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3.5" hard drive mounting options

Bourdain
By Bourdain
in Storage Devices
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Hi guys, I put together my very first computer a month ago (yay!) and have a question regarding mounting the hard drive, a search of the web didn't yield anything appropriate.


 


In this case, due to the proximity of the 3.5" hard drive bay to the PSU, the cables from the PSU are very snug indeed (matx case - I had to remove the bay, feed through the cables, then put the bay back in when putting this thing together) - see the images via the link below. I'm wondering if there are any alternatives to mounting the hard drive in here. Ideally I would like to remove the bay and mount the hd somewhere else, thereby freeing up the bottom for those cables. I also want to fit two fans to the front of the case in the future and I kind of feel like that bay would just get in the way.


 


The only alternatives I can see are 1/ mounting it against the chassis, either at the front or back, with screws or, failing that, electrical tape, 2/ putting the optical drive bay back in the case (I removed it to make room for the cables) and sticking it up there or 3/ letting it roll around the bottom of the case.


 


Though I did a lot of reading before putting together this PC, I am still pretty much a noob. Any help will be appreciated immensely.


 


http://imgur.com/a/y8a3


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I'm having concerns about the one cable in your second photo. That bend is ugly.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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I'm having concerns about the one cable in your second photo. That bend is ugly.

The one at the top? There's no other way to route the cable due to the case limitations. 

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The one at the top? There's no other way to route the cable due to the case limitations. 

Nope. It's on the right of your graphics card.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Nope. It's on the right of your graphics card.

 

That;s how it was out of the box. I never gave it a second thought really, I've actually just popped the hood and checked again following your comment, the angle of the photo doesn't do it any favours.

 

You can see that cable in these photos, the one in my system isn't any different.

 

http://www.hardwareluxx.de/media/jphoto/artikel-galerien/drei-modelle-der-radeon-r9-380-im-test/msi-r9-380-gaming-test-05-950x630.jpg

 

http://www.ozeros.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MSI-R9-380-Gaming-2GB-9.jpg

 

http://www.overclockersclub.com/vimages/msi_r9_380_gaming_2g/20.jpg

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Was going to ask what the cable even was. Kinda not impressed with MSI over that one, exposed cable and badly applied heat shrink.

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Was going to ask what the cable even was. Kinda not impressed with MSI over that one, exposed cable and badly applied heat shrink.

Agreed. Not cool MSI, but I was mainly commenting on that sharp bend in the cable. The cable is just hanging there too.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Cables tend to look like that when they pop out the end of heat shrink. The bend radius isn't any tighter than the wire radius so it isn't kinked. Not harmful, just unsightly.

Now the freely hanging out in the air? That could lead to harmful things, and is dodgy at best.

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Cables tend to look like that when they pop out the end of heat shrink. The bend radius isn't any tighter than the wire radius so it isn't kinked. Not harmful, just unsightly.

Now the freely hanging out in the air? That could lead to harmful things, and is dodgy at best.

I don't want to see that coming from a company like MSI.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Cables tend to look like that when they pop out the end of heat shrink. The bend radius isn't any tighter than the wire radius so it isn't kinked. Not harmful, just unsightly.

Now the freely hanging out in the air? That could lead to harmful things, and is dodgy at best.

 

The heat shrink should cover more of the cable closer to the plug. But yea the bend is fine. Just expected better from MSI.

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The heat shrink should cover more of the cable closer to the plug. But yea the bend is fine. Just expected better from MSI.

Guess you guys aren't as picky as me.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Guess you guys aren't as picky as me.

 

For stuff I buy for myself I am very picky. Throwing cash at it solves everything :P

 

I take the coolers off GFX cards and water cool them so crappy fans plugs aren't an issue.

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Should I do something with that wire then?

 

And any tips/comments on the hard drive thing?

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The wire is mostly just an aesthetic issue and potential snag hazard. Unfortunate to see MSI leaving it like that sure, but not hazardous to your parts life.

As for the HDD, do you have a spare drive bay? You can get mounts to put them there, or in the 3.5" bay you could put a card reader or (yikes) floppy drive in. I wouldn't ever recommend fastening a disk drive with tape, they're too easy to damage if your adhesive fails.

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I don't know how much space you have between the hard drive and the side panel, but you can try to grab a 90 degree angle SATA cable and turn the HDD around, so the ports are at the front and try to fit the right angle cable between the side panel, if that fits, the power cable shouldn't  be a problem. As far as the HDD as you have it goes, the cables shouldn't be a problem functionaly, maybe just aestheticly

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I've seen Linus using Velcro with sticky backing, one piece on the drive, the other on the case. Use pieces ~80 x 50 mm to hold int on securely.

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