Rounded Cables - Opinions Needed

[SilverLock]

I am debating updating to rounded IDE cables but wonder if they really help with keeping a case cool or not.

Opinions welcome; thanks.

 

[azntiger0586]

well it depends the size of your case, temperature you currently have, and how much wiring you got going on.

but if you want the squeeze the best possible cooling you can get, round cables will help.

I dont use round cable because my case is pretty big, so i just stuff all the cables to the bottom and the side of the case. so its up to you to make the choice. i would say if your chassis temperature is below 35c, round cable wont be needed. but getting round cables would hurt either, so its up to you.

 

[DannyBoy]

They look neater too

 

[Davegod]

If you have the spare time and a fair bit of patience, you might be able to route your ribbon cables to keep them neat and out of the airflow - some of the PC-innard pics I've seen show them almost completely hidden, and clearly hindering airflow negligibly, even less than rounded cables.

Perhaps easier is you can take an IDE cable, make a small slice in between wires, then pull to strip the full lengh of the IDE cable. Do this every er i think 4 wires and then you can use cable ties to keep them together, and you have made one of the best "rounded" cables. These will bend and keep shape much better than purchased rounded cables, so you can also route these around your case. I'd make sure you have some spare cables before having a go though!

 

[wampa]

besides looking neater, they are also good for air flow since the regular flat ones tend to use up more room if not routed properly.

 

[adams828]

yeah if you have a little time and patience, make your own! you can even do it while watching tv or something.. takes a few min per cable

 

[Corporate Thug]

it will help a little, not a whole not

 

[Goatsan]

it depends on how your air flow is worked. if there isn't any fans in the lower front of your case, it wont do much, if anything at all.

 

[edmundoab]

I've changed from the generic ribbon cable to the Antec cobra round cable,

and have not experience any cooling gain,
Don't know if anyone noticed a temperature gain.

 

[beatle]

I don't think they're worth it for cooling sake, but I find them easier to work with than the ribbon cables. However, I still have a ribbon cable plugged into my computer.

 

[jdogg707]

I like them for convenience if for nothing else, much easier to deal with than the Flat Ribbon cables

 

[gba]

They are certainly easier to to work with than ribbon wire and if you get the "braided silver" colored ones like these, you're using sheilded cable, to boot. I imagine the braided copper cable is also sheilded cable, but I have always gotten the silver stuff.

 

[Rhombuss]

I bought my Abit IC7 motherboard a few days ago, and it included 2 black rounded PATA cables. So I guess in Abit's view, they're worth it .

 

[GnomeCop]

Rounded cables are better if you have the traditional fan layout with front intake near the bottom and a small case. They work well especially if you are lazy.

If you properly fold and route flat cables they should be even better than rounded cables because you can hide the cable slack. This will accomodate any fan layout/case.

 

[Breezie]

if you get a good price under 10 bucks for them, they're worth it to me becuase they do help a little for circulation and do look a lot better in your case if you have a window-