cables Cable Management (DESK)

[spotnyk]

Anyone have any great gems for cable management tools/approaches?

 

I'm currently using Velcro straps (here). They work well, but anytime I want to unplug a machine to clean it or add/remove something, I spend a ton of time unstrapping things, and redoing them. Any better ideas / gadets out there I have missed?

[TARS]

Zip Ties?

 

Buy a big bag, snip if you need to remove, and replace.

[spotnyk]

Just now, Tars said:

Zip Ties?

LOL Thanks, but those are worse than velcro straps actually.

[emosun]

well cable management in general requires a long disassembly period in favor of a cleaner look. I cant think of a method that would allow you to assemble the cables without having to disassemble them when you want to move them.

 

maybe zipties with little magnets on them , and then magnets wherever you wanted them to stick to.

[TARS]

One can tastefully ziptie

 

They do sell adhesive hangers that snap over cables, but I find them cumbersome.. as if I change the placement of something I have to remove the adhesive.

 

Purse locks are sometimes useful, have a look here 

 

[EunSoo]

yeah, I just use zipties. Velcro ties could also work if they'll fit in your case's cable management holes; but I find it convenient to just cut the ties when I take apart a PC. It's not as elegant than zipties but it makes more sense to me.

 

Find a route from Point A to B where the run is clean and there is no slack. You don't need special tools or cables to have good cable management. They help, but aren't necessary. 

[AperumDesign]

Are you running sleeved cables (eg. Cablemod), handmade sleeved cables or stock PSU cables?

[truemax]

I am planning to start working on my cable managment too since i'm waiting my last piece gpu to arrive, and was wondering is it safe to use those zipties that came with my case? I remember watching a pc build video months ago and the guy was advising not to use zip ties as its not safe thing to do. Dont remember exactly reason why is it not safe but still got stuck in my head.

[spotnyk]

I think I messed up here. I'm mainly talking about desk cable management, not in case. I've that pretty much pinned down (no pun intended)

[Math4Life]

I use a Signum Cable Management Tray from Ikea that attaches to the bottom of the desk (with screws) to corral excess cable (which I tend to form into circles and secure individually with reusable zip ties similar to these). I also love Mag Daddy Magnetic Cable holders.  They come in different sizes and they have a version to route cables and another version that is made so that you can slide a cable tie through.  The beauty of the version that's intended to route cables (like this one) is that you can actually slide a reusable zip tie through it to secure excess cable in a bunch, which hides nicely inside the desk frame.  These along with the surge protector that's mounted to the bottom of my desk with heavy duty velcro has worked really well for my sit-stand desk.

[spotnyk]

20 hours ago, Math4Life said:

I use a Signum Cable Management Tray from Ikea that attaches to the bottom of the desk (with screws) to corral excess cable (which I tend to form into circles and secure individually with reusable zip ties similar to these). I also love Mag Daddy Magnetic Cable holders.  They come in different sizes and they have a version to route cables and another version that is made so that you can slide a cable tie through.  The beauty of the version that's intended to route cables (like this one) is that you can actually slide a reusable zip tie through it to secure excess cable in a bunch, which hides nicely inside the desk frame.  These along with the surge protector that's mounted to the bottom of my desk with heavy duty velcro has worked really well for my sit-stand desk.

Thanks so much for the in-depth response. The tray looks nice. I actually have an IKEA desk, which happens to have this cable "management" net thing on the bottom, but it's pretty much the definition of "use this only if you never ever need to change anything later"

 

I've ordered some of those zipties because I tend to not reuse the Velcro ones anyway, and those look quicker to apply. The signum looks nice, but considering a good portion of the underside of the desk is taken up with the aforementioned net rig, I'm not sure I have room for it (also, my whole "area" has a black theme going ). I'm thinking about trying something like this; attaching it to the bottom. How do the Mag Daddy bases attach to the desk; is it adhesive (considering the desk itself is not metal)?

 

I like the idea of mounting the surge protector. Definitely going to do that.

 

Thanks again.

[spotnyk]

21 hours ago, truemax said:

I am planning to start working on my cable managment too since i'm waiting my last piece gpu to arrive, and was wondering is it safe to use those zipties that came with my case? I remember watching a pc build video months ago and the guy was advising not to use zip ties as its not safe thing to do. Dont remember exactly reason why is it not safe but still got stuck in my head.

I've never had issues using the provided zipties. Just make sure you don't have them laying against any heat sinks / piping. They are plastic afterall.

[spotnyk]

21 hours ago, AperumDesign said:

Are you running sleeved cables (eg. Cablemod), handmade sleeved cables or stock PSU cables?

I'm running sleeved cables in both my rigs. I messed up and didn't clarify in the OP that this was about desk cabling, not "in-rig". Apologies.

[spotnyk]

21 hours ago, Tars said:

One can tastefully ziptie

 

They do sell adhesive hangers that snap over cables, but I find them cumbersome.. as if I change the placement of something I have to remove the adhesive.

 

Purse locks are sometimes useful, have a look here 

 

Ah, the purse locks looks interesting. I'll check them out.

 

Thanks!

[AperumDesign]

50 minutes ago, spotnyk said:

I'm running sleeved cables in both my rigs. I messed up and didn't clarify in the OP that this was about desk cabling, not "in-rig". Apologies.

Oh, no worries. For desk cable management I use two Ikea Signum Trays mounted on the back underside of my desk, with pretty much everything routed into those and held down with a combination of twist ties or velcro ties (for the items that I remove occasionally) and generic cable ties for everything else. I also use adhesive cable clips of various sizes to route cables along the underside of my desk. Nothing too fancy, but it does the trick just fine. My desk is 2000x800mm, which means that you can only really see the trays if you're either looking from a very low angle, or a very long way from the desks. I believe this to be the fastest and cleanest way of managing cable mess at the back of a desk, although it is fairly permanent and a pain to undo in the future. If you do it right, the only cable you should see is the single cable going to your mains power.

[AperumDesign]

Alternatively, depending on how many cables you have to worry about, you could buy one or two Cablox Cable Management Systems. They allow a degree of removability that the trays don't, but it may be a bit more fiddly. Also could get very costly if you're like me with about six thousand cables to manage.

[spotnyk]

10 minutes ago, AperumDesign said:

Oh, no worries. For desk cable management I use two Ikea Signum Trays mounted on the back underside of my desk, with pretty much everything routed into those and held down with a combination of twist ties or velcro ties (for the items that I remove occasionally) and generic cable ties for everything else. I also use adhesive cable clips of various sizes to route cables along the underside of my desk. Nothing too fancy, but it does the trick just fine. My desk is 2000x800mm, which means that you can only really see the trays if you're either looking from a very low angle, or a very long way from the desks. I believe this to be the fastest and cleanest way of managing cable mess at the back of a desk, although it is fairly permanent and a pain to undo in the future. If you do it right, the only cable you should see is the single cable going to your mains power.

Okay thanks. Someone else suggested the Signum Tray. I wish it came in black (guess I could paint it). I may try that out.

[spotnyk]

8 minutes ago, AperumDesign said:

Alternatively, depending on how many cables you have to worry about, you could buy one or two Cablox Cable Management Systems. They allow a degree of removability that the trays don't, but it may be a bit more fiddly. Also could get very costly if you're like me with about six thousand cables to manage.

Yeah, I'm trying to manage two-rigs, six monitors, and four pieces of recording pipeline equipment, while keeping it looking clean. Uhg.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

[AperumDesign]

7 minutes ago, spotnyk said:

Okay thanks. Someone else suggested the Signum Tray. I wish it came in black (guess I could paint it). I may try that out.

Yeah, you could definitely paint it black. Although the cable ties would probably take the paint off if you every wanted to remove them.

6 minutes ago, spotnyk said:

Yeah, I'm trying to manage two-rigs, six monitors, and four pieces of recording pipeline equipment, while keeping it looking clean. Uhg.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

Perhaps with so much to manage, your best bet may be to add a blank backing to the rear of your desk where your feet lie, to cover up everything that routes behind the desk. Kind of like your standard office desk. Whether or not that would work would depend on the type of legs/cabinets you're using. It'd also only work if you were up against a wall. Just an idea.

[Math4Life]

On 10/28/2017 at 12:25 PM, spotnyk said:

Thanks so much for the in-depth response. The tray looks nice. I actually have an IKEA desk, which happens to have this cable "management" net thing on the bottom, but it's pretty much the definition of "use this only if you never ever need to change anything later"

 

I've ordered some of those zipties because I tend to not reuse the Velcro ones anyway, and those look quicker to apply. The signum looks nice, but considering a good portion of the underside of the desk is taken up with the aforementioned net rig, I'm not sure I have room for it (also, my whole "area" has a black theme going ). I'm thinking about trying something like this; attaching it to the bottom. How do the Mag Daddy bases attach to the desk; is it adhesive (considering the desk itself is not metal)?

 

I like the idea of mounting the surge protector. Definitely going to do that.

 

Thanks again.

Sorry for my delay! That is an excellent question! The Mag Daddy bases have magnets built into them.  My sit-stand desk has metal legs and frame (shaped like an H) that runs underneath the wood-like-substance table top.  What I've done is place the mag daddies at strategic locations on the frame to route the cables that go from the front to the back (I mounted my Signum in the back and the surge protector on the front right hand side, so I could access it easier) and I also wind up the excess length of some of those cables with a reusable zip-tie and connect it to a mag daddy tucked inside of the center H portion of the frame. I love them!  

 

In case helpful, I've also mounted a USB hub to the bottom of the desk (with velco) and run a headphone jack extension cable (similar to this one) from my computer along the bottom of the desk and it sits under the front edge in something similar to this to keep my headphone wire off the top of the desk.  I also use some of this that I got at Ikea for the wires that have to run off the desk (too bad it doesn't come in black tho).  

 

Those Ikea net things are awesome! I really wish they sold those separately! They keep everything so contained!