SATA cable, can I fold it??

[tbgsav]

Hey all,
longtime reader, first-time poster here.
I've been waiting to join up and post until I had a good question that I knew only the guys and girls here at AT forum could know the answer to.

We've been debating the effects of tightly folding a SATA cable and securing it with a zippy-tie for our new builds. It looks real sharp. 😛
But is this ok?

Here's a shot for clarity.

 

[lxskllr]

That'll create bottlenecks when the data hits the sharp bends and gets hung up 😛

Seriously though, I don't see any problem doing that. I rather like the way it looks myself. Next time I do a dust cleaning I may fold my cables also.

 

[crydee]

It probably would of been easier to do a few simple benchmarks then debate it 😉

 

[PurdueRy]

It won't hurt anything

 

[Bill Brasky]

I've read that any turn 90 degrees or smaller will result in data loss. Your's look fine, but I keep nice big loops just to be safe.

Oh, and welcome to the forums. 🙂

 

[tbgsav]

Thanks for the info!

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Zaitsev
I've read that any turn 90 degrees or smaller will result in data loss. Your's look fine, but I keep nice big loops just to be safe.

Oh, and welcome to the forums. 🙂

maybe if it was an optical connection...however...a wire can be bent as sharply as you want and it will still conduct just fine

 

[tbgsav]

Originally posted by: Zaitsev
I've read that any turn 90 degrees or smaller will result in data loss. Your's look fine, but I keep nice big loops just to be safe.

Oh, and welcome to the forums. 🙂

Hey thanks!,
We've "heard" the same as well, as far as creasing the small sata cable could possibly break the tiny wires at the bend. But having the loops at the bends instead of the crease wouldn't have this affect.
Its not like the old pata cables, fold the shizt of of those suckers.....does anyone know the actual size difference in the wires through SATA compared to the PATA?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

That is the tightest bend I would put on a SATA cable, anything tighter could seriously degrade performance.

Any change in a conductor's properties (like straight to a bend, a bend to a straight, different radius bends) is considered a defect. As a wave travels along a wire, every time there's a change in the physical properties (connector, kink, bend, temperature etc.) the velocity of propagation changes, so some of the wave's energy is lost in a reflection.

 

[lxskllr]

I was looking at your picture again. You have the power led wire disconnected? You also might want to use the 2 yellow ram sockets instaed of having them right next to each other. That way they'll run in dual channel.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
I was looking at your picture again. You have the power led wire disconnected? You also might want to use the 2 yellow ram sockets instaed of having them right next to each other. That way they'll run in dual channel.

Good eyes. I'm not sure about asus, but I know some motherboards use slots 1 & 2 instead of the traditional 1 & 3 so it could be right. Except now that I think about it, MSI is the only company I can think of that still does this. Hmm....

 

[corkyg]

No problems with the folds - however, . . . you can get short SATA cables and that would make for an even neater installation.

SATA

 

[sanitydc]

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v319/...DSC00617.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch5



how about that?

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: corkyg
No problems with the folds - however, . . . you can get short SATA cables and that would make for an even neater installation.

SATA

Very nice :thumbsup: I might have to get a couple of them 🙂

 

[tbgsav]

Originally posted by: Zaitsev

Originally posted by: lxskllr
I was looking at your picture again. You have the power led wire disconnected? You also might want to use the 2 yellow ram sockets instaed of having them right next to each other. That way they'll run in dual channel.

Good eyes. I'm not sure about asus, but I know some motherboards use slots 1 & 2 instead of the traditional 1 & 3 so it could be right. Except now that I think about it, MSI is the only company I can think of that still does this. Hmm....

That mobo is an ASUS M2NPV-VM, with the proper dual-channel configuration of slot 1 and 3 populated.
Cant slip anything past in this forum. 😀
We were running a handful of benchmarks with different hardware configs before we sent it out the door for future reference, and decided to take the photo while panel was off. ....Single channel only set it back at most 5% in the benchies.

That InWin case also has a mult-connect type pin for the pwr-led. You can either use the 3-pin or 2pin (which is the one hanging down) depending on the mobo.

Thanks for all the info fellas.

 

[Doom Machine]

i bury fiber optics for AT&T, the whole dont bend thing is a scare tactic cause its so expensive...heck you bend that thing ina knot and it still works...just dont cut it, thats can cost somewhere between $80,000 to a million dollars depending. why? you ask...cause so many companies including 911 service and military are out of service...billions of dollars can be lost simply cause someone decided to not call in locates and dig a fence post..lol

but i recommend doing so if you need a good excuse to file bankruptcy