Cable sleeving

[Tabbywabby]

Hello,
I have been working on a custom build, and the next step is cable sleeving. I want to single cable sleeve my entire PSU, which is the Antec CP-850. I have gone through Lutr0's guide on overclock.net, but he neglected to mention how much sleeving I would actually need. I guessing it will be in the 150-200' range just based on how much I will need for the 2' 24pin (that's 48' right there) primary mobo cable, then I have everything else. To sleeve, I will work on getting a heat gun, straight edge clippers, all the pin removal tools. Now to the point, are there any experienced sleevers here that have any reccomendations to make it a bit easier. I have looked at the professional sleevers online an they all charge $350-$400, and I feel like it's cheating, but what ever.

Any help is appreciated,
Tabby

 

[slh28]

Would be easier if your PSU was modular... then you could just buy some sleeved cables. Not sure it's worth the time/effort/money to sleeve your one.

 

[Tabbywabby]

It wasn't entirely modular. There are quite a few cables that need to be manually sleeved.

I think that its worth it in the long run.

 

[dividebyzero]

If you want the best sleeving be prepared to pay for it. Individual sleeving of a PSU was never intended to fall into the "economic and cheap" subgroup of modding projects.
MDPC-X sleeving is about the best available, but you can find reasonable alternatives like Techflex ($0.29 per ft w/50ft purchase here). Apart from that, heatshrink isn't a major expense ( I get mine from auto electrical suppliers), pin removal tools are fairly cheap, and I wouldn't bother with a hot air gun/ paint stripping gun unless you plan on doing some plexiglass/acrylic modding as well - a cigarette lighter does the same job.
You still need to factor in down time for the PSU while you're resleeving, and the expense. You might find it an easier proposition to buy a modular PSU that has optional fully individual sleeved cable kits available.

 

[slh28]

To get the total length required you need multiply the length of each cable by the number of wires, e.g. if your 24 pin ATX is 0.5m then you need 12m just for that connector. For a couple of graphics cards and a few hard drives I'd guess around 50m.

I think the $350-400 quote you're getting is mostly labour costs - it takes a LOT of time and effort to sleeve every single wire. For that price you can buy a new Corsair PSU and sleeving kit DBZ linked to with cash to spare.

 

[Tabbywabby]

Alright, thanks for the suggestions. So manual sleeving or a new Corsair PSU. The AX850 plus sleeved cables will run me $290... Im guessing the sleeveing plus the tools will run me, $51 for techflex sleeveing 164' (not exact but sounds close), $7 for clippers, $10 for 10' of techflex heatshrink, and $41 for tools / $17 without heat gun, that is $109 total. Downtime is not a factor, its not my work PC, and let alone "The Boss" would be happy with a bit of downtime. It would appear as though my choice has been made for me by the bank account. This overall seems pretty reasonable to me.

I would have gone to MDPC-X to get my budget, but they were "closed".

Thanks guys,
Tabby