PC cabling questions 23 June at 10:40AM in Techie Stuff 4 replies 109 views

JustAnotherSaver

Not sure if it'll make any difference really in terms of air flow & cooling but at the moment my cabling is pretty crap. A lot of it is bunched up up front on show rather than tucked at the back of the PC tower out of sight. Some of it is but not much - so I was considering sorting that.

At the moment I have 4 hard drives, all with their own sata power connector going in to its own individual sata power connector from the PSU. If i'm using incorrect terms here then correct me now.

I don't really know what I'm looking for but something like this is on the track.It's whether that'd connect to all the drives plus the PSU. Not sure if it's the right product, whether it has all the connector types required.

So question is would something like this be ok? - ONE cable that connects all the drives and connects to ONE power connector from the PSU (in place of 4 cables connecting to 4 drives connecting to 4 power connectors from PSU)?

NEXT QUESTION...

I have this Akasa card reader.

Now it's a bit dated (couple USB3s but many USB2s), plus I only use it really for reading SD cards - of which I have an Anker USB-C card reader.

This however requires a USB-C port, obviously, and I actually have none on this PC.

What's the best/cheapest (understand that may give me 2 different answers) way to get at least 1 USB-C port in to my PC?

I bought this card reader a long time ago & looking at the beefy USB3 cable running from it, I think that's why I bought the card that plugs in to my motherboard - as I see no connector on the motherboard that takes this cable running from the card reader. I did try look up what this card is (because I can't remember) but don't see it in the usual places I buy computer parts from (Ebuyer / Scan) so I'm not sure. On it is a USB3 connector for the cable running from the card reader & what looks like a power connector.

Neil_Jones

With cables used in modern computers the concept of cable management is more about for show than actual air flow.  In the days when cables were quick thick, yes it would have mattered.  But these days it probably makes sod all difference.

Of course if your thermal paste has dried up, your fans are gunked up and the computer lives in a box, it's going to overheat no matter what you do.

Re: card reader - that design and the pictures seems to suggest the USB 3 capability are on a USB connection.  You can get PCI(Ex) USB 3 cards to feed the cables through the back of the machine.

JustAnotherSaver

I'll assume off the thermal paste part you've noted my previous posts but in case not:

Yeah the machine is 12yrs old, CPU fan having never been removed. I've compressed air sprayed the fan which blasted dust out but the metal fins under the plastic fan propellor have dust that won't really budge around the edges.

The computer doesn't live in a box as in them computer desks with in built boxes, it lives on top of a wooden shelf that's placed on the carpet & has been since I moved to this house in 2015. Before that it was up high.
I know that isn't ideal and I'm looking to see how I can re-jig the room to allow me to get the PC tower up higher with everything else that's in there. 


As said in a previous thread, I blasted the computer with compressed air. 
I removed 1 sata cable from both ends (port 6) and when I re-fitted it, it no longer detected the hard drive it was connected to. 
Nor did a new cable connected to that port. 
Nor did the optical drive I then connected to that port. 

I didn't yank the cable out. Is this likely to be an age thing with plastic & heat not playing nice with each other over time? 

It makes me reluctant to disconnect any more data cables at the motherboard end. 



With your card comment - are you saying get a card that plugs in to the motherboard & I have to thread cables through the inside of the PC tower out of the back? 
Or just that I can then connect to the back whatever device I want? 
I have a strong feeling I'm going to feel stupid after you answer but hey ho what else is new

MattMattMattUK

JustAnotherSaver said:

I'll assume off the thermal paste part you've noted my previous posts but in case not:

Yeah the machine is 12yrs old, CPU fan having never been removed. I've compressed air sprayed the fan which blasted dust out but the metal fins under the plastic fan propellor have dust that won't really budge around the edges.

If it is just an old style aluminium fin block you can take it off and soak it in water to get the dust off, provided you dry it properly before putting it back. The fans are usually a bit more difficult to clean but doable if you have the patience. Replacing the thermal past would be a good idea, but the chances are the machine is close to it's end of life anyway, the caps from that era tend to go at some point.

JustAnotherSaver said:

The computer doesn't live in a box as in them computer desks with in built boxes, it lives on top of a wooden shelf that's placed on the carpet & has been since I moved to this house in 2015. Before that it was up high.
I know that isn't ideal and I'm looking to see how I can re-jig the room to allow me to get the PC tower up higher with everything else that's in there. 

Dust is not as big as a problem as people think so long as you hoover regularly. Hoovering the inside of the case once a year is normally more than enough.

JustAnotherSaver said:

As said in a previous thread, I blasted the computer with compressed air. 
I removed 1 sata cable from both ends (port 6) and when I re-fitted it, it no longer detected the hard drive it was connected to. 
Nor did a new cable connected to that port. 
Nor did the optical drive I then connected to that port. 

Try it on one of the cables for another drive an see what happens, check none of the ports or cable ends are damaged and that it is actually seated fully. However if you mean the port on the motherboard it could mean that something has cracked when you removed it as lead free solder from back then becomes particularly fragile over time.

JustAnotherSaver said:

I didn't yank the cable out. Is this likely to be an age thing with plastic & heat not playing nice with each other over time? 

It makes me reluctant to disconnect any more data cables at the motherboard end. 

They should be fine if you are very careful, but if the cables work leave them as they are.

JustAnotherSaver said:

With your card comment - are you saying get a card that plugs in to the motherboard & I have to thread cables through the inside of the PC tower out of the back? 
Or just that I can then connect to the back whatever device I want? 
I have a strong feeling I'm going to feel stupid after you answer but hey ho what else is new

A picture of the insides would probably help. There should be no reason you cannot connect it direct, but it normally makes sense to keep things reasonably tidy inside, if only for access reasons. 

JustAnotherSaver

You asked for a photo. This is my motherboard if it helps any?

A photo:

Now you'll have to forgive the cables running over the graphics card like that - the 1red & 1 black as right now I've just been trying things out because that sata port wasn't working (you'll see it right above the graphics card - the angled connector). I haven't put the side back on yet as I still need access inside.

But in the grand scheme of it all, those 2 cables don't make it messy, it's messy anyway

Dust is not as big as a problem as people think so long as you hoover regularly. Hoovering the inside of the case once a year is normally more than enough.

Well I don't hoover it, but I do generally take it outside twice per year for a compressed air spray.

For the first however many years of ownership I didn't bother & the first time I took to it with a can there was a cloud of dust. Not so much these days as like I say, I do it twice per year or at the very least once - December time is a cert.

What I do do more regularly is the front of the case has a detachable face. In front of the front fan is a detachable mesh guard & in front of this on the face of the case is a mesh grille sort of thing.

I detach these reasonably regular & give them a hoover as they collect dust in no time.

However if you mean the port on the motherboard it could mean that something has cracked when you removed it as lead free solder from back then becomes particularly fragile over time.

Yep I am hazarding a guess that it's the port on the motherboard that's gone duff.

I can get the drive to work connecting it to that card above the graphics card - so it's not the connector on the hard drive end.

I can also doing it using a cable that wont connect if I connect the hard drive to the motherboard.

So surely has to be the motherboard port. Even though it LOOKS fine. I haven't ripped it up or anything. It's not loose. Just doesn't seem to work.