First build ever - need opinions on my cable management, ect

[goaskalice00]

Hey all,

I literally just finished my first computer build. I'm pretty wiped... took the entire day.

Anyways, everything seems to be perfectly operational, but I still have a few questions about my cable management, and something peculiar about my hard drive/first boot up.

I used the hard drive from my old computer, which already had Windows XP installed. I was told that I would not be able to use the operating system on my new build, but upon my first boot up, Windows XP launched, with all of my old data and everything. There was not bios configuration, nothing. It was just like started up my old computer... except 10x faster

Also, I had a good deal of trouble closing the back side panel of the computer case. I routed as many cable as I could through the back panel, and ended up having to rearrange a few times to allow the side panel to actually close. It still takes some pressure to close, but it works. However, as a result of all this routing, all of my cables, from both the PSU and case, are tightly bunched up together in the back. Is it okay to have all the cables bunched up like this?

I will post pictures tomorrow so you can all see the result of my work. For now, it's time for a hot meal and deep sleep :lol:

Thanks

 

[vx53c]

yes all is good. you had better re-install your OS. You can use your old serial number but really, if you changed your motherboard then just re-install.

 

[goaskalice00]

PICTURES! Sorry for the poor quality. The only camera I own is on my old MacBook.

Please tell me what you guys think, honestly. I want my rig nice and healthy, if you see something off, let me know. As you can probably tell, there were some cables that I could not route through the back, and had to plug into the mobo through the front of the case. However, I was still able to route most. They are really bunched up in the back, and I'm wondering if thats acceptable. I had to push down a bit on the back panel to get it closed. It bends very, very slightly as a result, but not in any way perceptible by the passing eye. It's hardly noticeable even when you're looking for it.

 

[metal orient]

Why didn't you use the space behind the motherboard? Looks like you have a fair bit of space there.

 

[goaskalice00]

a lot of the cords would not stretch that far, and the bulkier cables needed to be in the areas where it was indented. however, i could have definitely moved a few of those towards the board. i guess it made me nervous to put anything under there, lol. i may make some adjustments later. do you think my current arrangement is okay for now?

 

[metal orient]

Yeah it's fine, You have the majority of the cables stashed away out of the way and i don't think your case really allows any more way to tidy up.

Mine is fairly tidy, apart from around the PSU, but i figure it's good for a first time.

 

[vx53c]

which case is this metal orient? I love it

 

[metal orient]

Antec P182

 

[goaskalice00]

You're right, my case unfortunately didn't have enough openings for my to route all of the cables from behind, most notably there were no openings near the top of the case, and the cables that needed to be plugged in there were not long enough to come through any of the other openings, so I had plug them directly in, hanging in front. Also, in retrospect I should have gone with a modular power supply. As you guys can see, I have one of the power cables for the MOBO hanging right through the middle of the case. It's touching the side of my GPU, is that okay?

Great looking build though MO, I'm interested to see how it looks from behind.

 

[metal orient]

I don't know, i did see that and wondered, as GPU's get a little toasty, maybe hold it against the back of the case with some clips?

This sort of thing, has a sticky back:

 

[goaskalice00]

Sweet, I will check that out. There's an opening near the bottom of my motherboard that I've been considering routing wires through. I've been hesitant because the wires would be touching the edge of the board itself. Is this alright?

 

[jsc]

If the edges are rounded (more and more common on the better cases) or protected somehow.
Window molding
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5096/mol-04/Slim_C-Strip_FanWindow_MoldingGrommet_Edging_-_Black.html?tl=g44c355s338

You can route the CPU power cable behind the motherboard tray with an extension cable:
Extension cables
http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g44/c34/s276/list/p1/DIYMod_Parts-Wire_Management-Extension_Cables-Page1.html

You can also cut holes in the case itself if you need to.
Antec 900 case mods for cable management:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/264112-28-antec

I also drilled a few holes in the bottom of the case to tie down unused cables.

 

[delluser1]

As you guys can see, I have one of the power cables for the MOBO hanging right through the middle of the case.

Even if you can't run the cpu power cable behind the motherboard tray , there's no reason to have like you do.
Take a look at this photo, then pull your card, should be able to figure it out from there

http://www.bjorn3d.com/Material/revimages/case/TT_V9/Large/24.jpg

It's a mess and it ain't mine but, hopefully, should help

 

[metal orient]

I was thinking try to do it like this:

Where the white line is the wire and the red bits are the suggested locations for the clips to hold it there. Best for you to decide as you go though.

If your interested in the back of my build:

 

[goaskalice00]

I'm going to make some adjustments. Thanks for the advice.

 

[dodger6936]

I just successfully finished my first build due in large part to all the help here on Toms and other select forums. Thank You for all the help. I was on a budget and I was building a rig that would run a handful of engineering software well and would age gracefully, the rig itself sort of mimicked a gaming rig...Long story short My motherboard, Asus M5A97 and case, Raidmax Blackstorm were not "cable management" friendly. I did managed to make my rig presentable. I used convoluted tubing in 1/4" and 1/2"... Mostly because of cost and because it matched the Corsair Hydro Cooler. I know it's not as nice as braided sleeves but I wasn't feeling up to the task of taking connectors apart.

Here are some before and after pics.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B40Gi9bighWVS1hKdDR4QWxQVkk
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B40Gi9bighWVbGFKMmhDbDhQRVE
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B40Gi9bighWVQllIZ2JIbVBPMFk

I hope this helps someone else with their projects.

AMD FX 8350
Viper Black 2 x 8gb
Asus M5A97 mobo
Raidmax Blackstorm Case