|
You've probably seen rounded IDE cables on sale in online stores all over the place. The premise is that a round cable obstructs much less air than a big flat ribbon cable. And that's true, it will help the airflow in your case. But shop-bought ones are quite pricey, and you already have cables right?
Today we'll look at how to round your existing cables, to help airflow through the case and tidy up the cables so they look nicer through that window of yours :)
Starting out
|
To complete this mod, you're gonna need the following stuff. An IDE cable (lol, duh) - I used ATA33 cables in this guide. It works on 66/100 cables too, but I have heard people say ATA100 is not reliable on round cables due to interference. Secondly, you'll need a scalpel, stanley knife, or similar. It doesn't actually need to be that sharp... once you've made the initial cut in the wire insulation, you can literally pull the sections of wire apart. Finally, you'll need some spiral wrap and some cable ties. The cable ties aren't 100% essential (notice we didn't have any) but help neaten up the ends.
|
|
| |
We need to separate the ribbon cable into equal parts, so that the new smaller ribbons can be grouped together into a round shape. Make an incision with your knife every 5 wires, being careful not to slice into the insulating of any of the wires and exposing the core.
Once you've made the cuts in one half (assuming the cable has 3 connectors and not just 2), do the same on the other half, again just making short cuts, enough to separate the segments but not cutting down the whole length of the cable.
Check out my l33t duvet cover :D bl00 ownz j00.
|
|
|
With the cuts made, splitting the cable is easy peasy. just using your hands, peel the 5-wire segments aprat from each other. Pull the wires apart all the way from one connector to the next, and repeat on the other half (again, assuming you have a 3 connector cable).
|
|
| |
If you've done it right, it should look something like the picture on the right.
The next stage is to get the spiral wrap on.
|
|
|
Spiral wrap is really pretty easy. I can't really think how to explain it... you just have to hook an initial bit around the cables, then wrap it around as you move along towards the connector. You'll get it, trust me :) (although carl took a while to understand... but he's a retard, so...).
|
|
That's all there is too it :D
|
|
So there you are, the happy owner of rounded IDE cables. If you have some nice little tie wraps / cable ties / zip ties whatever you want to call 'em, tie up the ends of the wrap where it meets the connectors. You could also paint the spiral wrap to make it look nice if you've got a window... perhaps spray it with white or some incandescant colour and get yourself an Ultra-Violet cathode or neon, that'd look pretty sweet :)
I hope this has been of some use. As always, post in the forums or email me with any problems, questions, or praise (unlikely!) :)
Hands provided courtesy of mister Carlos_Fandango (yes, it is an odd as hell name).
|
