Put the tapered end of your cable tie in its socket and
pull it tight around your gathered cables
When your cables are tightly secured, snip off the
end of the cable tieThe rear of your PC doesn’t need to look amazing – it
just needs to keep your cables securely out of the wayacross the motherboard area, you can fit your
graphics card. Remove your case’s expansion
slot covers next to the top 16x PCI-E graphics
slot on your motherboard. Then line up the
graphics card’s metal I/O plate on the back so
that it will slide between your motherboard
and the back of your case, and slot it into the
top 16x PCI-E slot.
Screw the rear metal I/O plate into the
case using your case’s provided screws or
thumbscrews, and connect the PCI-E power
plugs that you previously routed through to the
graphics card area.
TIDY THE CABLES
Your final job is to tie down as many cables
as possible to keep them out of the way. If
the PCI-E power cable for your graphics card
has a spare plug dangling, tie it to the cable
behind the graphics card to keep it out the way.
Your case should also come with numerous
‘anchors’ specifically for this purpose.
These anchors have a space on either side of
a raised piece of metal in the middle, enabling
you to insert a cable tie under the raised piece
of metal, gather cables together next to it and
then tie them together, securing them in place.
Cable ties are simple to use – you just wrap
them around your cables, preferably securing
them to an anchor, put the tapered end of the
cable tie through the socket, pull it tight and
snip off the end with your plastic cutters.
Before you start, take a good look at the wiry
mess in front of you and think about where
it will be both tidy and practical to anchor
the cables. Gently pull any cables tight sothat only the plugs and a little bit of cable are
visible in the main area. Also, remember that
you need to put your side panel back on the
case at the end, and this won’t be possible if
there are huge bundles of cables blocking the
clearance. Try to keep your cables behind the
motherboard tray or hard drive cages, so they
don’t protrude from the edges and spoil the
look of the main interior area.
Look for any nooks and crannies where
cables can be stored, and position some of
the cables side by side, rather than having
them all on top of each other to avoid
unwieldy bunches. You’ll also need to avoid
routing cables in the way of holes for your side
panel’s catches.
Anchors at the top are ideal for gathering
together cables for an all-in-one liquid cooler
in the roof, while anchors on the top right are
ideal for keeping your CPU 12V power cable
out of the way. The crucial area will be on the
left of the motherboard tray, where your ATX
and PCI-E power cables get routed to your
motherboard, along with your SATA data
cables and often fan cables too.
Every now and then, turn your case around
and look at the interior from the front. If you can
still see any cables, turn it round again and think
about how you can make them tidier. It’s also
worth test-fitting the side panel now and again
to make sure it will close.
When you’re happy with it, and you’ve
double-checked all your power connections,
plug your PC into the mains and switch it on.
If it doesn’t boot, diagnose the problem using
the same procedure as the core test kit earlier,
but at this point you at least know that your
core spec works – it should just be a loose wire
somewhere. All that’s left now is to install your
operating system of choice and enjoy your
masterfully built PC!If you tidy your cables well,
the interior will be clean
and clutter-free