Posted 08/13/09 at 10:30:00 AM by Will Smith

We’ve all seen those perfectly wired high-dollar rigs with cables completely hidden beneath the motherboard tray and have wanted that for our home-brewed PCs. Unfortunately, unless you’re prepared to buy or make cables that are precisely the correct length for the components in your system, a Voodoo-quality wiring job is nigh-impossible to achieve. However, with some zip ties and a little patience, you can get close.

Before you start, you’ll need something to restrain the cables. Some enthusiast PC cases come with a package of ties, but they’re also frequently available in the cable-tie area of your hardware store or in Radio Shack. We prefer small plastic zip ties, which you can buy at most hardware stores in quantities of 100 for around $5; Velcro straps will also work, and twist ties are even acceptable in a pinch. You’ll also need wire snips (to trim the ends of the zip ties), and some adhesive cable wranglers are also handy for attaching the bundled cables to the case. We also use flex tubing and shrink tubing to bundle up smaller cables. You can find the tubing at most electronics stores, or online at Frozencpu.com.

As always, feel free to do as much or as little with your PC wiring as you’d like. This is a project that can take from 10 minutes (if you want to do it quick and dirty) to several hours (if you want every little wire in perfect position).

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Posted 04/10/08 at 01:06:13 PM by Michael Brown

The innovative RapidRun cable solution makes installing new A/V wiring in existing construction a piece of cake.

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Posted 06/05/07 at 06:49:29 PM by Michael Brown

Our second and final (for now, anyway) guide to best cable-routing practices.

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