Rather than coming with a bunch of cables already connected to the power supply, you can connect the cables you need, and leave the ones you don’t need. Using a modular power supply is a great way to improve your cable management. ATX cases are generally your best bet when it comes to cable management (that’s our guide on the best ATX cases).Įven some of the smallest micro atx cases on the market have good cable management options, assuming you buy the right one. Time to take a look at specific processes you can go through to make sure your cables are managed to the best of your ability so you can have the most high-quality airflow for your new system.īy the way, buying a good case for cable management is one of the best (and the easiest) things you can do to make your life a whole lot easier. Now imagine a higher-end build with even more effort put into the looks of the cable management, that sounds sexy. Without all the random cables everywhere it is much more aesthetically pleasing. With no cables in the pathway, new cool air can reach both the GPU and CPU, simultaneously cooling them.ĭelving into the Fashion factor we mentioned earlier, just look at how clean the build is. Unlike the first build, Mocha_Bean’s also does not include a water cooling solution, but due to the pristine cable management, it doesn’t matter! What do you see? Empty space? Yes! Perfect, no cables to block the flow of fresh air from the front of the case to the hardworking GPU. One of the first noticeable differences compared to Swordcraft537’s build is the area between the graphics card and the front intake fan. So let’s go ahead an figure out what makes this cable management so darn good. Thank you to Mocha_Bean on Reddit for a great example of simple cable management that still makes the cut. The only cool air that the graphics card would receive is from that front intake fan, and the cables between that fan and the GPU will drastically affect the temperature of the GPU and in turn performance in games. The CPU cooler, luckily, has one intake that directly hits the radiator as it’s a water cooling unit. This intake fan feeds directly into the cable bundle, a hinderance in which airflow is restricted. Going back to the airflow dilemma we spoke about earlier, let’s take a look at how the airflow for this build may pan out.Īt the bottom right (or front) of the case, we have the one and only intake fane. This mass of cables that includes SATA, motherboard power, Molex, front panel connector, and everything in between is a huge issue. The second thing we can tackle is pretty much every other cable in the case that seems to be congregated all at one location in the center. This choice of routing nearly gave our editor and aneurysm. One of the most apparent issues is the CPU power cable (coming from the top left) which goes from the power supply at the bottom of the case, into the nest, and then out and over the CPU cooler. In all honesty, we don’t even know where to start with this monstrosity.Īs you can see, this mess of cables is practically a bird’s nest and we half expect there to be a small animal lurking somewhere in the case’s depths. Now, we understand the PC community isn’t the type to criticize (haha…), but we’ve just got to take a look at this setup. In this photo by Reddit user Swordcrafter537 showing off their first build, the cable management can be clearly seen. While you can safely go above that to around 80-85 C°, we do not recommend running those temperatures for very long. We recommend trying to keep your CPU and GPU temperatures around or below 70-75 C° (under load) for longevity and performance. On the side of function, airflow is a very important aspect of any build. If your case comes rocking a side panel window, you don’t want messy cables running every which way. The importance of cable management can be outlined in two categories: Having optimal airflow to all of your components could mean life or death for your PC, at least in the long run, as running at very high temperatures can damage your processor and/or graphics card over time. ![]() Poor cable management will make your PC run slightly hotter - in addition, if you don’t tidy up your cables, the inside of your gaming PC is going to look like a freaking bird’s nest. Does Cable Management Matter?Ĭable management matters more for looks than it does for cooling performance, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore cable management altogether. You’d have to do a pretty terrible job for it to really affect your PC’s airflow. Luckily, cable management doesn’t have a huge impact on airflow when all is said and done. What if I told you that having sucky cable management could lead to your computer actually performing worse? Cable management may not seem very important when building your first PC, especially if it’s a budget build that doesn’t include a side panel window.
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