# Custom PSU Cabling - Need some help



## becandl (Feb 24, 2009)

Hey guys!  Before I get down to business, I'd just like to say that I'm new to the forums here.  I've been an active member of the SLIzone forums, but they just aren't active enough in the section that I'm am looking for some help in.  Okay, lets get to it.

I have an Antec 900 case.  I have done a bit of work on cable management and it looks pretty nice, but I really just want to get all those extra wires I have out of there.  My power supply is a Corsair 750watt.  I will get some pics up in a bit so you can see a little bit of what I have done to it.

So I've been really considering cracking up the PSU and making my own custom cables for the rig.  Really, I don't think it will cost all that much money.  I only have one video card and one hard drive, and some fans that I'd like to make custom cables for.  So I have a few questions that I need answered in order to get started, with which hopefully you guys can help out with.


1. Where do you think ordering all the part from for this project would be cheapest?  I've been thinking about Performance-PCs.com.  They have a good variety of things and the prices look pretty cheap.  

2. What gauge wire are standard power supply cables?  I'm pretty sure they are 18 gauge, but I don't want to rip of the sleeving just yet to figure that out.  

3. What gauge are standard 3-pin fan cables?  They are a bit smaller than the standard power supply cables I've noticed.

4. Knowing that I have just one graphics card and hard drive and an Antec 900 case.  About how many feet of wiring do you think I will need?  I will get those pics up later so you can see for yourself, it doesn't look like it should be too much cabling.


Well those are about my only questions now, might be some more to come.  Any help you guys can contribute will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks guys!


-Becandl


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## OzzmanFloyd120 (Feb 24, 2009)

becandl said:


> Hey guys!  Before I get down to business, I'd just like to say that I'm new to the forums here.  I've been an active member of the SLIzone forums, but they just aren't active enough in the section that I'm am looking for some help in.  Okay, lets get to it.
> 
> I have an Antec 900 case.  I have done a bit of work on cable management and it looks pretty nice, but I really just want to get all those extra wires I have out of there.  My power supply is a Corsair 750watt.  I will get some pics up in a bit so you can see a little bit of what I have done to it.
> 
> ...




Welcome to tpu!

The job you're thinking of will be a really tough one and I HIGHLY recommend not doing it, not only can you ruin your PSU it's extremely dangerous to solder on PSUs. The PSU can hold a charge, even after it's been unplugged and "drained" by hitting the power button on your PC. The capaciters are beasts and the amperage that they hold can kill you  (about 12W=1A and 1A is more than 10x what it takes to kill you)
I suggest instead of rewiring just buying new sleeving for your PSU. and maybe new molex and 4pin connectors.

I hope that helped.


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## becandl (Feb 24, 2009)

*Got the pics*

Okay here are the pics:






The rig





The case with the side off.  Notice the excess wires and duct tape 





Little bit closer inside





Wires up in the top





Bundle of fan wires





The back side.  Notice the random wires hanging out.  I've never really put the side on because i can't get it to close with those wires back there for some reason


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## becandl (Feb 24, 2009)

OzzmanFloyd120 said:


> Welcome to tpu!
> 
> The job you're thinking of will be a really tough one and I HIGHLY recommend not doing it, not only can you ruin your PSU it's extremely dangerous to solder on PSUs. The PSU can hold a charge, even after it's been unplugged and "drained" by hitting the power button on your PC. The capaciters are beasts and the amperage that they hold can kill you  (about 12W=1A and 1A is more than 10x what it takes to kill you)
> I suggest instead of rewiring just buying new sleeving for your PSU. and maybe new molex and 4pin connectors.
> ...



Well I've heard that you can do it safely if you leave the it on all night unplugged with a fan to drain the charge.  But thanks for pointing that out because I'm still unsure.  Would it be better if I bought a brand new PSU and worked on that?


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## OzzmanFloyd120 (Feb 24, 2009)

becandl said:


> Well I've heard that you can do it safely if you leave the it on all night unplugged with a fan to drain the charge.  But thanks for pointing that out because I'm still unsure.  Would it be better if I bought a brand new PSU and worked on that?



Honestly I'm not really sure. What exactly did you want to accomplish by doing the custom wiring? Just to lengthen/shorten the cables, or did you have something else in mind?


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## paulm (Feb 24, 2009)

becandl said:


> Well I've heard that you can do it safely if you leave the it on all night unplugged with a fan to drain the charge.  But thanks for pointing that out because I'm still unsure.  Would it be better if I bought a brand new PSU and worked on that?



I'd say just buy a modular PSU and sell this one off, its not worth the hassle or the chance of electrocuting yourself when someone in a far off manufacturing plant can do it for you.


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## becandl (Feb 24, 2009)

Well I was going for a very clean look, with all the cables to the exact right length, and to sleeve it all my own way to make it look good.  Modular PSUs tend to be even more expensive than I think it would to just do this mod, plus then the cables still aren't to the exact length and I still have to hide some of the cabling.  

To be honest, if you guys think doing this is a waste of time, then I think I can just pass with custom making my own fan wires, which I really need to do.  Any suggestions?  I still need to figure out what gauge wires the 3-pin connectors are.


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## paulm (Feb 24, 2009)

becandl said:


> Well I was going for a very clean look, with all the cables to the exact right length, and to sleeve it all my own way to make it look good.  Modular PSUs tend to be even more expensive than I think it would to just do this mod, plus then the cables still aren't to the exact length and I still have to hide some of the cabling.
> 
> To be honest, if you guys think doing this is a waste of time, then I think I can just pass with custom making my own fan wires, which I really need to do.  Any suggestions?  I still need to figure out what gauge wires the 3-pin connectors are.



I honestly wouldn't call it a waste of time, but I think it isn't worth everything that comes with it. It would be a nice mod if it worked out, but if it didn't, worst case scenario someone finds you on the floor next to your PSU, twitching ever so slightly.


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## Verizon (Feb 24, 2009)

becandl said:


> Well I was going for a very clean look, with all the cables to the exact right length, and to sleeve it all my own way to make it look good.  Modular PSUs tend to be even more expensive than I think it would to just do this mod, plus then the cables still aren't to the exact length and I still have to hide some of the cabling.
> 
> To be honest, if you guys think doing this is a waste of time, then I think I can just pass with custom making my own fan wires, which I really need to do.  Any suggestions?  I still need to figure out what gauge wires the 3-pin connectors are.



I bought a maddog PSu from the px its 430w and 20 bucks, but it had to many cables for me, so like what you want to do, i removed most of them.

the problem is that the process is delicate, and i now have a Cm real power pro. if you dont have another PSU my suggestion would be make the fan wires and hide the power supply wires as good as you can.
good luck


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## becandl (Feb 24, 2009)

Haha, true.  Now that I think about it, I don't want to rip open a power supply without knowing it won't kill me.  Maybe I'll do something cool like this on my next build, and make a log that all can see.  Thanks for the advice. 

Also, I'll probably be purchasing some extensions for the front panel connectors and power button cables.  Will make things look a bit cleaner.

Now I guess I better start looking into the fan wiring situation...


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## OzzmanFloyd120 (Feb 24, 2009)

becandl said:


> Haha, true.  Now that I think about it, I don't want to rip open a power supply without knowing it won't kill me.  Maybe I'll do something cool like this on my next build, and make a log that all can see.  Thanks for the advice.
> 
> Also, I'll probably be purchasing some extensions for the front panel connectors and power button cables.  Will make things look a bit cleaner.
> 
> Now I guess I better start looking into the fan wiring situation...



Really with an Antec 900 you could pull off some maddening wiring. Take a look in the case mod section of TPU at the wiring some of us have done (a link to mine is in my sig) There's really a lot you can do with very little.

Edit:
Just to make it clear it's not the case mod link, it's the  "my other penis" link (play on the name of my system.)


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## becandl (Feb 24, 2009)

Haha, alright.  Thanks, I'll check it out.


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## CyberDruid (Feb 24, 2009)

Note that I was able to route all the cabling to the blindside of the mobo. You could easily route your PCI e power to the blindside and then poke only the length needed through the hole.

Fan wire is 22 gauge. You can get all the pins and so on from PPC. 

And you can definitely get the side panel closed...just take the wires and lash them to the optical bay area where you have more depth. The way I do it is I unplug everything and start with the 24 pin power and get that as flat as possible...then I run the PCIe so that it does not overlap. Then I run the molex/sata power so it does not overlape. Then I take all the unused cables and run them to the optical bay so they do not crisscross or overlap and coil them neatly and lash them into place using the existing slots in the optical bay side.

Takes a little thought and trial and error but after you do it you will be quite pleased with yourself 

To close the side Panel I Lay the case on it's side blindside up and let gravity help me keep the cables where I want and press the panel down (it may feel springy but it will engage) and slide it forward in one motion to lock it in place. No Biggy...just takes a little hand-eye coordination. Once it's closed all the spaghetti is hidden and all you should see are the lengths of cable coming from the holes you made in the mobo tray.


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## becandl (Feb 24, 2009)

Alright, looks good CyberDruid.  Looks like I'll have to crack it open this weekend when I find some time.  I'll need to get some wire ties and extentions for the front panel headers.


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## denice25 (Feb 24, 2009)

Welcome !!! Enjoy


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## Thrackan (Feb 25, 2009)

If you're really going to make your own cables, the wire gauge is usually displayed on the wires. Look for 16/18/20 or another number near that range.


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