ENLIST THE PROS
There are some tasks that are best left to the
professionals, either because they will simply
achieve a better result, or because doing so will
save you a huge amount of time.
CUSTOM CABLES
You can create your own PSU cables by hand,
picking the colours and lengths to suit your
build and crimping them for the connectors,
but this can be hugely time-consuming.
Thankfully, you have a couple of alternative
options at your disposal. Firstly, manufacturers
usually offer custom cable kits with their PSUs
in a variety of colours, which often include
cable combs that space out the cables evenly
for a super-neat look.
The next step is to enlist of companies such
as CableMod (cablemod.com), which offer
both pre-made cable kits and the ability to
custom-design your own cables, where you
can specify the length of the cables and even
the colours of individual strands.
Specifying the length can be useful too.
A lot of cables come with slack once you’ve
installed them, so you end up spending more
time tidying them and tying them down than
necessary, and the slack can look unsightly.
With mini-ITX cases, you generally need
shorter cables too, and many SFX (small)
PSUs are equipped with shorter cables for that
reason. Also, many small cases have ATX PSU
mounts, and these PSUs will come with cables
that are far longer than needed.CUSTOM CUTS
It’s the same for case modifications. A recent
PC we built required vents cutting into a case.
We estimated that it would have taken several
days to at least to cut the pattern by hand, and
with unpredictable results. Instead, we turned
to a local water jet cutting service to get the job
done and it was surprisingly easy too.
We created the design in Microsoft Paint,
sent it over to be adjusted, gave the firm the
dimensions and locations to be cut and, once
we arrived at the cutting place, it was done in
20 minutes. To do this, start by removing all the
fittings from the case sections involved. Taking
photos will also help the company assess if its
team can work with it and provide a quote.
The benefit is that you get access to serious
machinery, in this case a water-cutting
machine that costs tens of thousands of
pounds. Getting the measurements right first
time is essential, so pay attention to the details
and check exactly what you’re getting for your
money, as costs can mount.
The end result was spectacular and
absolutely worth the couple of hundredpounds it cost, given it would have taken us
many days of filing and cutting to do half as
good a job. The companies likely won’t do any
finishing, so you’ll need to do this yourself.
Use metal finger files to smooth the edges,
and sand the top of the sections with 800-grit
sand paper if you intend to paint them.ALLOUT PROFESSIONAL
CUSTOM BUILDS
For an all-out customisation service, including
3D printing, cutting and painting, Scan offers
its 3XS Custom Shop (scan.co.uk/3xs/
custom-shop), where professionals can
undertake all manner of tasks with input from
you on designs, colours and materials. The
service includes cutting services as well as part
fabrication using 3D printing.
The Scan Custom Shop team has also
undertaken personal projects for celebrities
and streamers. What’s more, Scan has the
credentials to back up this service with an
enviable history in our own Dream PC Labs
tests in the past.Scan’s 3XS Custom Shop can undertake
all-manner of tasks with input from you
on designs, colours and materialsWe turned to a local water jet cutting
service to get some vents cut into a caseThe end result was spectacular and absolutely
worth a couple of hundred quidCable combs space out your power
cables evenly for a super-neat lookYou can get different lengths of cables, as well as different-coloured individual strandsFEATURE / CUSTOMISATION