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Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:47 am
by NeoGeo
Howdy! I'm working on a new computer build and I'm on the final stages. I'm trying to decide if blue accents are best look for the cables or all black. On right side is black (the SATA data breakout cable from raid controller to SSDs), which is sleek and sort of fades into the case. The blue cables aren't a perfect match for the case's cooling blocks, but they were the best match available. This a fanless, zero moving parts, totally silent build btw:
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Custom cables made by Martin of PsychoSleeve.
http://www.psychosleeve.com/

Request page for these custom cables:
http://www.neo-geo.com/personal/i5-fanl ... quest.html

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:12 am
by edh
I definitely like the effort that has gone in here but I am not a fan of individually sleeved cables as they remove any performance advantage that there is in sleeving cables up in the first place to improve airflow and tidyness. That's got to be about 1.2m of cabling and by that point I would also be worried about the resistance added.

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:42 am
by NeoGeo
edh wrote:I definitely like the effort that has gone in here but I am not a fan of individually sleeved cables as they remove any performance advantage that there is in sleeving cables up in the first place to improve airflow and tidyness. That's got to be about 1.2m of cabling and by that point I would also be worried about the resistance added.
Airflow: Not an issue since this is fanless build without any airflow (or noise) whatsoever.

Tidiness: Custom cables allow for optimal tidiness because they allow you to use cable lengths of the exact desired length. In this scenario, the PSU resides outside the system case and so the lengths were intentionally longer by 1.5' to 2'. When the case is closed, all cables that extend from back of case to PSU are of equal slack as the lengths were intentionally designed to achieve this effect.

I'm not certain on the form of resistance I should be concerned with, so I'll address the possibilities that come to mind...

Concern of resistance (data loss) resulting from cable length: Seriously? As you can see, the data cables are the absolute shortest lengths available for this configuration (SATA data for DVD burner and SATA x4 data for SSDs in RAID 10). The absolute longest length of cable running from a direct connection to the PSU to its target device is 46.5” (3.8’ or 1.18 meters). Audiophiles rarely (if ever) use speaker wire that is this short, and I highly doubt that these lengths will contribute to any measureable power loss and it certainly shouldn’t contribute to any data loss (no data being sent from PSU after all). Please correct me if I’m wrong in any of these assumptions!

Concern of resistance (flexibility) resulting from sleeve thickness: Thin rubber is going to be more flexible than thick strands of paint coated fibers. However, in this particular build, all of the power cables route through a port in the back of the case and there simply aren't any tight corners to turn.

Concern of resistance (from magnetic interference): The PSU will reside on a custom stand built by Sound Anchors (cut and welded to the exact dimensions of the PSU) to keep the cables elevated and well off the ground to prevent any magnetic interference from the Earth's core (I admit that this is mainly for aesthetics and not fear of resistance/interference; the vast majority of audiophiles don't bother elevating their speaker wire off the ground):
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I can agree on the importance of good cable management for systems that are full of fans as clustered cables can restrict airflow. Here’s a gaming system build that I completed in October 2012 that has 12 (twelve) fans. It used Bitfenix extension cable and they were routed into the backside of the case. Coincidentally, because of the extensions used, the cable lengths in this build only diverge by mere inches from the cable lengths used in my fanless build pictured above. Its common practice to use cable extensions to achieve tidy cable management in professional system builds, but I don’t recall data or power loss being a concern due to cable length in such builds.
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Build page for this gaming rig pictured in this post:
http://www.neo-geo.com/personal/i5-fanl ... build.html

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 3:41 pm
by edh
NeoGeo wrote:[Tidiness: Custom cables allow for optimal tidiness because they allow you to use cable lengths of the exact desired length.
Yes, but single braided cables would be tidier, regardless of if they're custom made or not. Unifying everything together in bundles that go to the same location is obvious. The only reason ever to separate things is if they are going to different locations or are likely to interfere with each other, for example separating mains electricity from signal cables in trunking.
NeoGeo wrote:Concern of resistance (data loss) resulting from cable length: Seriously? As you can see, the data cables are the absolute shortest lengths available for this configuration (SATA data for DVD burner and SATA x4 data for SSDs in RAID 10). The absolute longest length of cable running from a direct connection to the PSU to its target device is 46.5” (3.8’ or 1.18 meters).
Check on 80plus and see if you can find a modular PSU that matches a non-modular PSU exactly for efficiency. There is always a difference and adding connections and cable length effects this by adding resistance. Why not just custom mount the PSU in the case so that it is adequately cooled? Or buy a Seasonic in the first place? The Silverstone is a little long in the tooth now for efficiency.
NeoGeo wrote: Concern of resistance (from magnetic interference): The PSU will reside on a custom stand built by Sound Anchors (cut and welded to the exact dimensions of the PSU) to keep the cables elevated and well off the ground to prevent any magnetic interference from the Earth's core (I admit that this is mainly for aesthetics and not fear of resistance/interference; the vast majority of audiophiles don't bother elevating their speaker wire off the ground)
I wouldn't be bothered about the Earths magnetic field. Although the earths core does very slightly rotate faster than the crust this is minor. There can only be current induced if the magnetic field moves and this is very small unless we get to the point where the earths magnetic field is reversed in which case some audiophiles sound quality is the least of our concerns. :wink: Audiophiles are also notorisously not interested in efficiency, they'll happily burn down the rainforests and kick baby pandas to death to get anecdotally better sound quality. Hence why valves are still seen in some quipment.

I've done a lot of troubleshooting work with ECG equipment and everything audiophiles complain about is minor and quite frankly irrelevant. When signal quality effects someones life, then it's worth taking notice of.

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 6:15 pm
by NeoGeo
edh wrote:Yes, but single braided cables would be tidier, regardless of if they're custom made or not. Unifying everything together in bundles that go to the same location is obvious. The only reason ever to separate things is if they are going to different locations or are likely to interfere with each other, for example separating mains electricity from signal cables in trunking.
Oic. Yep, single braided definitely creates the illusion that there are more cables than there really are. To the untrained eye, this can actually be impressive as spectators are awed by the multitude of cables and ponder how complex it must be to assemble such a puzzle. I suppose the preference of single braided vs. loose is subjective. I will say that with my build, the 24-pin cable does require single braiding to a degree because of the 2-pin appendage that must branch off to power the infrared sensor (which is the initial reason I why I chose custom cabling).
edh wrote:Check on 80plus and see if you can find a modular PSU that matches a non-modular PSU exactly for efficiency. There is always a difference and adding connections and cable length effects this by adding resistance.
Ah, if the lack of PSU efficiency is what you were referring to in regards to resistance, then perhaps that's because you haven't seen my list of components yet. This is a conservative build in regards to both energy and heat by utilizing strategic components such as the 3770S, Radeon HD 7750, 2 DIMMs of 1600 MHz memory, and SSDs that only pull 0.46W each at idle and 2.11W while active. System should idle @ 50W and at full load shouldn't exceed 200W, yet the PSU is capable of 600W. If there are any measurable performance consequences that a user of this build could perceive from the extra 1.5' (0.45 meters) of power cabling, please explain.

This Kingwin PSU claims 92+ efficiency at 50% load.
Efficiency: On 20% / 50% / 100% loading, with 90% / 92% / 89% Efficiency

If PSU efficiency is the goal (which it's not), then I would downgrade to a modern and comparable Platinum rated 300W silent PSU to achieve 50% load in order to gain that 2% of approximate efficiency. Regardless, I don't think that such a component exists.
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edh wrote:Why not just custom mount the PSU in the case so that it is adequately cooled?
Eh? Wouldn't installing the PSU into the case reduce cooling efficiency of both the case, it's internal components, and the PSU? This is a fanless system after all, so I don't see how it could possibly lower the temps of the other components of the case by having this major heat source present. Conversely, the ambient air temperature within the case should be higher than outside the case, which should contribute to higher temperatures for the PSU. In fact, I intentionally added that extra 1.5' to the power cabling so that the PSU could be placed a solid 1.25' or greater from the case, an alternative of placing the PSU on top of the case (my goal is lower temps of all components, including the PSU). Besides, mounting this particular PSU within the case (should this even be possible) would require some heavy duty double sided tape, an inadequate substitute for thermal paste in regards to heat transfer. Think of baby pandas snuggling. Their primary reason for snuggling is for the synergy of heat conservation. Pull these heat sources apart and their body temperatures drop; same basic principle should apply to these components, should it not? Please correct me if I'm wrong in this assumption!
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With time, perhaps a low profile, totally silent 300W+ PSU of Platinum efficiency with low to no heat dissipation and a small footprint will be available on the market. Until then, this is the best solution that I'm aware of.
edh wrote:Or buy a Seasonic in the first place? The Silverstone is a little long in the tooth now for efficiency.
I tried THREE (3) Seasonic fanless/silent PSUs and they all exhibited identical buzzing. I swapped the Seasonics a quite few times, yet I couldn’t perceive a difference in the decibel nor pitch of the buzzing between their fanless models. Even Seasonic themselves said the buzzing sound was normal and that exchanging would be fruitless. Either I purchased 3 brand new but defective Seasonic PSUs, or the manufacturer knows what they are talking about when they say the buzzing sound is normal. I suspect that all Seasonic fanless PSUs exhibit this buzzing. However, this is a seriously MAJOR factor to consider, something that should not affect everyone… with my fanless/silent build, the PSU resides over a foot OUTSIDE the case which means that there is zero sound buffering but this allows for unrestricted/full ventilation of the PSU (resulting in lower temps for the case, its components, and the PSU). For others, having the PSU within a closed case may very well alleviate any humming sound (coil whine) that a normal human ear could detect. 10 feet away, I could still hear it, but again, it was not inside a case and yes, my room is rather silent.

The KingWin Stryker 500 only makes a clicking sound when you turn it on and off. Since I'm not doing any critical thinking/work like typing forum posts when the system is booting or shutting off, this single and subtle click is a nonissue. Now it does have faint coil whine but it’s truly only audible when your ear is mere inches away and directly above the PSU. This KingWin is completely inaudible from a few feet away (my ears will be about 7' away) and I'm extremely pleased to have found this silent solution. Coincidentally, the heatsink color and design of the KingWin is a perfect match for the TNN-500AF.
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edh wrote:Audiophiles are also notorisously not interested in efficiency, they'll happily burn down the rainforests and kick baby pandas to death to get anecdotally better sound quality. Hence why valves are still seen in some quipment. I've done a lot of troubleshooting work with ECG equipment and everything audiophiles complain about is minor and quite frankly irrelevant.
haha, I don't consider myself a computer expert or an audiophile, but an enthusiast of both. Click to view my non-silent and rather inefficient ht project:
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Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 11:13 pm
by NeoGeo
Thanks for the votes. I went with the most popular choice and will keep the blue accented cable theme.

Here's the finished custom stand for the external PSU:
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Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:05 pm
by JJ
NeoGeo wrote:Here's the finished custom stand for the external PSU:
I hope you've filled the stand with a non-resonant material other than common play sand.

http://www.starsoundtechnologies.com/micro.html

And you need to spike it. You'll achieve very few of the potential benefits by placing the PSU on a stand on casters.

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:07 pm
by JJ
BTW, where are all the blue accents? For some reason, I don't see them in that photo.

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 9:42 pm
by NeoGeo
JJ wrote:I hope you've filled the stand with a non-resonant material other than common play sand.
http://www.starsoundtechnologies.com/micro.html
That looks like some crazy high tech sand. I like it! After reading extensively on the subject, I’ve come to the conclusion that the ONLY effective speaker stand design is to be supported on sealed metal tubing filled with loose mass, such as sand. The speaker cabinet vibrations are conducted through the metal to the sand where they are effectively dissipated. All other types are either resonant or reflect vibrations back into the speaker, making the cabinet resonance worse.

The stand wasn’t cheap, it was $312.81, and yet I’m uncertain what type of sand was used. I’m hoping it wasn’t kitty litter.
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I’ll ask the builder and report back. For now, from the manufacturer: All Sound Anchor 4 Post Monitor Stands are pre-filled at the factory with special materials to make them acoustically dead. This adds mass and ensures that they will not add any sound of their own to that of your speaker. It also adds to convenience as the audiophile does not need to fill them.
JJ wrote:And you need to spike it. You'll achieve very few of the potential benefits by placing the PSU on a stand on casters.
For a home theater setting, I agree wholeheartedly that floor spikes are the best option acoustically for a component designated for carpet, but I prefer the flexibility of rolling the PSU around whenever I want it moved instead of punching new holes through the carpet and its pad each time.

The aforementioned HT picture may have been misleading. Let me clarify that this is not a HTPC but a workstation for home office use. My home theater is in the home theater room and isn’t even on the same floor as this computer.

Technically, this stand could have been adorned with ultra-sensitive wind chimes and yet I struggle to see how that would have made any acoustical difference during system use since this is a fanless PSU with no moving parts. Acoustically, the PSU is already as silent as it’s going to get and having what is intended to serve as a high-end speaker stand custom built just for this PSU is complete overkill. I just didn’t want the PSU resting on the floor or stacked on some dinky cardboard box, but opted for the best solution on the market since this was essentially a cost-no-object style build... to a degree at least. I decided against a $20k IoDrive Octal and settled for a $360 OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 for instance.
JJ wrote:BTW, where are all the blue accents? For some reason, I don't see them in that photo.
The cables are with Martin of PsychoSleeve.com. I’m keeping the cable sleeve theme as is, with the blue accents, but currently having some of the cables modified to better suit this build. I’ll post new pics when cables are finished and returned to me but wanted to share the completed stand w/ PSU for now.

The build page for this project is public now btw: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=65795

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:21 pm
by Brither
NeoGeo wrote:
edh wrote:Yes, but single braided cables would be tidier, regardless of if they're custom made or not. Unifying everything together in bundles that go to the same location is obvious. The only reason ever to separate things is if they are going to different locations or are likely to interfere with each other, for example separating mains electricity from signal cables in trunking.

Oic. Yep, single braided definitely creates the illusion
car dvd players that there are more cables than there really are. To the untrained eye, this can actually be impressive as spectators are awed by the multitude of cables and ponder how complex it must be to assemble such a puzzle. I suppose the preference of single braided vs. loose is subjective. I will say that with my build, the 24-pin cable does require single braiding to a degree because of the 2-pin appendage that must branch off to power the infrared sensor (which is the initial reason I why I chose custom cabling).
edh wrote:Check on 80plus and see if you can find a modular PSU that matches a non-modular PSU exactly for efficiency. There is always a difference and adding connections and cable length effects this by adding resistance.
Ah, if the lack of PSU efficiency is what you were referring to in regards to resistance, then perhaps that's because you haven't seen my list of components yet. This is a conservative build in regards to both energy and heat by utilizing strategic components such as the 3770S, Radeon HD 7750, 2 DIMMs of 1600 MHz memory, and SSDs that only pull 0.46W each at idle and 2.11W while active. System should idle @ 50W and at full load shouldn't exceed 200W, yet the PSU is capable of 600W. If there are any measurable performance consequences that a user of this build could perceive from the extra 1.5' (0.45 meters) of power cabling, please explain.

This Kingwin PSU claims 92+ efficiency at 50% load.
Efficiency: On 20% / 50% / 100% loading, with 90% / 92% / 89% Efficiency

If PSU efficiency is the goal (which it's not), then I would downgrade to a modern and comparable Platinum rated 300W silent PSU to achieve 50% load in order to gain that 2% of approximate efficiency. Regardless, I don't think that such a component exists.
Image
edh wrote:Why not just custom mount the PSU in the case so that it is adequately cooled?
Eh? Wouldn't installing the PSU into the case reduce cooling efficiency of both the case, it's internal components, and the PSU? This is a fanless system after all, so I don't see how it could possibly lower the temps of the other components of the case by having this major heat source present. Conversely, the ambient air temperature within the case should be higher than outside the case, which should contribute to higher temperatures for the PSU. In fact, I intentionally added that extra 1.5' to the power cabling so that the PSU could be placed a solid 1.25' or greater from the case, an alternative of placing the PSU on top of the case (my goal is lower temps of all components, including the PSU). Besides, mounting this particular PSU within the case (should this even be possible) would require some heavy duty double sided tape, an inadequate substitute for thermal paste in regards to heat transfer. Think of baby pandas snuggling. Their primary reason for snuggling is for the synergy of heat conservation. Pull these heat sources apart and their body temperatures drop; same basic principle should apply to these components, should it not? Please correct me if I'm wrong in this assumption!
Image

With time, perhaps a low profile, totally silent 300W+ PSU of Platinum efficiency with low to no heat dissipation and a small footprint will be available on the market. Until then, this is the best solution that I'm aware of.
edh wrote:Or buy a Seasonic in the first place? The Silverstone is a little long in the tooth now for efficiency.
I tried THREE (3) Seasonic fanless/silent PSUs and they all exhibited identical buzzing. I swapped the Seasonics a quite few times, yet I couldn’t perceive a difference in the decibel nor pitch of the buzzing between their fanless models. Even Seasonic themselves said the buzzing sound was normal and that exchanging would be fruitless. Either I purchased 3 brand new but defective Seasonic PSUs, or the manufacturer knows what they are talking about when they say the buzzing sound is normal. I suspect that all Seasonic fanless PSUs exhibit this buzzing. However, this is a seriously MAJOR factor to consider, something that should not affect everyone… with my fanless/silent build, the PSU resides over a foot OUTSIDE the case which means that there is zero sound buffering but this allows for unrestricted/full ventilation of the PSU (resulting in lower temps for the case, its components, and the PSU). For others, having the PSU within a closed case may very well alleviate any humming sound (coil whine) that a normal human ear could detect. 10 feet away, I could still hear it, but again, it was not inside a case and yes, my room is rather silent.

The KingWin Stryker 500 only makes a clicking sound when you turn it on and off. Since I'm not doing any critical thinking/work like typing forum posts when the system is booting or shutting off, this single and subtle click is a nonissue. Now it does have faint coil whine but it’s truly only audible when your ear is mere inches away and directly above the PSU. This KingWin is completely inaudible from a few feet away (my ears will be about 7' away) and I'm extremely pleased to have found this silent solution. Coincidentally, the heatsink color and design of the KingWin is a perfect match for the TNN-500AF.
Image
edh wrote:Audiophiles are also notorisously not interested in efficiency, they'll happily burn down the rainforests and kick baby pandas to death to get anecdotally better sound quality. Hence why valves are still seen in some quipment. I've done a lot of troubleshooting work with ECG equipment and everything audiophiles complain about is minor and quite frankly irrelevant.
haha, I don't consider myself a computer expert or an audiophile, but an enthusiast of both. Click to view my non-silent and rather inefficient ht project:
Image
That looks like home theater. From where I could purchase it and what about price details

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:26 am
by NeoGeo
Brither wrote:That looks like home theater. From where I could purchase it and what about price details
There's a link to my HT page imbedded to my HT pic (you just mouse over and click), or you can click the following to view Neo's nirvana: Revel Ultima2 + Pioneer trifecta + JL Audio f212 + ML Descent. The equipment was $60k+ retail, but I did my own installation and ordered everything online for best price I could find shipped at the time. All components and furniture were purchased new, not refurbished or second hand.

Fortunately, speakers do not go obsolete in just a few years like computer technology can, so I will keep them for more years. I check for new Blu-Ray player, receiver/amp, and display every month or so, but nothing worth upgrading to has surfaced yet. I await OLED 50” or larger for upgrading the plasma, perhaps another 3+ or so years before this technology has matured. For now, my camera (DMC-GH3) has 3” OLED display. Soon I will upgrade my Bold 9900 to Blackberry Q10 when it is released which has 3.1” OLED display. I’m wondering when NEC and other display manufacturers will start offering professional quality OLED displays for computer use because I'm ready to buy 3 or 4 now, preferably 5:4 ratio 20" w/ 2560 x 2048 resolution.

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:35 pm
by NeoGeo
JJ wrote:BTW, where are all the blue accents? For some reason, I don't see them in that photo.
Finished cables arrived, thanks again for the help/votes in helping me decide on what color scheme to go with. I'm quite pleased with the results:
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Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:40 pm
by JJ
You need more depth of field, and maybe another spot to eliminate shadows. Other than that, nice pic. Maybe could use a little more color contrast.

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:53 pm
by NeoGeo
JJ wrote:You need more depth of field, and maybe another spot to eliminate shadows. Other than that, nice pic. Maybe could use a little more color contrast.
The equipment being used is semi-pro, but I’m no pro with a camera and would take a class on the subject if I thought it would help. Color contrast is set to default. I tried adding another couple lights to reduce shadowing but this distorted the colors unfavorably. How do I add more depth of field? Just do auto focus on as many objects as possible? I've been avoiding using a flash because of glare and unnatural coloring.

Re: Color choice for cables, need your vote/opinion

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 3:01 pm
by JJ
NeoGeo wrote:How do I add more depth of field?
Generally speaking, you use a smaller lens aperture and longer exposure. Not sure it's easily doable in many auto modes.