Streamlining your cables
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I work in a garage OK..........lots of stuff to use for PC's there. I wanted to round off my cables long ago.......but the only thing I could find was a plastic conduit, round like a pipe, with a split along it entire length..........sounds great, and it is in a car engine bay, where air flow is not the most important thing. However, it is RIBBED to keep it rigid, and to hold its shape. It is not suited to a PC because of the air turbulence the ribs would make........plus getting hold of it is not within every ones capabilities. UNLIKE RUBBER HOSE! OR EVEN GARDEN HOSE.............OK I used rubber hose, used for the expansion tank in a cars cooling system, also takes the water to the heater radiator in your dashboard...........but either way it available by the REEL and you can buy it for very little money in Motor Factors like CAFCO and PARTCO, to whatever length you need. And in different sizes! ;-) The idea is to get the right size diameter ( "lumen" is the word in BIOLOGY, it is the diameter of the inside of a vein I believe!) so that your cable will fit in it. Because car coolant systems withstand high pressure, it holds it's shape even when slit! Which is what I did!  As with all pipe, its cuts better with a: A sharp knife, and b: If you hold it apart near the cut. It is best NOT to try to cut it in a straight line............I tried both straight and slightly off straight, and it holds shape better if its a bit wonky........which is handy! OK, so then you decide which cable needs help. PSU? RIBBON? Your call, but make sure of the following: If you washed it (which of course you did because you want the best for your PC don't you?) , MAKE SURE IT'S DRY! DOH! Also, make sure it is not the RE-INFORCED WITH WIRE TYPE! The ones with a string-like thread is cool, BUT NOT METAL! On we go...................  this is my SCSI ribbon in the pipe ....it was 2 inches wide (although my girlfriend tells me it was nearer one and a half!) and I folded it into thirds and pushed it in.................! and the PSU? Well the cable wasn't that badly in the way, but hey, in for a penny and all that! You can fit the pipe while the cable is "In Situ" if need be, but it is so much easier and eventually tidier if its done out of the PC. This applies most of all to Ribbon Cables. Some flex really well, but my SCSI ones didn't…………they creased all over but never actually rolled up, UNTIL they were in the pipe, then they took on proper round shape.  This shows the beauty of it.......before the cables were loose and all over! Some are still loose in this picture. After my love and care, they are in a thick tube. You can get DIFFERENT diameters of tube, no hassle. Lastly, wrap the whole thing in good quality insulation tape.........I like tape that stretches nicely, not too thick.........it's cheaper like that as well. Done and dusted...........don't believe me? OK LOOK  Top half shows SCSI ribbon for my CD, blocks hell outta the airflow. But the lower half is sorted! As you can see I have cut a small bit and used it on the power lead to my lower case fan.......and LOOK at that SCSI HDD lead! IT SHINES! And to finish it off, not that everyone needs to know this, but fans make a lot of noise because of VIBRATION, not just wind! I got some adhesive foam pad, cut it to fit the corners of the fans in my PSU and my heat sink, case fans etc, and THEN fitted 'em back in!  Well here's my MB Monitor as of now  and
look what my AXIA Y does with 1.85 volts! NICE! |
