Machine-made rounded cables - any probs?

[MichaelD]

In a previous thread, I posted that the only difference between regular and rounded IDE cables is the price. I now respectfully ask you to pass the ketchup, so I can eat my words. There is a difference.

I found this out last night when I built my new rig. 2 CDR's and 3 HDs what a freakin' MESS! I'm gonna go into my profile and rename my rig Zip Tie Hell! Between all the power wires and IDE cables, I used more than 30 zip ties! With 3 IDE cables neatly bundled and zip tied it looks ok. With 5 IDE cables, it's all bulky and all over the darn place. Yuck.

Has anyone tried MACHINE-MADE rounded cables and NOT liked them? Are there any performance probs? Where did you purchase yours? Thanks much.

 

[skace]

I bought 2 machine made ones awhile back... can't remember from where - I will get that info for you if you want when I get home. They work nice, but they arn't as skinny as I wish they could get them to be. As far as problems - none. Er, I guess the only problem is that they are a damn waste of money. They barely saved me any room Sure they look nice, round, and neat. But you slap them in there and they take up almost the same ammount of room.

 

[MichaelD]

I found the thread from yesterday that had a link to Plycon. I will probably order from there.

Skace,
Really? They didn't save you any room? The regular IDE cables are always way too long and you can't just leave them hanging as they massively block airflow and would get caught in the fans. So, you bundle them up and zip tie them all neat. Now you have a brick (literally ) of plastic cables! Bah! I figured I could get the nice round ones, tie them togther and I'd be good to go. I guess I'll find out. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Viper GTS]

Ribbon cables are a pain in the ass, here's hoping Serial ATA makes it's debut soon.

Until then, rounding your own cables will probably get you the thinnest possible bundles, since you don't have the plastic sheath around them.

Just carefully cut them into 5 blocks of 8, or 8 blocks of 10, & stack them. Use electrical tape to make a nice square bundle & call it good.

Viper GTS

 

[skace]

I agree with viper: although rounding them yourself doesnt always make the nicest looking cables, they are thinner than the machine made ones.

Oh, Plycon was where I bought one.

 

[lugurbrious]

2 of my HDDs are next to each other and right next to the MOBO connector...I found that the cable didn't bend as well as a normal one would have...I wouldn't say it's a huge problem...since it worked..but it was a bit awkward.

I guess I probably didn't need more than 4-6inches of cable...and the extra 8 inches wasn't as bendable as it could have been.

karl

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks Viper. I'm honestly very hesitant about slicing my own cables...those wires are soooo thin! Also, I've read that stacking right on top of each other causes crosstalk and data corruption. Is this bunk?

 

[skace]

Anyone know what would happen if you took a machine made one and cut the plastic off and replaced it with tightly wrapped electrical tape?

 

[bacillus]

<< Anyone know what would happen if you took a machine made one and cut the plastic off and replaced it with tightly wrapped electrical tape? >>


sort of defeats the purpose of getting machine rounded cables, doesn't it??

MichaelD, you could also try
2cooltek for your rounded cable!

 

[skace]

No Bacillus, because the machine individually strips the wires which would be wicked hard by hand imo.

 

[bacillus]

skace, was meaning it would be a waste to strip open the nice plastic casing just to replace it with tightly wrapped electrical tape!

 

[skace]

Oh, HEH The plastic casing isn't as cool as I thought it would look - the tape would prolly look sexier.

 

[Viper GTS]

I didn't have any trouble doing it by hand.

Basically I scored the place I wanted to divide the cable very lightly. Barely scratch it, &amp; do that several times until you have a bit of a split going. Then use your thumbnails to tear it apart, rather than cutting all the way through with the razor.

I've done ATA66 cables as well as the old 40 conductor cables without problems. Practice first one cable, figure you'll hose your first one.

Once you've done it it's easy though.

Viper GTS

 

[jamison]

I purchased 2 not so long ago, they would not work, so I put the old ones in again (after i tried every combination with the machine made) and they worked.

I decided to stick with the old ribbon cables to save me frusteration.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks everyone. There's a local computer/electronics supply house; I may stop there on the way home. I know for a fact they sell regular IDE cables, but don't know if they sell rounded ones. Oh wait a minute, they invented this thing, it's called a &quot;Telephone&quot;. Duh. Back in a sec.

 

[MichaelD]

Guess I'm getting them off the net. The local store doesnt' have them. Even if they did, they'd probably be really expensive. Bestbyte.com has them for $6. Think I'll go w/them. I'm too chickensh*t to cut them myself. Thanks guys.

 

[SUOrangeman]

I just read a review yesterday comparing flat, self-rounded, and machine-rounded ATA-66/100 cables. All cables performed within a percent or two of each other ... with the machine-rounded ones on top (!).

Lemme see if I can find that link again.

-SUO

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Microcenter sells them here and they look good but I think they are fairly costly.

 

[SUOrangeman]

ATA Cables: Rounded Vs. Flat

-SUO

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks SUOrangeman, nice article!

I've checked Pricewatch and the cheapest rounded ATA100 cables are $6 from Bestbyte.net. These are the plastic-wrapped ones, not the fancy metal ones ($18!) from Plycon.com. Those are sweet-looking though! I looked at the plastic ones on Plycon's page; they cost $16 and they don't look any different from the $6 ones. What's the deal here? Price gouging? Now, those shiny metal ones...ooooooh...ahhhhh! Those are pretty!

 

[MichaelD]

I just ordered four of these from Bestbyte.net. Within 30 seconds I got a confirmation email. Here's a snip:

Order No: xxxxxxxx
Date: 06-21-01

If making payment through paypal, please log in to your account manually and send
funds in the amount listed to sales@bestbyte.net. Be sure to include your order number.
If you have any questions regarding your order please call us at 281-829-9714 or
email sales@bestbyte.net.

Thank you for your business - we appreciate it very much.

Product Item No Price Units Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round ATA 100 Dual IDE Cable 18&quot; 80wire/ CARI408018D $5.99 4 $23.96
------
Freight: USPS Priority 2-3 Day $5.00
Tax: $2.39
TOTAL $31.35


Nice little confirmation email. Good service. Hopefully the cables are good. I can't see spending $100 for four of those shiny cables from Plycon.

 

[Citadel535]

Thinkgeek.comhas the rounded cables. You are not a geek unless you have checked out the stuff they have!!!

Enjoy!