Sleeving Advice - Take 2

[hmmblah]

My last thread went a little off-topic so here's a new one!

Old thread:
http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=70068

My original question:

I'm going to try my hand at sleeving my own cables, but need some clarification on a few things. The cables I'm going to start with are the PSU cables:

2x VGA 8 pin
ATX 24 pin
CPU 8 pin
SATA power with two connectors

For the tool kit I'm looking at the Phobya extractor tool kit.

As far as the actual sleeving goes I'm looking at Bitspower tight weave sleeving. Do I need 1/8" for all those cables I mentioned? How is the bitspower stuff? Is there another brand on Performance-pcs.com I should look at?

For the pins:
Phobya female atx/vga 20pcs

Any other advice or something I'm missing?

Thanks!

I'm planning to make custom sleeved cables for my rig. Project log here:
http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=70037

In the last thread a couple people recommended mainframecustom.com. I think I'm going to buy LC-teleios 4mm sleeve as soon as black is back in stock. I'll probably also get red and gray, possibly white. I'm still not 100% sure on colors.

I may grab a crimper as well and get some pin removal tools.

If anyone has any wisdom to share on tips/tricks or any other insight it would be much appreciated.

 

[Wraith]

What about E22 they have all the 4mm Teleios you could need.

 

[Highlander89]

If anyone has any wisdom to share on tips/tricks or any other insight it would be much appreciated.

I did all my cables myself with no experience whatsoever. The two small pins on the pin extractor are quite fragile so don't force it. They can be quite tricky to get out sometimes. Just make sure that both of the pins are outside of the contact itself, sometimes it looks like it's on the edges and you pull and pull and then the pin extractor isn't in place properly.

Trick here is to take your time. Put on your favourite TV-show/movie and get to work . I did mine one cable at a time, in that way I couldn't get any of the cables in the wrong place. It isn't really rocket-science, it just takes a lot of time.

Make sure the heatshrinks are the same length ( I see now on my GPU power cable that some of the heatshrinks vary 2-3mm), you could precut all the heatshrink before hand to get them the same length.

And a nice lacing afterwards is strongly recommended, in my opinion, if you're gonna make the effort to custom sleeve your cables, then you can lace them as well, makes all the difference in the world. Unfortunately the cables on my GPU power connector goes criss-cross so I haven't got those cables laced. But a zip-tie cleans it off a bit atleast.

Good luck with your project mate, will be expecting some pics

 

[tinytomlogan]

Whats the PSU you have blah? Do cablemod make a kit for it?

 

[hmmblah]

It's an hx750i. Not sure if they make a kit for it or not, but could be a backup plan. I really want the cables the exact length needed. The case is an absolute mess right now, so much so that I can't even post pics, it's down right embarrassing. I'll definitely do a before and after though if this sleeving goes like I hope.

 

[Doomslayer]

It's an hx750i. Not sure if they make a kit for it or not, but could be a backup plan. I really want the cables the exact length needed. The case is an absolute mess right now, so much so that I can't even post pics, it's down right embarrassing. I'll definitely do a before and after though if this sleeving goes like I hope.

Yeah CableMod makes cable kits for the HXi series

 

[BBG280]

I have an RM850 and ended up making some of the cables from scratch. I found it a bit easier than trying to get the sleeve over the pins. If you do decided to go that route you need a good crimper like the one LutrOo offers at mainframe customs. It will make a nice factory type crimp. I bought atx pins from there too. They are much better than the ones I picked up from frozencpu and performance pcs.

Buy more sleeve than what you need. You will cut some too short. I certainly did. Sharpe scissors and good side cutters are a must.

I decided to make my own cables because then the only down time was swapping out the old for the new.

 

[Wraith]

BBG280 has some good pointers there, also for measuring and cutting take a look at my SATA sleeving guide steps 1 - 4.

 

[BBG280]

I have some Bitspower Red 1/8" and it's a rather hard plastic compared to the Telios which is much softer and pretty round. They are both about the same diameter. I've also use the Bitspower 1/16" sleeving. It's a tight fit one 16 and 18ga wire. Because it expands you need to cut the sleeve longer to got the full length of the wire. I had received and order of the black 4mm Telios just before main frame went out of stock. Sorry about that hmmblah, haha.

 

[pcrevolution]

OP, are you looking to make extensions or to sleeve the original cables?

I can't speak for the HX750i but some modular units have multiple wires crimped to a single pin, like my superflower leadex:

(The bottom right connector)


I've not had the chance of working with MDPC sleevings as they were closed for their long break. But having used Lutro0's teleios, I can say that the sleeving is naturally quite dense on its own. And you'll just need to pull a little bit more when you are melting the sleeving ends to make sure the weaving stays tight so that there are no colour shifts/leaks.

Also consider making half of the wires about 1cm shorter than the other half. This can help your cables to curl nicely and will negate the use of a cable comb. Lutro0 did mention this and I found the curve more pleasant and easier to work with.

I'm also in the midst of a cable sleeving and custom loop attempt:

 

[hmmblah]

I plan on sleeving the existing wires. I got my first order in Saturday, still have to get some black sleeve and some other ends. Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely think of that as I'm doing my cables.