Wiring cleanup

[ChicagoBud]

First time builder and I could use some help.

Can someone tell me what to do with all the extra power cables on my power supply?

Also, what do I do with all the rest of these wires from the case sound cable that don't seem to have a place on my motherboard?

Finally, any ideas on how to clean up my wiring in general? One thing that really bothers me is how the 2x4 ATX CPU power cable is routed up around the cpu:

Thanks for any ideas. -- Bud

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP
GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4
PC Power & Cooling S75QB
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650
G.SKILL 2 x 1GB DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel

 

[JADCorp]

My case has a little space behind the motherboard. I run all the power supply cables to that void and then bring them back to the devices at the level of each device. Get some small tie wraps and be patient.

 

[leo2kp]

Looks like quite the mess you got there!

I think the best advice I can give is simply "zip ties". They are so freakin' useful. You can use them to bundle up cables, strap them to your case via different holes, create a routing system that can organize everything, and so much more. I would find ways to hide wires in spots that don't effect airflow and that don't smother your parts. You need your PC to breathe deeply!

In your first picture, it looks like your HDD bays are generally open save for the top one. I would figure out a way to hide the bulk of your PSU cabling in there. Figure out the length of cable you need to fit it in there, then bundle up the rest with zip ties.

Your mobo wiring does need help. Sadly you don't seem to have a lot of spots to hang zip ties to route cabling, but there seem to be a couple options for you. I would get small zip ties and see if you can't fish them through the motherboard tray holes that are exposed to lead the CPU auxilary cable away from the heatsink.

What is that extra wiring coming out of your sound-card area? If you're not using that, try wrapping it around the thick black cable that it's coming out of, then zip tie that. For the exhaust fan wire, you may be able to wrap the cable around the fan cage's edge, or wrap it partially and use a small zip tie through the screw hole to anchor it in place.

CPU fan wire: if you find a good way to get the CPU aux cable out of the way, try anchoring the heatsink fan wiring to that cable with a zip tie to get it off your heatsink.

Without seeing the other side of the case it's hard to say what can be done in there. If at all possible, reposition drives to help with cable management too. Also, it's possible that your case wasn't really designed for good management or designed with a modular PSU in mind.

I hope some of this helps, let's see some pics when you've figured it out! Good luck m8.

 

[lcaley]

This is off subject, but I couldn't help but notice your heatsink has an intel sticker on it. Is that the stock heatsink that comes with the QX9650? If it is, it looks like a stock HSF that will actually do some good for a change :lol:

The stock HSF on my E6600 at stock speeds let it get close to 80 at load lol.

 

[oushi]

I've never touched a CM690 personally, so I'm not sure what you can do exactly. But looking at a picture from newegg (click), there's a hole on the motherboard tray next to the PSU that you can feed cables into and then tape the excess wires to the back side where they won't be a bother.

If you have a dremel or some other tools, you can cut holes into your case to further organize your cables. This thread gave me some nice ideas on organizing wires in my Antec 900. I know it's not the same case, but the same concepts will apply: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=126395

 

[rockbyter]

Since you have such a large bundle, you may want to look them up into the 5.25" bays, and tie them in place when they look good. A little electical tape will clean up the audio.

 

[ChicagoBud]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll work on it tonight and get back to you with some new shots...

And yes, that is the stock cooler with the qx9650.... not too bad... -- Bud

 

[ChicagoBud]

First thing I did was flip the power supply over so the bundle of cables is near the board or the back of the case. I think I did a pretty good job of cleaning it up (many zip ties later -- get a bulk pack with a variety of sizes):

I stuffed the bulk of the cables in the drive bay as suggested:

And the back:

The qx9650 running fine with 10x multiplier and 400 fsb (4 ghz) with the stock cooler. Thanks for the help and I'd welcome any other comments. -- Bud



COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP
GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4
PC Power & Cooling S75QB
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650
G.SKILL 2 x 1GB DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel[/quotemsg]

 

[oushi]

Looking a lot better!

 

[jsc]

Great looking first build.

And now, you are telling yourself, "See, that wasn't so hard."