Need help cleaning up my case *warning, it is a mess*

[Spac3d]

Hey guys

I need help cleaning up my case.

Stats on the machine:
6 harddrives
3 optical drives
4 80mm fans
1 Antec TruPower 480 watt powersupply with 3 Y cable splits.

I would like to say in my own defense, I already did rewire my case so it was more efficient with where the wires were going, but there isn't too much I can do at this point of time.

I know that round IDE cables would really help, but everytime I go to look for them, they are way too expensive (like $8 each:Q!). I would need 9 IDE cables sinceI try to give each HD and Optical drive its own channel...

I think it would be cool to have a UV cold cathrode and reactive cables in the case, but I am sure that will be out of my budget.

Thanks a ton in advance:beer::beer:

Spac3d

 

[mechBgon]

Do you really need nine drives? I wouldn't want to be the middle drive in the upper cage, getting heated from above and below with no direct airflow to cool me down :Q

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Do you really need nine drives? I wouldn't want to be the middle drive in the upper cage, getting heated from above and below with no direct airflow to cool me down :Q

All of my 7200 rpm hds have a fan blowing on them. Yes, I do need 9 drives.

.::Free Space::. (40gb C: 3276.86mb) (80gb D: 9154.64mb) (60gb F: 6754.28mb) (200gb G: 78171.49mb) (80gb H: 26473.92mb) (120gb I: 8251.61mb) Total space free out of 580 gb: 128.99G ... but F drive is about to die. So I will be down to 70gb free about.

 

[cheapgoose]

i see rounded cables, some sort of covering on the ps wires, split loom would be easiest.

don't really think you need anything else.

edit: go to svc.com for some cheap cables.

 

[mechBgon]

580Gb can be done with just three drives if you want to. Reducing the number of optical drives is another idea: one DVD-ROM and one DVD-RW ought to cover it, right? If you want to stick with nine drives, it's just not going to be easy to make it all look neat.

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
580Gb can be done with just three drives if you want to. Reducing the number of optical drives is another idea: one DVD-ROM and one DVD-RW ought to cover it, right? If you want to stick with nine drives, it's just not going to be easy to make it all look neat.

Who is going to pay for the new, bigger harddrives?

I had the cd-rw before the dvd-rw ... what am I supposed to do, throw it away? I am looking for input on cleaning up the cables, please, lets stay on topic.

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: cheapgoose
i see rounded cables, some sort of covering on the ps wires, split loom would be easiest.

don't really think you need anything else.

edit: go to svc.com for some cheap cables.

What is split loom? Can you explain?

Okay, I will check svc.com. Thanks for the input!

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Spac3d

Originally posted by: mechBgon
580Gb can be done with just three drives if you want to. Reducing the number of optical drives is another idea: one DVD-ROM and one DVD-RW ought to cover it, right? If you want to stick with nine drives, it's just not going to be easy to make it all look neat.

Who is going to pay for the new, bigger harddrives?

I had the cd-rw before the dvd-rw ... what am I supposed to do, throw it away? I am looking for input on cleaning up the cables, please, lets stay on topic.

Well, if you don't actually need the CD-RW, it's not exactly necessary to put it in there just for show. Anyway, SVC has rounded cables for pretty good prices, or you can do some artistic folding on your existing flat IDE cables so they hug the motherboard tray instead of sticking out. A good example of that skill is shown by RalfHutter, check his pics in this thread.

 

[xXgambitXx]

I'm a big fan of velcro straps. Just wrap them around a handful of cables and tighten it up. You can find them at office supply stores for a couple bucks.

 

[T3C]

ZIP TIES!! tie all those damn power cables up. Make sure there nice and straight together. That will help you out a lot. but if you really want to clen that thing up you are going to have to get some rounded IDE cables!

 

[Cogman]

at svc.com rounded cables are only like 2 bucks for a duel device IDE cable. you can afford 8 HD over 20+GB each and yet you cant afford 4 $8 Round Cables

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: Cogman
at svc.com rounded cables are only like 2 bucks for a duel device IDE cable. you can afford 8 HD over 20+GB each and yet you cant afford 4 $8 Round Cables

Every where I saw them before, they were almost $8 for EACH cable. I have 9 drives .... that is 9 different cables since I want each drive to have its own channel. SVC.com has really cheap wires, I can get all the ones I need for about $20.

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: cybpnk
ZIP TIES!! tie all those damn power cables up. Make sure there nice and straight together. That will help you out a lot. but if you really want to clen that thing up you are going to have to get some rounded IDE cables!

What do you mean tie them up. Tie them up to what?

 

[MyName]

I used to have rounded cables, I thought
they would look good in My windowed case
but they were a mess! There is just no way
to route them neatly so I went back to cablegami.
I have 3 optical and 3 hard drives plus a Newq
platinum, all of them are on folded ribbon cables

Pic 1

Pic 2

Outside of case

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Spac3d

Originally posted by: cybpnk
ZIP TIES!! tie all those damn power cables up. Make sure there nice and straight together. That will help you out a lot. but if you really want to clen that thing up you are going to have to get some rounded IDE cables!

What do you mean tie them up. Tie them up to what?

With something like this. I also like velcro wraps though - they're reusable.

 

[render]

You need a bigger case. especially in depth

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: render
You need a bigger case. especially in depth

Any recomendations for decent looking cases?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Spac3d

Originally posted by: render
You need a bigger case. especially in depth

Any recomendations for decent looking cases?

Lian-Li PC-62 maybe? It's about five inches deeper than the popular Antec 1000-series cases. Here are photos of the PC-60, the non-stretch version: Newegg photo spread. Or there's the Lite-On FS020, a monster with three 120mm fan mounts (photos here).

 

[TXMatt]

Originally posted by: Spac3d

Originally posted by: cheapgoose
i see rounded cables, some sort of covering on the ps wires, split loom would be easiest.

don't really think you need anything else.

edit: go to svc.com for some cheap cables.

What is split loom? Can you explain?

Okay, I will check svc.com. Thanks for the input!

I like spiral wrap better than split loom. It adapts to varied cable thicknesses better, and you don't need to use zip ties to hold it securely shut like loom. It is much harder to find than loom though. I got mine at a local Fry's. I did a quick and lazy web search with "spiral wrap" and came up with a few results, below:

Cool mod for DIY Spiral wrap
Spiral wrap in 3 bright colors, $4 for 50 inches
This is clear stuff like I got @ Fry's, but a bit more expensive

 

[Bookie]

take the useless cd-rw and sell it on ebay. Put the money you get from that sale towards a 200+ gig drive and replace half of your drives. Sell those drives on Ebay and put that towards another 200+ gig drive. Sell the remainder of your hdd drives and get some round ide cables.

Problem solved. You end up with only 2 drives and 2 optical drives.

 

[chr6]

zip ties, tuck and hide, no need for rounded cables really, shrink tubing if you have the time, and i think it will look ok.

 

[topdavis]

Just get a solid side panel and replace the clear one. You won't notice the mess anymore...

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: MyName
I used to have rounded cables, I thought
they would look good in My windowed case
but they were a mess! There is just no way
to route them neatly so I went back to cablegami.
I have 3 optical and 3 hard drives plus a Newq
platinum, all of them are on folded ribbon cables

Pic 1

Pic 2

Outside of case

I like..

Originally posted by: topdavis
Just get a solid side panel and replace the clear one. You won't notice the mess anymore...

always one in the crowd

 

[soja]

9 HDs... Wow, that's a lot of porn

 

[Vonkhan]

if u're cables are long enough, turn the hard drives the other way around ... so that the cable side is facing the rear of the front panel