How Cable and Wire Management Affects Aesthetics and Performance - Tip 4: Cable Caddies
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Do you have dozens of cables that always tend to fall off your desk? Then you often need to get behind your desk to retrieve those cables. Does this scenario sounds familiar? All you need is a simple cable caddy. This is ideal for notebooks/laptops, desktop computers, PDAs, iPods, CD/MP3 players, cellular phones, digital cameras, and sensors for wireless input devices (as well as remote controls).
Check out the following picture:
Cable Caddy
You can get these in different colors. They are very useful. You can use it free-standing, stick it on your desk with adhesive strips, or you name it. Once you tie a cable in a zip like that it won't fall down again. These caddies are also flexible enough so you won't face problems when removing or pulling out cables. There are also homemade alternatives for these caddies. But you will certainly lose aesthetics if you tape the cables between each other. It's possible to tape the cables, use a simple zip tie, and then place the whole set of cables somewhere that it can't fall down (below a desktop sound speaker or monitor, for example).
Conclusions
You should understand by now the effectiveness of ideal cable and wire management. Next time you build a system or do a mod/rebuild, please take your time and fiddle a little with your cables and wires. You won't regret it. Not only will you gain better aesthetic looks, but your case will look neater and cleaner, your fans will work at their maximum efficiency, your airflow won't be affected as much as it was before, your cables won't fall behind your desk, and your desk will look tidier. If you attend LAN parties often then I'm quite sure you have a nice case with at least one transparent side window and you are always looking for specific tips to help you impress your friends with your computer's looks and performance.
Trust me, when they notice your cable management: wires routed exactly to destinations and hidden, sleeved, as well as rounded cables, maybe with UV LEDs and cold cathodes, they will say: "Dude, that's awesome! You're great!" You will feel better and your computer will run cooler, safer, and more effectively. Your cables and wires will be protected from your spinning fan blades and the sharp edges of your case. Take your time when managing cables and be creative; improvise a lot. The time you'll spend is well worth it.
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