Next-gen ideas for PC cable-managment?

[Lexooo]

Hey Guys!

 

I 'm following Linus and the rest of the crew from some years now, but never got into the community thing, but hey.. Some day we get smarter and here I am

(sorry for when my English isn't perfect, I'm from Belgium and I speak dutch natively)

 

I didn't find anything like this right away, so I hope I can start this thread..

 

I was wondering after assembling some computers for my own and friends/family and as most people know, cables are a struggle..

Isn't there any other options/ideas from manufacturers or other people to make this simpler/better?

 

I got an idea stuck into my head for while now..

The one thing that (I think) 'sucks' in a beautiful PC build, are those cables, even after some cable modding, they're still very in sight..

 

What if manufacturers and case designers would make the motherboard connector(s) (mostly the huge power one) on the BACK of the motherboard?

Wouldn't that look ALOT better for smooth, beautiful pc builds?

 

What are your thoughts about this one?

What about the practical part for the manufacturers / case modders / pc builders? (You can acces everything else on the back..)

What are your ideas for a cleaner pc build look?

 

 

Thanks! I look forward to any feedback and ideas! :-)

[Skiiwee29]

Honestly, unless you are working in very low end budget cases, there are decent ways to do cable management. Here is a video recently put out by JayzTwoCents that goes through thoughts and ideas on how to route cables etc when doing cable management to make them look as neat as possible.

 

 

[Theguywhobea]

It's a nice idea, but I can see it ending up as a compatibility nightmare. Then case, board, and power supply manufactuers all have to find some kind of standard to work with, but like what usually happens, several standards will form. Then it's one more area you can screw up when putting a new build together, you get your parts out and find that your case blocks the ports on the back of your motherboard.

[aisle9]

Lots of cases now are placing the PSU in a shroud and leaving room down there for cables to be hidden. Building the connectors into the case itself, while a neat idea, would be tough. Different motherboards have their 24-pin connector in different places.

[SonoDanshi]

I do find this an interesting question. With USB 3.1 Gen2 offering 100W of power distribution in such a small form factor (Type-C), you have to ask, how long until the bulky PC cables can disappear and be replaced by something far more practical and streamlined.

[geo3]

31 minutes ago, Lexooo said:

What are your thoughts about this one?

Seems like a bad idea sacrificing functionality for aesthetics. Not to mention MBs like this will be incompatible with almost every case out there.

31 minutes ago, Lexooo said:

What are your ideas for a cleaner pc build look?

Non-windowed cases. Problem solved.

[germgoatz]

wireless everything

[Lexooo]

22 hours ago, SonoDanshi said:

I do find this an interesting question. With USB 3.1 Gen2 offering 100W of power distribution in such a small form factor (Type-C), you have to ask, how long until the bulky PC cables can disappear and be replaced by something far more practical and streamlined.

hmmm, this is a very interesting thing too indeed.. It might be possible to make a custom cable like this I guess, if there is enough research in it..

 

For the rest: thanks for your thoughts guys! Ofcourse, functionality isn't always everything with case modding ;-)

[Jay Deah]

One thing to remember is that the wires need to be of a specific thickness to carry the required current. They can’t shrink down the cables themselves without reducing the power draw of the components. So I can’t see motherboards powered off of usb cables any time soon.

[geo3]

52 minutes ago, Jay Deah said:

One thing to remember is that the wires need to be of a specific thickness to carry the required current. They can’t shrink down the cables themselves without reducing the power draw of the components.

No, but basic Ohms laws tells us we can increase the voltage instead of the current to deliver more over all power. This is why power transfer lines carry 10s to 100s of thousands of volts and are only stepped down to 220/110 volts when they get closer to your home.

 

USB C power up to 100W is delivered with 20V instead of the standard 5V most USB uses for the very reason you state.