How To Add Front - Mounted Ports To Your Case

Installing Front-Mounted Ports With The EN-006-TM1

We used our Asus P4T-E 2.2 GHz Pentium 4 test system, housed in an Antec SX1000 case, as our test installation system. This system already has an Adaptec DuoConnect USB 2.0/ Firewire card installed, so we chose to make use of this in our install process. Since the Atech Flash Pro II multi-format flash card reader was already connected to the USB port on the motherboard, we elected to run all of the cables out the back of the PC and connect them that way. However, since the DuoConnect offers internal connections on the board itself, we could have opted to connect the USB and Firewire connections internally. As you will see below, we had other plans.

First, since the Antec SX1000 case uses rails, we had to mount rails on to the EN-006-TM1. This was a painless process and we encountered no problems adding them onto the EN-006-TM1.

After the rails were mounted on the unit, we attached the cables to the EN-006-TM1 to determine how the cables attached to the unit. After doing so, we found that we were going to have a lot of cables to route through the PC. Since we didn’t want to obstruct airflow or make a mess inside the case, we needed to find a solution to help keep better control of the cables.

Of course, we could have elected to use standard wire ties to hold the cables in place, but if you have a window on the side of you case (or you just don’t generally like a cabled mess, like us), then you need a better solution. We found this solution in the automotive world, and it goes by the name of a ’wire loom.’ Wire looms have been used in the automotive industry for sometime. ’Case Modders’ (those who modify their PC cases) have found that this idea also works very well in controlling the tangled mess of cables that are inside a PC. Now available in a variety of colors and styles, wire looms not only manage the cabled mess inside, but, if you happen to have a side window in your case, it also makes the sight of the insides of the PC much neater.