[dr4gon]

I wanted a cleaner look and a way to better route that monstrous 24-pin ATX motherboard cable, so I decided to uni-sleeve the computer one step closer towards a million dollars.

First you need a few things:


Quote:

Cable you intend to sleeve 1/8" Sleeving of the color of your choice 1/8" Heatshrink of the color of your choice (2:1 or 3:1 will work) Staples (lots of them!) Small flat head screwdriver Dremel to make a custom tool Pliers Lighter or some other strong heat source Black spray paint to make the cables black (or a sharpie and lots of time) PATIENCE!

Custom tool I made to remove the male pins. If you are sleeving your PSU directly, you will not need this



Before













Too bad that heatshrink and sleeve is about to be torn off! :up:

And replaced with this:



Making Progress....



To remove the male pins, insert the tool all the way until the pin begins to slide out, be sure to press it all the way in, (optional) remove the tool, pull firmly straight out on the corresponding wire till it comes out.

To remove the female pins, insert two opened staples into each end (right and left) to depress the barbs. Leave the staples in, and pull straight out on the cable. It should EASILY come out. I used pliers to get the staples in because I couldn't get a good grip on them.

See this for easy staple pin removal!

YouTube - ATX removal

Wiggle everything on. Getting the heatshrink the first few times is slow, but you'll get faster in time.



After





Grand finale, Money Shot!



If you still have trouble, there's a great reference here at XS.

 

[dr4gon]

Reserved for SATA and other cables.

 

[nafljhy]

you did a wonderful job dragon!

 

[aFreak]

Always wanted to do this, nice work.

 

[tagurtoast]

man that looks sick but i dont see why you needed a sharpie/paint

 

[Nightz2k]

I'd have to really be bored some day to actually try that. That looks sweet though, nice work!

 

[TheCh3F]

sexy!

 

[dr4gon]

Thanks everyone!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tagurtoast man that looks sick but i dont see why you needed a sharpie/paint

It's to prevent the color from leeking through. Otherwise I would be sleeving it in black for almost nothing, all the yellow, white, green, and orange, etc.... would show through. MDPC-X sleeving is thicker and doesn't have gaps (seamless) so if you got that more expensive sleeving, you could skip that step.

 

[88EVGAFTW]

you wanna sleeve mine for me

 

[dr4gon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMABFKCUO you wanna sleeve mine for me

I was thinking about making and selling some. Don't have time right now, nor do I know how much to charge. Performance-PCs sells these pre-made for $75+shipping!

There is a good amount of labor that goes into this.

I started last Wednesday and finished on Sunday working a bit each day.

 

[Jason4i7]

That is really nice. I would love to do it to mine, but Void warranty. 5 Years is too much to give up. If they had a 24 pin extension, then maybe. But then worry about depredation of power running through another connector. Any thoughts?

Also love the camera. Great close ups. What is it??

 

[Angmaar]

That looks sweet, nice job!

 

[nafljhy]

it definitely takes alot of work... i know the last one i did took 9 hours plus.

i'm doing another one now.. almost finished most of it... 4 more pins on the 24 pin. then 2x 6pin PCIe and 1x SATA.

but if you do like a couple of wires a day, then its not that bad.. i just wouldn't recommend doing a whole bunch at a time.. way too stress inducing and tiring.

dang it dragon, i keep looking for the rep button for you and well.. you don't got one..

cookies for you then!

 

[dr4gon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason4i7 That is really nice. I would love to do it to mine, but Void warranty. 5 Years is too much to give up. If they had a 24 pin extension, then maybe. But then worry about depredation of power running through another connector. Any thoughts? Also love the camera. Great close ups. What is it??

Well the extension was like $7 on Newegg. I've heard sleeving doesn't void your warranty, although it really depends brand to brand, call Corsair up. I would like to know as well, if you do get around to doing it. But this way, I'm not giving anything up, there's less to sleeve, and I can move it from computer to computer.

The camera is a Sony A300 with a Sony SAL-100M28 100mm F/2.8 macro lens, lighting provided by a Sony HVL-F58AM flash. If you like my photos, be sure to check out my flickr (in my sig), and add me as a contact if you have an account!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nafljhy it definitely takes alot of work... i know the last one i did took 9 hours plus. i'm doing another one now.. almost finished most of it... 4 more pins on the 24 pin. then 2x 6pin PCIe and 1x SATA. but if you do like a couple of wires a day, then its not that bad.. i just wouldn't recommend doing a whole bunch at a time.. way too stress inducing and tiring. dang it dragon, i keep looking for the rep button for you and well.. you don't got one.. cookies for you then!

hehe thanks! yum, yum! Good luck. Yeah I did it as sorta a stress reliever (or so it became, after a long day, to get away from my computer, oddly enough). I think I may do a SATA cable or two and a SATA power for the DVD drive, a USB bracket's cable, and then I'll call it quits.

 

[Mikezilla]

I'll buy one if you make it.

 

[TDN1979]

Have you tried doing it from the other end of that connector? I did my PSU and with that black connector, it's a major PITA to do. I'm about to buy new tools just for the wire sleeving. Great job though

 

[dr4gon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDN1979 Have you tried doing it from the other end of that connector? I did my PSU and with that black connector, it's a major PITA to do. I'm about to buy new tools just for the wire sleeving. Great job though

They're both easy. To sleeve it, I had to remove both ends, so to answer your question, yes I have

. In fact, I'd say the black end (female pins), are easier to remove because you can use staples. The other white (male) end is much deeper and has a lot more room, so staples don't stay on place well. The only way I could get them out was with my tool or by forcing paperclips (which was a major PITA).

edit: to your second question, I don't think there's much of a drop. In fact I did measure all the voltages and they were just fine: 12V, 5V, 3.3V etc.... The wiring inside this extension is 100% copper, unlike the 20 to 24pin I cannibalized which was I think steel (?), it was silver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjg1675 I'll buy one if you make it.

Thanks, about how much would you (or anyone else) be willing to pay?

 

[Jason4i7]

I have in the last few hours already recommended this thread three times. It is now part of my signature in a link. Hope this spreads far. Its a good guide. Keep up the good work.

 

[dr4gon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason4i7 I have in the last few hours already recommended this thread three times. It is now part of my signature in a link. Hope this spreads far. Its a good guide. Keep up the good work.

Thanks a lot!

 

[.Style]

I would be willing to pay $25-$35 for an extension custom sleeved in the colours I want...

Also, good job on it

It looks lurverly.