Advice on building a organized and neat PC

Well...This post isn't anything relevant to custom building but a discussion about how to build an organized and neat PC.

I have seen some pros and other people who have years of experiences of PC custom building. Their PC look so gorgeous, neat, and organized...I am just wondering if you guys have any advice that can be offered. Because I have just finished building a PC, and if you open the case, it just looks like a mass, which could be dangerous if there isn't enough room for ventilation.

So it would be great if you guys could offer me some advice.

 

Wire ties are your best friend ;P

You could also route some of the wires behind the motherboard tray or shove some of the bundle into the drive cages. Be mindful that wire management is not just for looks, it affects airflow as well. So keep your wires out of the way of your fans.

 

+1 on the wire ties.

Routing the wires is important with airflow. Plus on some that run over the MB you can throw a couple turns on the connector and that makes it easy to manage the wires. Not too many turns or your break the wires.Cases have cable mgmt for a reason, use it. Modular PS so you dont have a bazillion wires blowing out the side.

 

It would be awesome if there are some pics...I have seen some and they are freaking neat...Esp when you buy those custom built from the vendor or some other local stores.

 

My own rig is well up to the standards of custom vendors, and possibly beyond in some ways. I like to keep a clean, professional look

If you have bundles of wires running to the same spot, some wire loom can help keep them contained and increase airflow. You can also try installing your HDDs backwards and routing all of the cabling behind the drive cages(if there's room).

 

You can also buy SATA cables in just about any length you would need, and with "L" connectors as well...this helps the appearance of the wiring; though I am not sure how much it helps the airflow.

 

While there are obvious no-nos, having untidy cables doesn't harm your PC's airflow (and therefore temperatures) much unless they are actually obstructive. Having a mess of cables somewhere that doesn't see or need much airflow is of no consequence other than being unsightly. Of course, if you have a case with a blank side panel so you can't see in, there's little reason to ensure tidiness other than for your own satisfaction, but if you use a window case to show off what's inside the PC, it's clearly a good idea to try and sort cables out. Different cases have different abilities to hide excess cable, but there is always somewhere to stash excess. As is often said, cable tie the loose sections together and stash them somewhere out of sight. A good place for this if you have a top-mounted PSU is the optical drive area at the front of the case, assuming you have at least one or two spare spaces. Often, cases allow trunking wires behind the motherboard, out of sight entirely. This is good, but only if your cables are long enough to reach. Sometimes cheap adapters look messier than just having a long cable in the way. I intend to tidy my PC up shortly so I may post some "before and after" shots.

 

Sure that will help a lot with pics and everything...When you tidy up your PC, it just gives you kind of like a secure and safe feeling. Not sure if you guys have had such a feeling.

U know what, the wires of both of my aftermarket CPU fans are so not, which gives me a little hard time to ground them behind the motherboard and my PSU is huge with all the wire colossal, and that really occupies a lot of space as well...Or simply there is no way, currently, for me to tidy them and make them organized.

 

A lot of modern cases are a bit more optioned. My Cooler Master HAF 932, for example, has a hole next to the PSU so the entire bundle of cables can be hidden. Even in a tight case, there's quite a bit you can do. As mentioned a lot of the extra wires can be tucked behind the drive bay.

The best advice in this situation would be to completely undo you wiring and rethink your layout. That way you can see how much cabling you really have and decide best where it could go.




This is a good example of wire management in a case without the deluxe options. The second pic is a bone stock Cooler Master Centurion. One of the most basic cases made.

 

My PC at present. I have, albeit briefly, used the 'stuff in optical drive bays' method which works up to a point. However, the cables will need several ties and possibly some rerouting to tidy the place up a bit. Fundamentally, however, they are kept out of the major airflow areas.

 

Good holy god Sam that is terrible. Sounds like you need to rethink your wiring as well. 90% of my cables aren't even showing. Seriously now that's just silly. I can already see loads of ways it could be improved.

I'm gonna have to walk myself to England and slap you around a bit

You'd be surprised how much of a difference proper wiring really makes. There is no excuse for a mess like that in a HAF. Especially considering it's basically one of the best wire management cases ever made.

Sorry to rip on you for it, but seriously, I AM SHOCKED.

 

The main difficulty is trunking fan wires. Realistically, the job needs to wait until I can get hold of a dozen or so 3 pin fan extension cables. As it stands, none of the fan wires really 'fit' so they take rather conspicuous paths - the side fans are obviously in the side panel, so a substantial length of cable is out of shot.

 

Yes but even then you could use some major tidying.

Check my edit. I rip on you some more ;P

 

Rip all you like, because none of the messy areas are visible from the outside

 

This is true. The smaller window on the HAF helps a lot at keeping wiring anxiety down. Unfortunately, or is it fortunately, I have the AMD Edition side panel which is a full window. So my wiring is meticulously clean.

Damn now I really wish I had a camera of my own. My wiring is stupidly tidy ATM.

 

It's unfortunate, as it has no side cooling
A full window on the HAF would ultimately be nicer, but there's no way to get the same sort of cooling out of it otherwise.

 

Yeah, admittedly my temps haven't changed drastically except for my motherboard and HDDs. Even without the side fan though, it was still a considerable upgrade from my Armor. Just a much better case all around.

Not that anything ran especially hot to begin with. I'd like to think my PC is quite well cooled.

Besides, I got it second hand for $100 so I'm not gonna complain

 

I'd been saying that for quite some time

 

I never really disagreed either

The Armor has a close place in my heart, but it uses a very old design(circa 2002/2003) and has very finicky airflow. The HAF is much more modern by several orders of magnitude.

 

If you think sam's case looks bad, you should see inside of mine. Every drive bay is full, so the cables are all crammed into the ~25mm between the drives and the power supply, and the ~30mm space below the bottom drives.