# My Weekend project, + help please



## NutterzUK (Oct 22, 2009)

Hey, i'm new here but found the site from a quick google search.
I've built my PC, it's the second one i've built and in honesty, great as the PC is, the wiring is a total mess.

I really need some tips, my case is a CM690. 

I'm going to do it over the weekend. My main problem is I have a corsair TX650w PSU, which.. has loads of cables... absolutely loads that I don't need. At the moment I've tried hiding them behind my spare HDD bays, but then whenever I get something new it's a nightmare.

Also, if i'm going to wire things behind the motherboard etc, I will no double have to unscrew that. I have found that my CPU cooler would be better placed a different way around, but if I remove it... do I need some kind of special gel or something to make the connection again to the CPU? Can I just take it off and turn it around?


I'll post a pic of how it is at the moment, and I would greatly apprecate any suggestions for where to go from here. I'm a student, and don't have access to huge amounts of tools. All I have with me in my halls is my trusty screwdriver.

Oh another quick thing. The motherboard I have ( MSI X58M ) has all of it's sata connectors in the same place. This is EXACTLY where the case has a clip facing the other direction for cable management. The connectors for the USBs and Esata etc on the top of the PC have to go through this connector. They block the SATA drives and so it took me a stressfull 30 mins to plug anything in. It's a nightmare and I have no idea where I could route these USB connectors.
They were routed there when I got the case and it seems the only sensible way to go, to the bottom right of the motherboard where the USB connectors are. I wish i'd not gone for a micro atx motherboard.

I've tried to show it in the picture.



















You can see the black cable going up to the top, with some of the power cables to the CD drive. The SATA ports are all located here too. I'm looking at buying a new SSD, but before I do, I want to sort out this... make it tidy, so maybe I can overclock at a later date ( need good airflow )


Specs

Core i7 920
6Gb DDR3 OCZ Gold
ATI Radeon 4870 1gb
2 x 1tb WD Green 
1x 80gb Maxtor ( boot ) - SSD goes here eventually.
MSI X58M Motherboard
Corsair TX650W PSU
CM 690 Case
Saitek Eclipse II keyboard
Microsoft Sidewinder mouse.
Dell 23" monitor. ( SP2309W )


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## NutterzUK (Oct 22, 2009)

Hmm, just a thought.. do you think this would look good if I spray painted the whole inner case black?


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## shotgn (Aug 10, 2008)

Unless you have a side window, i dont see a point in painting it black.

You can drill holes around the motherboard to run cables thru the back to clean it up.

On my first case thats what I did, cut holes and painted it black.

Have a look here thats what I did


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## NutterzUK (Oct 22, 2009)

Nice case 
I was thinking about one day putting a side window in it, not soon though as I don't have the tools. At the moment I don't even have a drill. I'm not sure there is that much I can do with it. I will take a long look at it next time I have some free time ( maybe even Wednesday ).
I don't seem to have much in the way of holes to thread my cables through, and because of the way each one has seperate connectors half way through etc, the cables are a really awkward shape to thread through anything.

Maybe I should invest in a modular PSU and sell the one I have.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

You could group the cables and route them by using cable-ties, peeling the cables off the loom when needed. For temporary jobs, elastic-bands are a good way of holding trailing wires out of the way of any fans or heatsinks.

If you remove the heatsink for any reason, you'll need to remove every last trace of thermal-compound and replace it with new - A couple of paper kitchen-towels and some surgical-spirit or Isopropyl Alcohol (tape-head cleaner stuff :wink does the job in a couple of minutes, leaving both surfaces glinting.


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## NutterzUK (Oct 22, 2009)

Sounds like a lot of effort to remove the CPU fan. I was going to put one of the V8 CPU coolers on it, but now on second thoughts am not sure it's a great idea with the size of the motherboard ( small ).

I'm going to have a go with some wire ties, I can find them easily enough, I think corsair sent me some when I got the PSU. It's just hard to see where to put all these cables, and the only logical place is where they are, infront of all the SATA ports. .

I'll post up another pic when i've done some work. Thanks for your help and advice.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Most CPU-coolers require the removal of the mobo unless you have a suitably placed hole in the tray below it, then you can access the mounts from the other side of the case. 

It's not a long or particularly difficult job, just a bit fiddly. Do measure the free spaces though, lots of folks have bought cooolers which, although they fit on the mobo, the coolers are too big to fit in the case :wink:


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## burrell (Feb 13, 2010)

@Shot - Could you post a link to your case please?

I would recommend the Corsair H-50, it should fit in your case and will out perform any air cooler you come across! And it's probably cheaper!

Burrell


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## speagle (Oct 4, 2008)

radio shack has nylon clamps 3 to a pkg about 1" maybe 1 1/4" in dia. self adhearing they snap open and close. you can use them to help route your cables. the clamps and zip ties will help a lot. you might be able to coil up extra wire and clamp on top of psu, since you have room there and not have to worry about the spare hdd bays.


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## shotgn (Aug 10, 2008)

burrell said:


> @Shot - Could you post a link to your case please?
> 
> I would recommend the Corsair H-50, it should fit in your case and will out perform any air cooler you come across! And it's probably cheaper!
> 
> Burrell


Funny you should mention that, I almost bought one at Best Buy as an impulse but talked myself out of it. 

My temps on my Zalman FHS are doing fine, I only considered the H-50 to reduce noise. Maybe one day,

But here is the Link


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## burrell (Feb 13, 2010)

shotgn said:


> Funny you should mention that, I almost bought one at Best Buy as an impulse but talked myself out of it.
> 
> My temps on my Zalman FHS are doing fine, I only considered the H-50 to reduce noise. Maybe one day,
> 
> But here is the Link


Thankyou for the link, sorry to be a pain, but what is the model, i can see it NZXT, but what model?

I have the NZXT Gamma, am pleased with it but am looking for an upgrade path!

Burrell


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## shotgn (Aug 10, 2008)

burrell said:


> Thankyou for the link, sorry to be a pain, but what is the model, i can see it NZXT, but what model?
> 
> I have the NZXT Gamma, am pleased with it but am looking for an upgrade path!
> 
> Burrell


That link I had posted is for my current case, The AZZA Solano.

Here is the link for the NZXT Apollo case I modded last year


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## burrell (Feb 13, 2010)

shotgn said:


> That link I had posted is for my current case, The AZZA Solano.
> 
> Here is the link for the NZXT Apollo case I modded last year


Oh, sorry i wasn't being very clear in what i was after, but thankyou.

Burrell


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## NutterzUK (Oct 22, 2009)

The H-50 looks good but in the UK seems to be a lot more expensive than anwhere else. The cheapest I can find it is for £60. It looks great for me as I have always wanted liquid cooling, but didn't want the hastle of setting the whole thing up and worrying about it leaking or something. ( although i'd like to be able to have fancy liquid cooling with colourful dye.. but oh well ). It can be made to look good aswel by just putting a coil around it.
I'm just a bit worried about space, my motherboard is pretty small and I don't want it to get in the way of the RAM of PCI express.


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## burrell (Feb 13, 2010)

NutterzUK said:


> I'm just a bit worried about space, my motherboard is pretty small and I don't want it to get in the way of the RAM of PCI express.


The actual piece that connects to CPU is fairly small, so the size of your motherboard shouldn't be a problem, it should go any where near the RAM and PCI slots, so you should be ok.

I live in the UK and bought it from Here 

Burrell


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