Cable Management Thread

[RCA]

I plan on doing a complete overhaul of my room's wiring mess...

So far I am thinking Velcro wrap, wire loom and PVC pipe.

Any tips, tricks or experiences /advice you guys can offer would be super helpful!

Thanks in advance.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Different devices' wires need different solutions.

Split wire looms and velcro wraps are okay as they can be quickly removed. Just don't go with any crap like spiral wire wraps (like my mother determinedly uses on her computer). They're infuriating if you need to actually change anything with the enclosed wires.

There's a variety of plug-boxes out there you can store power strips, transformers, and excess power cables in. The boxes are bulky but more attractive than a maze of cords and transformers.

Just remember to keep audio and analog video cables away from power cords. Wrap them separately and even route them differently if possible.

You can also use surface-side cable routing with cable organizers. Lots of styles are out there. Manage slack on the "device side" of things so can keep the wrapped/tied side cleaner, too.

[RCA]

Yeah from what I heard analog and power cables are oil and water...
Ethernet cables are analog, right?

Any one have any good stores to buy wire loom and Velcro wrap?
I am looking at cableorganizer.com but it seems a little too expensive. Any one know of a brick and mortor store that sells these inexpensively (or websites)?

[tigersharkdude]

wire loom=Lowe's

[Empty V]

Home Depot has a lot of that stuff. I use lots of cable ties but keep everything separate and easy to access. Power definitely on its own. A lot of time when I'm managing a large rack I'll do some temp management then tie up what I need and go back and re-do it. I end up cutting about half of what I initially use and then re-managing it.

[Looneybomber]

I'm anal about my wiring.
-Keep power cords away from everything.
-Keep analog audio away from analog video.
-Keep analog away from digital (HDMI, Eithernet, DVI, etc...)
-Keep speaker wire away from from everything.
-When having to cross wires that don't get along (the five groups above), cross them at 90deg to each other.
-Don't spool wire up together. That's how inductors are made, which exhibit varying levels of capacitance, resistance, and even electromagnetism. Get an analog cable close to that and....

[RCA]

And... done.

For now


I know I made some key no-nos but I plan on redoing it in a week or so.
I purchased a new headset and will be replacing my Tritton 720s for Turtle Beach HPA2s.

If any one has any tips for a cleaner setup please let me know. Thanks for the help NICO...

[Dattebayo]

-Don't spool wire up together. That's how inductors are made, which exhibit varying levels of capacitance, resistance, and even electromagnetism. Get an analog cable close to that and....

The trick with that is to twist cables around each other. It stops all of that cold.

[krash]

Just remember to keep audio and analog video cables away from power cords. Wrap them separately and even route them differently if possible.

Explain?

[Empty V]

Explain?

Power cords can emit EMF(Electro Magnetic Fields) which can bleed into a/v cables causing audio or video static. That's why you see ferrite cores on VGA cables, even the short ones.

[RCA]

So I am getting some new components and headset so I might as well do a version 2.0 of my wiring...

Could I still loom power and AV cables together if they have ferrite cores?

Also what should I use for my "main channel" for my wiring? I am thinking some slotted wiring duct.

[Looneybomber]

Could I still loom power and AV cables together if they have ferrite cores?

Avoid it if you can, regardless if you have those magical magnets. Oh, BTW, you can buy them at Monoprice.com and put them on any cable/cord.

Also what should I use for my "main channel" for my wiring? I am thinking some slotted wiring duct.

As in, what kind of conduit to run to your Power strip/UPS?

[RCA]

Well I have components on the extreme left and right of my desk...
So HDMI and Ethernet cables run from one end of my desk to the other.

I have SO many that go from right to left that I need ideas for a "main street" for my cables to travel. I am thinking about mounting some 4"x 4" slotted wiring duct to the back of the desk to give my wires an ally to travel back and forth.