I lastly acquired round to constructing a brand new gaming PC this 12 months. Whereas the specs are strong, I cheaped out on all the things else—minimal RGB, a non-modular PSU, and a price range case. After numerous hours of cable administration, although, I want I may return.

Non-Modular Energy Provides Are a Nightmare

Unquestionably, my first and largest mistake was buying a non-modular energy provide. In case you do not know what I am speaking about, a modular energy provide has absolutely removable energy cables, permitting you to make use of solely the cables that you simply want. This eliminates the surplus cumbersome cables that include an ordinary, non-modular energy provide. Semi-modular PSUs do one thing related by providing a mixture of removable and completely connected cables.

Modular PSUs value a bit extra (round $20–$50), as they’re dearer to fabricate, however they’re value each penny. They make cable management a lot quicker and simpler, as you do not have to cope with unused cables. I figured that since I am a cable administration grasp, I may expertly conceal the cables by neatly tucking them away and saving a couple of dollars. I opted for the Cooler Master MWE White v2 700W, which is a strong, budget-friendly PSU.

The second the PSU arrived, I spotted what an enormous mistake I had made. It got here with a complete bundle of Molex and SATA energy cables that I did not want. Molex is largely obsolete and sometimes solely used if you happen to run out of fan headers on the motherboard. I haven’t got any SATA drives, both—only a 2TB NVMe that covers all my present storage wants.

I needed to tuck away all these Molex, SATA, and unused PCIE energy cables someplace, simply to shut the case. Luckily, I discovered some room within the unused HDD drive bay, so I assume if I wished to add an HDD now, I would not have a spot to place it.

That is not all, although. One other advantage of modular energy provides is that you’ve got extra flexibility together with your cable selection, as you may hook up 6+2 pin PCIE energy cables to the GPU with out an unpleasant daisy chain connector hanging off of it, leading to a cleaner look on the entrance. I needed to join two separate cables to my GPU and tuck the additional connectors beneath.

It’s also possible to even customized cables with a modular PSU (although whether or not it is best to is a different story), which is very helpful in case you have an RTX 40 or 50 Sequence with a 16-pin 12VHPWR connector. My solely possibility for neater GPU cables could be an angled adapter, however I would not belief it, as there is a very small probability that it may melt and catch on fire.

It’s a Low cost mATX Case

Maybe the non-modular PSU would not be a lot of a problem if I had been constructing a full PC tower. In spite of everything, my earlier construct was a full tower with two HDDs, and I had no issues with hiding all of the cables. Nonetheless, I all the time appreciated mATX cases as a result of they’re extra compact than a full-tower however nonetheless supply sufficient airflow and room to work with, in contrast to a Mini-ITX case.

I initially deliberate to purchase the favored ASUS Prime AP201, a tiny mATX case with a front-mounted PSU, however then I noticed the Thermaltake Versa H16 TG, a case that prices roughly the identical but additionally comes with three ARGB case followers. The worth proposition was too onerous to withstand.

Nonetheless, cable administration and part set up in price range circumstances generally is a little bit of a raffle; there is not any assure that it is well-thought-out. For instance, whereas the case can match my Sapphire Pulse RX 6800 XT, I’ve to disassemble and take away all the CPU cooler meeting earlier than I can shimmy it out.

I knew that constructing an mATX case may get tough, however I did not understand simply how cramped it will get. The ability provide shroud has some room for cable administration, but it surely was nonetheless a problem. Plus, the shroud did not have cutouts in precisely the best spots, so a number of the USB and case cables caught out.

So far as fan cable administration goes, that was a problem as nicely. Every fan had each a 3-pin and an ARGB connector. At the least I used to be capable of daisy-chain all of them for less complicated cable administration.

I Constructed the PC Out of Order

While you’re building a PC, there is a unfastened order that it is best to comply with to make your life simpler. You wish to place the motherboard on its field and set up all the things: the NVMe, CPU, cooler, RAM, and probably the GPU. You then set up any further case followers, route the cables, set up the motherboard, plug in and arrange the fan cables, and solely then add the PSU. It is not a strict order; that is simply how I often do it.

Since I used to be nonetheless ready for the CPU, RAM, and NVMe to reach and could not resist getting began, I went forward and put in all the things I had. When my AliExpress CPU and eBay RAM and NVMe lastly arrived, I needed to take away the GPU, set up the brand new parts, after which mount it again. It was further work for no good motive.

I Made It Work, However You Don’t Need to Battle

Whereas I used to be lastly capable of tuck all the things in and am glad with the ultimate end result, it wasn’t simple. I spent a number of hours routing and tucking away further cables and eradicating and re-installing the GPU and CPU cooler. I nonetheless dread opening the again of the case, as I am afraid that all the things will soar out at me. I used to be additionally fascinated by including an ARGB LED strip, however I am afraid that it’d solely spotlight the subpar cable administration on the high and backside of the motherboard.

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You do not have to undergo the cable administration nightmare that I did. Be taught from my errors: spend the additional $20 on a modular PSU and perform a little research in your {hardware} and PC case. When you’re going for a smaller case, examine a couple of opinions to substantiate that it has sufficient area and is simple to construct in. Have enjoyable constructing!