Rounded ATA cables

[edjam]

Hi guys, still considering getting these just fo rair flow improvements in my case, anyone experienced problems?

And whats the standard length for ATA cables, 45cm? Thanks

 

[Anubis]

cont know about the length but i have rounded ones in my comp. got them from Newegg. havent had any probs and the increase airflo a bunch. mine are lie 24in bout 60cm i think the work fine

 

[PuppettMaster001]

they didnt really effect temp in my case too much but definitly worth the price. I think the max lenght is the same as the same as a flat ata cable.

 

[Buzzman151]

they'll increase you're airflow a tad but they look cool as hell.... it'll definatly get all the ladies for ya

 

[bigboxes]

Rounded cables really don't do much for cooling. Rather they look cool and reduce case clutter. You decide.

~box

 

[chille1972]

I just rolled them by hand and used those zip ties. works fine and increased air flow without the cost.

sure they might not look as nice as the round cables but i dont have an open case anyway.

 

[vetteguy]

Originally posted by: bigboxes
Rounded cables really don't do much for cooling. Rather they look cool and reduce case clutter. You decide.

~box

I disagree. With a case full of ribbon cables, the airflow from intake fans on my PC was completely blocked. With the round ones, I can tuck them up and under other components, allowing the fans to actually blow across the video card/processor, where they need to.

 

[Mem]

Round cables in general make your case look tidy and cooling wise,well if you`re lucky may get 1C or so drop in temps,this is really down to how crowded your case is etc and your case cooling.I`ve 45 & 60cm lengths in my case and they have worked fine for the last year.

 

[TheCorm]

Yeah it also depends on where your fans are, generally the front intake fan is too low to be blowing over the graphics card or processor and the cables aren't generally in the way of it.

I think the less clutter bonus is much more of an insentive, only if you can see that the cables are in the way of your fans will you notice much difference.

Corm

 

[Mavrick007]

With the way my board is laid out, it helps airflow alot cause the ide/floppy connectors are right across from my agp slot.
I know that in a proper ventilated system and if cables aren't a problem, it will not make much of a difference, but it does in my case and they look cool as anything too (plus it's easier to tell appart which is for what with color coding).

Proper length for in spec is 18" which is 45cm. You can use 24" or even 36" but I wouldn't use them unless the data isn't very critical.

 

[bigboxes]

Rounded cables for the most part do not lower case temps significantly, but I've read (can't find link) where there is an increase in cross-talk.

That being said, I have two 2-device rounded ide cables and one rounded fdd cable. The only ribbon cable in my case is a SCSI connecting my controller and my CD-RW.

~box

 

[zepper00]

I believe 18" is the specified length for all IDE cables since 16MB/sec. But a lot of 24" cables are out there and seem to work. My suggestion is to always make your drive cables as short as possible.
.bh.

 

[corkyg]

A lot of the airflow answer depends on where the cables go. I have my HDDs in external mobile racks ABOVE the mobo and opposite the power supply. The rounded cables definitely improve that airflow.

The standard length for IDE cables is 18-inches. 24 is used a lot - and in most cases they work, but also, in most cases, that length is excessive.

A big advantage of commercial round cables is that the good ones are shielded with metallic, grounded mesh. This can add to EMI resistance.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Like others have said, buy round cables because they look cool, not because they increase air flow. If you happen to get a drop in case temps, consider yourself lucky.

 

[Fulcrum]

As far as cooling performance, they may help a little, but I don't think they are worth the money unless you have a window and want the look factor (I don't). I've never had an airflow issue with ribbon cables that I couldn't solve with zip ties. I use a full tower case, though.

 

[vanderStoep]

Originally posted by: edjam
, anyone experienced problems?

I`m currently experiencing a problem with my new rounded cables (ata 133)
They do not work with one of my hard disks (the samsung) on it and a other device on it, it then only uses the other device. It does not even show in the BIOS.
The cable works with a DVD and a CDRW on it. The cable also works fine with only the samsung hard disk on it. The maxtor hard disk works fine with the cable and a other device.


- Yes, it is correctly placed
- Tried the other cable, no result
- Changed master, slave, cable select setting, no result.

Specs:
- elite group mobo for pIII, via chipset
- 40 gb 5400 rpm maxtor ata 66
- 40 gb 5400 rpm samsung ata 33

everything works fine with my old, flat ata 33 cable.


Any ideas anyone?

 

[KF]

>Any ideas anyone?

edjam,

>They do not work with one of my hard disks (the samsung) on it ...
But it works with the maxtor HD?

There is some sort of cable detection for an 80 wire ATA66 cable. Don't know if that could cause a problem for a non-ATA66 HD. It doesn't seem likely.

The only other physical difference is that there is a wire disconnected from one of the two plugs. That makes Cable Select work correctly. Maybe your Samsung drive is sensitive to that, although I can't see why.

Put the Samsung on the other plug. The plug nearer to the mobo is probably the one with the wire connected, and should work just like a flat non-ATA66 cable

 

[vanderStoep]

Originally posted by: KF
>Any ideas anyone?
Put the Samsung on the other plug. The plug nearer to the mobo is probably the one with the wire connected, and should work just like a flat non-ATA66 cable

Yes! That works. Just when I was about to give up you come up with the solution.

Thanks

 

[KF]

>Yes! That works. Just when I was about to give up you come up with the solution.

I see I addressed my post to the wrong name, but you saw it anyway.

From what you describe, it almost had to work, if physics and electicity are consistent. What doesn't make any sense is why the
Samsung is sensitive to this.

The feedback is appreciated. I like to know if and how a problem is resolved, and that is often missing.