Ok Ok, so we are a bit late on this review. But overdue or not, we're gonna let you peeps know if these things are really worth the purchase. What can you say about these? Well not a whole lot. Actually I think Justi said it best a few days ago. "Well, you plug them in, and they work, and look nice." That is pretty much on the mark as far as I can tell. I'm not gonna sit here and blow smoke up your ass and tell ya these things will breath new life into your slow 5400rpm Hard Drive. Cuz they won't. Wow, this is beginning to sound more like a conclusion than an introduction. Lets take a few pics of these cables and you peeps can see what we're looking at here today.
Pretty shweet eh? Yeah, I thought so too. Lets see what these "factory" rounded cables look like next to some homebrew rounded, and normal IDE cables.
You'll notice the stock, normal IDE cable on the left. My personal homebrew Rounded Cable in the middle. And the SideWinder Factory Rounded ATA/100 Cable on the right. Currently SW has these cables available in both Blue and Red. Always a welcome addition to a box that has a plexi-glass window to checkout the goods. Such as this one!
The rounded cables give a very nice appearance, as well as helping the airflow situation. I am very anal about my cases internal airflow and I frown on anything blocking the flow of cool air coming in from the bottom, and hot air being expelled from the top. Basically a good vacuum effect is what you'll need to keep those components cool, and big floppy assed IDE cables running everywhere are not going to help that situation at all. I need to go ahead and do a quick tutorial on caseflow to help out some of the newer peeps that are coming into this hobby. We'll see what happens. Here is a decent pic of what I consider good airflow with as little hindrance as possible.
This is going to help with maximum airflow throughout the case. Like I said, I want to touch on this more in another review. For now, lets take a look at some close-up pics of these cables.
The rubbery material covering these cables is pretty slick and very workable. About the only thing I didn't like compared to the homebrew cables, is the homejobbies were very pliable and poseable. I could bend and shape them to my hearts content and they would stay in that position, whereas these factory cables won't do that. Not necessarily a ding, just that I'm used to one thing, and getting another. No biggie. As a bonus, lets wrap this up with a pic of the Floppy Rounded Cable. I was actually VERY impressed with this item. The floppy drive is probably the item in my case I could care less about, however, with a nice rounded cable running to it, we'll still be contributing to a case with good airflow, always a plus.
Conclusion: Wrapping this review up, I'm gonna touch on a few high's and lows of the item itself. Honestly, there are very few lows. A decent ATA/100 cable is gonna cost you from $5-$10 at your local compu store anyways. As I see it, why not purchase these for a few $$ more and have the professional look and feel of a nice factory rounded cable, while helping airflow in your system? Which end up being the high's as well. Would I recommend these to the peeps? Yes I would. Now if you are a do-it-yourselfer, and very tight on funds, the home-made rounded cables are always an option as long as you have a steady hand. ntly on sale cheaper then anywhere else on the net! So get 'em while they last.
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