# Antec 900 Stock Cable Management



## littlenlnga

This is my cable management for the antec 900 with holes already drilled in.. What do you think?


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## WhiteFireDragon

littlenlnga said:


> This is my cable management for the antec 900 with holes already drilled in.. What do you think?



huh? i dont see anything. did you forget to put the picture?


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## JLV2k5

he forgot the image


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## littlenlnga

there


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## WhiteFireDragon

littlenlnga said:


> there



eh... i hope you not just fishing for complements. with that said, it's not too bad, but it could be better. i've seen some cleaner ones...


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## JLV2k5

What is the huge copperish thing?


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## littlenlnga

JLV2k5 said:


> What is the huge copperish thing?



Zalman 9700


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## littlenlnga

WhiteFireDragon said:


> eh... i hope you not just fishing for complements. with that said, it's not too bad, but it could be better. i've seen some cleaner ones...



I need opinions. What should i do to make it cleaner?


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## WhiteFireDragon

JLV2k5 said:


> What is the huge copperish thing?



lol JLV i just answered that same thing on one of the FS threads when u asked the same thing. you really never seen that before? that zaleman CPU sink/fan cooler is actually pretty common because it performs great for air cooling


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## JLV2k5

littlenlnga said:


> Zalman 9700



That thing is huge, does it really work well?


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## littlenlnga

JLV2k5 said:


> That thing is huge, does it really work well?



yes it works well


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## mep916

JLV2k5 said:


> What is the huge copperish thing?



Rofl 

Looks really good. Does the side panel behind the mobo fit nicely? Did you cut the hole between the mobo and the HD rack? My 900 didn't ship with that hole.


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## WhiteFireDragon

littlenlnga said:


> I need opinions. What should i do to make it cleaner?



what i did for my thermaltake armor is cut my own holes in the BACK of the mobo tray slot, then run the wires beneath the mobo and out the holes. it's a really tight fit since there is very little room for the wires between the mobo and the tray. most my wires run underneath the mobo to the back of the case.

maybe i'll take pics of my comp wen i get back to show you what i did and how much cleaner it can look


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## littlenlnga

mep916 said:


> Rofl
> 
> Looks really good. Does the side panel behind the mobo fit nicely? Did you cut the hole between the mobo and the HD rack? My 900 didn't ship with that hole.



It was pretty hard because all the cables came out there but it fit. The 2 holes were there when i bought it. I think they made it for newer ones?


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## JLV2k5

I have never seen one before... 

no need to laugh


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## mep916

littlenlnga said:


> I think they made it for newer ones?



Yeah, I think so too. That's a good improvement. 



JLV2k5 said:


> I have never seen one before...



I'm suprised. You've been very active at CF lately, offering tons of advice and recommendations. It's odd that you don't know what a HSF looks like...


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## dave_w

mep916 said:


> Yeah, I think so too. That's a good improvement.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm suprised. You've been very active at CF lately, offering tons of advice and recommendations. It's odd that you don't know what a HSF looks like...



Sarcasm truly is like a second language to you, Mep. I applaud you. You have gained entry into my pantheon of personal gods, right up there with Dr. Cox from _Scrubs_.

And for the record, the Zalman 9700 is the only HSF I will ever use on serious system. Unless it won't fit, in which case the 9500 will have to do.

Oh, and little...try rotating the Zalman so the fan faces the front of the case. The top-mount is basically there to evacuate hot air from the top of the case. With the fan's current orientation, it's sucking hot air up from the video card. I found I could get amazing airflow by lining up one of the HD cages' 120mm fans with the Zalman and the rear exhaust fan.

My fan speed settings were: low on the 200mm (it can be a noisy bugger), medium on all 120s, and 50-75% on the Zalman, depending on the room temp and what I was doing at the time.


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## littlenlnga

dave_w said:


> Sarcasm truly is like a second language to you, Mep. I applaud you. You have gained entry into my pantheon of personal gods, right up there with Dr. Cox from _Scrubs_.
> 
> And for the record, the Zalman 9700 is the only HSF I will ever use on serious system. Unless it won't fit, in which case the 9500 will have to do.
> 
> Oh, and little...try rotating the Zalman so the fan faces the front of the case. The top-mount is basically there to evacuate hot air from the top of the case. With the fan's current orientation, it's sucking hot air up from the video card. I found I could get amazing airflow by lining up one of the HD cages' 120mm fans with the Zalman and the rear exhaust fan.
> 
> My fan speed settings were: low on the 200mm (it can be a noisy bugger), medium on all 120s, and 50-75% on the Zalman, depending on the room temp and what I was doing at the time.



could you show me a picture on the hd cage? i have a dvdrom there


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## mep916

dave_w said:


> Sarcasm truly is like a second language to you, Mep. I applaud you. You have gained entry into my pantheon of personal gods, right up there with Dr. Cox from _Scrubs_.



ha ha. Finally, someone understands me... 



dave_w said:


> I found I could get amazing airflow by lining up one of the HD cages' 120mm fans with the Zalman and the rear exhaust fan.



Yeah, I remember that. You actually moved the drive cage up so the fan would have a perfect orientation with the HSF. Right? 



dave_w said:


> My fan speed settings were: low on the 200mm (it can be a noisy bugger), medium on all 120s



That's how I have mine, too. 



dave_w said:


> and 50-75% on the Zalman, depending on the room temp and what I was doing at the time.



I keep mine at 100%. It's loud, but necessary.


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## littlenlnga

Oh.. So you move the bottom Blue LED to the top? and the dvddrive in the middle?


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## Cleric7x9

as someone else said before, your zalman is mounted facing the wrong direction


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## littlenlnga

Cleric7x9 said:


> as someone else said before, your zalman is mounted facing the wrong direction



i changed it






how does it look?


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## Cleric7x9

very nice


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## pc-tech

its neater than mine...but, mine does have more stuff and a bigger case


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## Rudster816

thats a rosewill PSU isnt it


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## Seth

You need to change the CPU cooler so its facing the right direction dude  I have the model up from that one and they suck (i mean they pull air in - they are actually awesome). So put it so the fan is facing downwards so the air is push pushed straight out the top 20cm fan


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## littlenlnga

thermaltake psu


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## littlenlnga

Seth said:


> You need to change the CPU cooler so its facing the right direction dude  I have the model up from that one and they suck (i mean they pull air in - they are actually awesome). So put it so the fan is facing downwards so the air is push pushed straight out the top 20cm fan



Its in the right correction isnt it?


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## Kornowski

Yeah, it is now! 

Notice any difference in temps, once you'd moved it?


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## Cameron

Maybe you guys can help me out with a little problem I like to call.... well, I don't think they have a name for this sort of thing:






What on earth can a possibly do about this? I am open to the complete rearrangement of the case in any way that it can be done if necessary.

(I feel I should mention - I no longer have the heatsink mounted in that direction, and nor do I have the fans hanging off it by bread twisty things.)


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## Kornowski

Is it a modular PSU?

If so, you cnould start by unpluggin' what you don't need 

Or, you could cut holes in the MOBO tray and route the cables behind it?


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## littlenlnga

Kornowski said:


> Yeah, it is now!
> 
> Notice any difference in temps, once you'd moved it?



yeah its cooler


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## Cameron

Not modular.

Planned to buy an Antec TruePower Quattro because the fan is on the back so I could mount it right way up and better manage the cables behind the tray. But that most likely won't happen for awhile.

I think the biggest source of the the mess is the 4 or 5 SATA cables? What can I do about that? I thought perhaps I could move the bottom HDD tray to the top, and then route all of the SATA cables through the standard tray holes. Same with the powersupply cables to the drives and the big MB one.


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## mep916

Cameron said:


> Maybe you guys can help me out with a little problem I like to call.... well, I don't think they have a name for this sort of thing:



First, you should try to zip-tie everything. All the cables. That will make a huge difference. Also, utilize the black ties that are attached to the case between the mobo and the HD cage. Later, I'll remove my Ultra and show you a picture of how I tied everything up.


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## Cameron

Okay I'll try it.

And some pictures would really help out! I honestly don't know where to start - my case is chaotic at best.


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## mep916

Cameron said:


> I honestly don't know where to start - my case is chaotic at best.



Yeah, I hear ya. Do you have the pre-cut hole in the case like lilnlnga? That would definitely help, too. I'll take some pics and post a little later.


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## Cameron

Yes I do have the pre cut holes.


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## mep916

Here's some pics. Hope they help. It's messy on the bottom. I think I did okay with the rest.


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## Cameron

Thanks for pics. The bottom of yours looks like mine - the rest is much better though.

What would you say to moving the bottom drive bay to the top, so that you can stretch out all the SATA and power cables and then put them through the holes as well? Do you think that might be effective?

Might be less haggard if the cables were stretched out and partially hidden behind tray.


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## mep916

Cameron said:


> The bottom of yours looks like mine



Yeah, there's not a lot I can do with all those cables. 



Cameron said:


> What would you say to moving the bottom drive bay to the top, so that you can stretch out all the SATA and power cables and then put them through the holes as well? Do you think that might be effective?
> 
> Might be less haggard if the cables were stretched out and partially hidden behind tray.



That's a good idea. Try it out and post some pics.


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## cappy

My first computer build ... It's not hard to hide the cables just have to drill a bunch of holes and route all the cables behind the rear cover... still have some more to hide just waiting on RAM and a couple of SATA cables ... should get it on Tues! Could clean it up some more by installing the HD backwards and also mounting the PSU with fan side down ... just more holes to cut ... but I'm pretty content with how it is so far











Intel E6750, Zalman 9500, Arctic Silver 5
4GB Patriot DDR3 1333
Asus Maximus Extreme
Asus 20x DVD+- x2
XFX 8800GT 512MB
WD Raptor 150GB 10,000
WD 320GB 7,200 x2 Raid1
Mitsumi FDD w/ digital card reader
ABS Tagan BZ 800W
Windows Vista x64


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## paratwa

Cappy, very nice job. One of the best I have seen for the 900.


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## mep916

Wow! Very impressive.


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## WhiteFireDragon

what is the chassis of the A900 made of? i drilled some holes in my thermaltake armor a while back and it takes so long because it's made of thick solid steel. how long did it take you to drill all that and what tools did you use?


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## cappy

WhiteFireDragon said:


> what is the chassis of the A900 made of? i drilled some holes in my thermaltake armor a while back and it takes so long because it's made of thick solid steel. how long did it take you to drill all that and what tools did you use?



I would say it is aluminum ... just used metal drill bits and various sizes of metal hole saws ... drills real easy … the longest part is figuring out what way to route the cables etc and what type extensions needed … I ended up only needing to extend the power switch, hdd led, and reset switch cables.


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## WhiteFireDragon

hmm yeah aluminum is easier. steel is a real pain, especially the thicker areas. how did you extend the wires? did you cut the original, then solder another longer piece to the middle?


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## cappy

WhiteFireDragon said:


> hmm yeah aluminum is easier. steel is a real pain, especially the thicker areas. how did you extend the wires? did you cut the original, then solder another longer piece to the middle?



You can get just about any type of extension cable you need at frozencpu.com


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## taylormsj

You must of been using a bad drill or wrong drill piece, with enough speed and pressure it should only take about 30 seconds tops to get through


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## littlenlnga

cappy how did you get your holes so neat? and the thing around the sides of the hole what is that called? would you mind taking a picture of your drill bit. thanks


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## INTELCRAZY

cappy said:


> My first computer build ... It's not hard to hide the cables just have to drill a bunch of holes and route all the cables behind the rear cover... still have some more to hide just waiting on RAM and a couple of SATA cables ... should get it on Tues! Could clean it up some more by installing the HD backwards and also mounting the PSU with fan side down ... just more holes to cut ... but I'm pretty content with how it is so far



That is just plain amazing... WOW! That is one clean looking case..

What did you line the holes with to protect the wiring?


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## Cleric7x9

cappy said:


> My first computer build ... It's not hard to hide the cables just have to drill a bunch of holes and route all the cables behind the rear cover... still have some more to hide just waiting on RAM and a couple of SATA cables ... should get it on Tues! Could clean it up some more by installing the HD backwards and also mounting the PSU with fan side down ... just more holes to cut ... but I'm pretty content with how it is so far
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Intel E6750, Zalman 9500, Arctic Silver 5
> 4GB Patriot DDR3 1333
> Asus Maximus Extreme
> Asus 20x DVD+- x2
> XFX 8800GT 512MB
> WD Raptor 150GB 10,000
> WD 320GB 7,200 x2 Raid1
> Mitsumi FDD w/ digital card reader
> ABS Tagan BZ 800W
> Windows Vista x64



unbelievable, that looks great!


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## shenry

Nice. Very nice.


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## Kornowski

That looks great, that's what I'm going to do to my Antec 900 when I get it


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## Kornowski

Just ordered my Antec 900, so I'll get some pics when it's together


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## littlenlnga

I plan on painting the case all white when im done drilling holes. Should i powder coat everything?

http://www.specializedcoating.com/contact.html

I'm gonig over there to get it painted. I would also like to know your estimated price of the powder coating.Thanks!

I'll get holes done tommorow.


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## littlenlnga

I got the holes done! I'll post pictures soon.. Do you guys know what to use to cover up the sharp holes? and If i spray enamel over the inside is it fine?


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## paratwa

littlenlnga said:


> I got the holes done! I'll post pictures soon.. Do you guys know what to use to cover up the sharp holes? and If i spray enamel over the inside is it fine?



As long as you let it set for a couple of days after spraying it, it should be fine. Enamel takes a couple of days to fully cure. If you don't wait it can scratch very easily.

But powder coating is the way to go if you want it to last for years. Just make sure that if you do get it powder coated, that you have all the holes you need drilled first. Don't try to drill into powder coating, it can crack and flak off.


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## cappy

*Finished my build last night ... Here are the details!*

*Specs*
Intel E6750, Zalman 9500, Arctic Silver 5
4GB Patriot DDR3 1333
Asus Maximus Extreme
Asus 20x DVD+- x2
XFX 8800GT 512MB
WD Raptor 150GB 10,000
WD 320GB 7,200 x2 Raid1
Mitsumi FDD w/ digital card reader
ABS Tagan BZ 800W
Windows Vista x64

*Insides*
Managed to hide most of the cables/wires etc ...





*Backsides*
Wallah all the hidden cables...





*Cooling*





*Inside Detail View*





*With Side Panel On*
Damn all the finger prints...





In the dark


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## Kornowski

Looks awesome! 

Howcome you don't use a fan on the side panel?


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## lovely?

WOW 

that looks awesome. i was thinking about doing something similar with the whole drilling thing, but i wasnt sure. now i will definetely be hiding all those hideous cables!


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## WhiteFireDragon

Kornowski said:


> Looks awesome!
> 
> Howcome you don't use a fan on the side panel?



i wouldn't use one either because it blocks some of the view, and also it might mess up the air flow


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## Kornowski

It's supposed to help cool down the GPU... Isn't it?


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