better yet they will sleeve all their cables. Using wire wrap is easier and cheaper but doesn't look as good. Using cable sleeving will require some tools, time, and experience. You will have to remove Molex connectors and the ATX connector. Most sleeving will fit over small connectors like a 4-pin mini or 3-pin fan connectors.

I used a combination of the two in mine. I don't want to take the time to remove all my connectors and buy all the tools.
 
Thanks for the comments and advice guys. I've bought some of that curly sleeving, that you just wrap around the wires - I didn't quite fancy experimenting with the molex tool just yet.

But once the wires are wrapped/sleeved, how do you arrange them - do you just wedge them in empty drive bays, tape 'em to the case walls, that kinda thing..?
 
I tuck what wires I can where, but mostly I leave the power cables hanging out. I used blue UV reactive wire wrap so at least it looks better than just the black wrap which is what I had in my last system.
 
on my windows machine, i cut all of the wires coming out of the power supply, and re-soldered them to a better length for the 24 pin plug, so it wasnt long. i ran wires for the hard drive, dvd drive, and case fans. everything is totally hidden, or under the motherboard. mounting the hard drive backwards isnt really a possibility in this case, so the only wires you see are the ide cables and the molex connectors, but they dont hang down at all. took me quite a while. i dont have that kind of confidence with my dual opteron machine (yet) :)

dualdrop[H]enia
 
I've used split loom to cover small bundles of wires, like the wires from the case front to the mobo header. Sleeving to sleeve the wires, but sleeving is a lot of work. Rewarding, but lots of work. The best way to learn is by a getting a cheap throwaway PSU, the basic sleeving tools and some sleeving material. Google for "sleeving a PSU" You really can only learn sleeving by doing. Learn on a cheap unit you won't be afraid to destroy.

Various types of plastic clips with double sided tape to hold wires in place. You can also use silver duct tape as a quick and easy way to tape wires out of the way. I always try for a case that has a removeable motherboard tray, you can tape extra lengths of wires to the back of the tray, and it's covered by side of the case without a window. One of the best places to hide extra wires is the inside top of the case right in front of the PSU.

Go to a Home Depot or Lowes Hardware. Check out the electric wiring dept. Look at all the ways wires can be held out of the way. Be creative and think outside the box.
 
on my old case i turned my harddrives around so that the ide and power connetors were on the front out of view of the window.....sadly my new TT Armor can't do that because of the 120mm fan attahed to the hard drive cage.....but that is okay cause it keeps them super cool
 
Is it ok to run wire's under the mobo?If the wire's touch the bottom of the motherboard will it short anything? I realy want to try it but Im little nervous about this.
 
if i have to tie any wires where they will be seen, i like to use wax coated nylon ribbon, because it looks neater than a zip tie. check your local aircraft maintenence supplier for it. or order from Spruce Aircraft. you just wrap it around a bunch of times and tie both ends together in a knot. neat, and professional.
 
I have all my wires tucked out of view of the window. My case doesn't have enough space to REALLY hide the wires.

You can just get invisibility paint too.. :p
 
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