Before and after wire clean up

Going to a LAN party is more than just playing Quake 3 or UT. LAN parties are also a good place to show off your computer. One of the first things I do is find out what kind of system everybody is running. LAN 825 was built for both go and show so it had to look good when the side panel is open.

The first thing I did was clean up the wires. I use some zip ties to bundle up the ATX power wires and ran the fan wires for the Global Win cooler under the fan screws and around the fan to the fan connectors. As you can see in the above before and after photo, this really gave the system a nice clean look. Having loose wires in your comp is not only messy it might get in the way of nearby fans.

Next up for detailing were the wires that turn on the computer. I zip tied those up too. I was going to put the wires in wire loom but I ran out after detailing another computer. I will add the wire looms for both the ATX power connector wires and the control wires as soon as I get some more.

Wire loom for a nice clean look

This is how the system will look after the wire loom is put on. Looks a lot better than before when it was all loose. I might even make the IDE cables round and put them in wire loom as well. For now, the IDE cables are folded flat against the motherboard side wall.

Some people might question the need to do all this. After all, no one looks at the inside a computer anyway, right? Well, that may be true for most comps, but it's not the case with LAN comps. LAN parties are kinda like a car show. Everyone is there to play and show off their creation (eveyone who built their own computer anyway). A nicely detailed LAN box shows you take pride in your work.

Next page: The LAN Strap®

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