Modular is a pain in a small case.

[Slacker]

I got a nice deal on a dell inspiron i530 (c2q q6600) a couple years ago and have added a few things, It is a very small case. I barely managed to fit a gtx465 in there and added a second hard drive.

So, I'm going to put together a new system soon and got the power supply as sort of the foundation of the new build, a sparkle scc-750af, very nice piece.

When I went to install this thing, the first pain was that the braided cables are too damn stiff, heavy wires and stiff braiding in a small case = pita

Then, the modular connections are on the back, pain to get to and interfered with the dvd drive, had to remove the drive to mount the power supply and had to find the right arrangement of sockets to use to for the drive to fit back in place, had even more trouble getting the drive plugged in with no room to work.

Last issue was that this power supply was a bit longer than the Antec it replaced so the notches in the panel the motherboard mounts to didnt fit.

I got it in there, it was a struggle though.

so, maybe right angle plugs for the sockets or a dongle style setup would have helped, as for the stiff cables, they are nice and all, but not in a small case.

 

[llee]

cable management in general is more difficult with smaller cases

 

[mrhdream]

I agree, its a pain to deal with a small case. I had similiar problem with Dell Studio XPS 8000. I did go with a modular design and feel that it was def. a worthwhile investment, I can't imagine it not being modular, with the extra load of cables that would be there, not feasible. I think going modular was a sound choice.
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd488/mrhdream/IMG_0225.jpg

 

[Lobo56]

I do like modular psu's, as when the build is complete you don't have any extra cables taking up airflow space, HOWEVER I hate making changes to my PSU. I have small hands but even then have to struggle to add in another power lead for another hard drive or what have you. But as was pointed out, this is more of a case/space issue than an inherent disadvantage of a modular PSU system.

 

[heymrdj]

I don't see where the PSU is the problem, they are to a standard. I see trying to modify an OEM chassis for a gaming rig being the problem.

 

[Bryf50]

Once you go modular you don't go back.

 

[killster1]

right angle sounds good, cant blame a psu for being bigger as bigger ones usually better, one modular psu i used in small case i bought special shorter cables for, helped

 

[jiffylube1024]

What brand of modular PSU? Different brands' modular cables feel different, some are stiff and take up lots of space, others are less stiff and less bulky and shorter.

The Original OCZ ModStream 520W PSU was infamous for having super stiff cables (even the main ATX cables) and was a chore to route. You can see in the pictures even that they didn't go with a traditional braid, but some kind of hard plastic material:

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Power-Supply-Units/OCZ-Modstream-520W-Review/

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I notice in pictures that on your sparkle, the modular connectors protrude a bit from the PSU. It's not like that on any other modular PSU I've used - Enermax, OCZ, Antec... That combined with stiff cables could be a pain.