Individual cable sleeving - OK, why on earth do you do it?

[the3coopers]

I've been modding computers for as long as I can remember (since the days of 386's), but have always focussed on maximum performance, especially for tidiness and airflow. In those old days, taping / wrapping / sleeving of cables was a great way to tidy up a build and manage the mass of cables.

It was a bit rare to even find a case with a front fan, so whatever air you could get flowing through there was incredibly important. I was one of the first people on the old Usenet overclocking discussion groups to document procedures to slit and rebundle IDE cables, to convert them from flat ribbons into small cross-sections to improve case airflow.

So I read with amusement of all the trials and tribulations ragarding cable sleeving, but never really realised what the fuss was about. I've spent countless hours working out how to bunch and re-route cables to make them absolutely as small as possible....

However I saw that people were taking perfectly good and neatly bunched cables, and spending hours and heaps of $$ to individually sleeve the conductors. They weren't trying to hide or tidy up the messy cables, they were making them as big and cumbersome as possible - then making them a "feature" ...but WHY?

For example (picked at random) these builds by SYF_Karma on the "what have you done" thread... http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...postcount=2789

Look at these 2 pics:
http://www.karma-its.com.au/images/b...3/DSCF1037.JPG
and
http://www.karma-its.com.au/images/b...0/DSCF1034.JPG

Like what the? Those cables don't look neater, they look like a mess to me. They take up about 3 times as much space, they severely block airflow (in an already tight situation), and offer no addition technical merit (eg: additional insulation, better performance) etc. Plus it's a heap of work.

So the question is - why?

Is it just a fad like LED fans, or beige computers? Or some kind of e-peen like a 2 foot high spoiler bolted onto the boot lid of a Hyundai Excel?

Maybe I am just far too hard-core obsessed with performance, and function over form? Why would a modder do something that potentially makes thier machine function "worse", or at the very least doesn't offer any technical or performance improvement whatsoever?

This post isn't intended as a troll - I'm really interested in the reasons that this mod is performed, and especially the history behind it. It must have originally started with somebody doing it for some particular reason, but it's somehow got lost along the way?

[xRdawGz]

Aesthetics

/thread

[the3coopers]

OK - just to explain my point of view.... here is a old floppy cable from one of my builds from about 1999. Would have probably been on a Abit BH6 in an Aopen HX45 case...



There are 34 individual conductors there, and the original ribbon was 44mm wide. I've bundled them into groups of 5, to make it only 8mm x 7mm which was then shaped and taped to clear all obstructions.

What would today's modder do with that same cable? Slit it into 34 strands and sleeve it, so that they end up with a massive unruly mass of spaghetti?

[the3coopers]

Originally Posted by xRdawGz

Aesthetics

/thread

Huh? To me (as an old-skool modder) individual sleeving doesn't look "good"... it looks like a total mess.

I wonder what made people suddenly think that messy = better?

Or maybe are people focussing on a macro shot of each individual cable, rather than the interior of the case as a whole?

[SYF_Karma]

your example cable is exactly the same, only difference is youve bundled them together (being that you cant split IDE's anyway efficiently)

its purely for looks, that is all, so everything is colour matched and neat, it may look a mess to you, but I assure you, theyre not messy, they dont hinder airflow and they dont in any way shape or form look ugly.

It definitely seems its just you being "old school"

cases now have so many fan spots by default it doesnt matter about flattening an IDE ribbon anymore to get air into the machine.

is that to say the whole interior of this case looks horrible ?



It functions perfectly, and looks a damn sight nicer than this, as an example




P.S nobody uses IDE anymore

[nooster]

To me, I like both the look of the single braided cables, and the functionality of it.

I started single braiding before it was a "fad" as it was something different to what every one else had in there systems, and it was a form of epeen as people would look at the build and admire the time and skill that it takes to make it look good.

now it is a different story. to me if you are going to single braid cables you should be going for the tightest weave and smalest size that you are able to fit each wire in not this oversized chunky crap.

IMO if single braiding is done right, it does not look messy, and can realy finish off a build nicley, however on the other hand if done wrong it has the complete oppisite effect.

just my 2c worth.

[WishBone17]

I prefer the individual sleeve as its easier to work with and looks better then a big sleeve bundling a bunch of cables.. Have you tried bending and shaping those stock Enermax and Corsair cables?, they are as stiff as a dead bird!

Hence why I use extenders (I would sleeve but too much time and too lazy), however I do agree that if they aren't bundled nicely, they tend to look messy and cumbersome hence why zip ties are a magical little item..

problem is, if you do green, blue, or multi coloured sleeving, zip ties can ruin the look, also one of the reason i just prefer black sleeving.

[Creekin]

Originally Posted by the3coopers

Maybe I am just far too hard-core obsessed with performance, and function over form?

theres ya problem

Originally Posted by the3coopers

Why would a modder do something that potentially makes thier machine function "worse",

nope.

Originally Posted by the3coopers

or at the very least doesn't offer any technical or performance improvement whatsoever?

coz it looks good..

Originally Posted by the3coopers

This post isn't intended as a troll

notsureifsrsorfry.exe

Originally Posted by the3coopers

What would today's modder do with that same cable? Slit it into 34 strands and sleeve it, so that they end up with a massive unruly mass of spaghetti?

throw it in the bin!

tbh i prefer block colours and sleeveing a cable as a "loom" rather than indys..and thats how i used to do it.
but the BF fabric sleeved cables are so sex that they can not be beaten and nothing else comes close!

plz hand in your ocau membership at the door and go back to wp
kthankbai

[Asteroid]

Originally Posted by SYF_Karma

is that to say the whole interior of this case looks horrible ?

image

It functions perfectly, and looks a damn sight nicer than this, as an example

image

The bottom one looks neater. The top one is a mess and the heatshrink is unsightly.

You're wasting your breath (fingers?) on these guys the3coopers. The tangled spaghetti look is in and they won't have a bar of anything else.

[m3k]

Colour co-ordination and theme. and much tidier when done right

and yes it screams " i care about my computer enough to sit there and sleeve individual cables so the colours match."


i think its sexy and doesn't block anything




you can also cut individual cables to length and re- crimp them for super efficiency

...also some people sleeve two cables per sleeve to save space

[ThE_BiG_O]

Originally Posted by SYF_Karma

is that to say the whole interior of this case looks horrible ?

image

It functions perfectly, and looks a damn sight nicer than this, as an example

image

I think the 2nd one looks a hell of a lot neater and more aesthetically pleasing than the first.

I'm with the3coopers on this one. I don't see the point of braiding every single wire - it just takes up more space and imho doesn't look good. I can understand re-braiding a bundle of them to change the colour of the braid but not braid every wire.

But then again I also come from the days of modding IDE cables (cutting them up, bundling, and wrapping in electrical tape). Maybe it's just an old school thing.

[BigDave]

Originally Posted by Asteroid

You're wasting your breath (fingers?) on these guys the3coopers. The tangled spaghetti look is in and they won't have a bar of anything else.

Mate i believe you and the3coopers (God i luv Sparkling ale) Like most mods of any sort we do to our systems we do it so as to suit our selves it's a personel thing we do.

[Nitephyre]

I much prefer the hidden cable look over the z0mgfknwireslol! look.

[the3coopers]

Originally Posted by SYF_Karma

your example cable is exactly the same, only difference is youve bundled them together (being that you cant split IDE's anyway efficiently)

Ummm - maybe don't you remember how ugly a flat IDE or Floppy cable looks like, and how messy those large ugly things made the case look? It wasn't just about airflow, bundling was pretty much ALL about making it look better.

Originally Posted by SYF_Karma

is that to say the whole interior of this case looks horrible ?

image

It functions perfectly, and looks a damn sight nicer than this, as an example

image

Yeah, they both look nice. It's not that the top one looks "horrible" (because it certainly doesn't). But in my eyes the second one (which is NOT individually sleeved) is heaps neater - it doesn't draw attention to a ugly bunch of interconnects.

In the second case, they could have done it even nicer - by using a bracket cover on the output side of the PSU to hid the cables completely.

I suppose that in my mind, the PSU or the MoBo or GFX Card or whatever is HEAPS more attractive and important that the ugly cables that join them together. I'd do anything to hide the cables, not make them stand out even more.

Originally Posted by SYF_Karma

P.S nobody uses IDE anymore

No, of course they don't. Because they were as cumbersome as all hell, and the smaller SATA connectors were considered so much better that even though they didn't offer any performance improvement, everyone jumped on them because they "looked better"

[broccoli]

I think all of the photos look lovely. I want matching colours......