Can i fold IDE ribbon cables under the motherboard ???

ChiBOY83 · Post by **ChiBOY83** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 4:45 pm

I wa just curious if it was allright to fold IDE ribbon cabler under the motherboard, for the entire length of the mobo......

There won't be any problems w/ the mobo heating up or anything, will there???

Tiamat · Post by **Tiamat** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 4:53 pm

Most likely not. You are fine as long as you dont "kink" the IDE ribbon. Also, you probably should make sure the ribbon is long enough. I know standard 18" ribbons are not because the "slave" connector doesnt clear the height of the mobo. Its probably not a great idea to have that connector jamming into the traces behind the board.

slipknottin · Post by **slipknottin** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 5:06 pm

Assuming you know how to correctly fold a ribbon cable, yes you can run it under the MB, many of us do that to tidy up the case.

ChiBOY83 · Post by **ChiBOY83** » Sun Jan 23, 2005 4:17 pm

ok....well, how does one go about properly folding them??

slipknottin · Post by **slipknottin** » Sun Jan 23, 2005 7:46 pm

http://www.thetechzone.com/?m=show&id=126

HalvSame · Post by **HalvSame** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 4:32 am

Thanks. Added to bookmarks

. You might also want to make a search on "cablegami" in these forums - there are quite a few good ones around..

Chang · Post by **Chang** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:27 pm

I'll admit to having left a cable underneath the mobo by accident. Some of the solder traces pierced the cable, and created a short. Fortunately the PSU recognized it and protected the components. My only loss was a slightly charred IDE cable.

Morale of the story? If you're going to do it, make sure you have enough clearance.

Mr_Smartepants · Post by **Mr_Smartepants** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 9:51 pm

I have my floppy cable routed almost right down the middle of the board (under) and it makes a 90deg turn to exit. I don't have a picture, but I put a small chunk of weatherstripping between the back of the motherboard and the 90deg bend to keep them separated. You have about a 1/4 inch clearance between the motherboard and the MB tray so you can fit all kinds of stuff back there if you're careful. I wouldn't run power lines back there (just in case).

You can see (barely) my floppy cable in the pictures of my sig.

Cams · Post by **Cams** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:32 am

slipknottin wrote:http://www.thetechzone.com/?m=show&id=126

That's a useful link - thanks!