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Old 12-01-2005, 01:55 PM   #1
caseynsb
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Default Solution for Web of Wires Behind Computer?

Here's the deal: I have a glass computer desk with no real back and tons of wires/cables going from the back of the computer to everywhere (keyboard/mouse/USB hub/monitor/power/UPS/printer/speakers as well as the other direction to my TV for TV out and media center stuff) and am trying to figure out some ways to consolidate them or make them a little easier to manage. I tried simply zip tying them but they still get all tangled up.

I'm moving this weekend and am trying to figure out the most efficient way to manage all of them so it doesn’t look like my wall is plastered by cables. Some ideas were PVC or maybe that bendable black plastic tubing that I see at hardware stores.

Does anyone else have their own solutions or do you guys just let everything go wherever (which was fine when I had an actual desk w/ a back to it).
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Old 12-01-2005, 01:57 PM   #2
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Bendable plastic tubing for the win! It'll look all industrial when you finish.
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Old 12-01-2005, 01:58 PM   #3
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Wireless + Bluetooth FTW

or



Buy a Laptop
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Old 12-01-2005, 01:59 PM   #4
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Cut another "outlet" right next to your cable outlet and stuff the extra length of the cabling back there...then get one of these FTW!

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Old 12-01-2005, 02:00 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imprezton
Bendable plastic tubing for the win! It'll look all industrial when you finish.
+1, or a bunch of zip ties if you don't mind the multicolored wire look, but plastic tubing is teh bettAr.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:00 PM   #6
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Subscribing... after moving I just hooked everything back up, and despite my best intentions it's a frickin mess already. I went the zip tie route last time, but that just meant that whenever I tried to move some component something else fell on the floor.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:01 PM   #7
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I had a wireless keyboard and mouse but that didn't really help as the receiver has 2 wires going to it anyways and the keyboard just stopped working all together (Logitech MX duo). I'm not sure about cutting outlets and stuff as I'm renting the house I'm going into and don't feel like filling 'em again.

I think the bendable tubing would be the best (I was even thinking about spraypainting it from black to silver) but I wasn't sure if there was something more simple.

EDIT: Yeah Tim, that's exactly my problem, no matter how organized I am, it just becomes this tangled mess.

Something like this would work OK (maybe a little thicker)

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Old 12-01-2005, 02:02 PM   #8
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i would suggest that you get something that allows you to easily remove a device so you don't have to clip every single ziptie to remove something only to re ziptie everything again....
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:02 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -=C=-
Cut another "outlet" right next to your cable outlet and stuff the extra length of the cabling back there...then get one of these FTW!

Link?
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:04 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TimStevens
Subscribing... after moving I just hooked everything back up, and despite my best intentions it's a frickin mess already. I went the zip tie route last time, but that just meant that whenever I tried to move some component something else fell on the floor.
Zip ties are the manly way of doing it. My mom uses some sort of hair-tie wanna-be things that are like 2 marbles connected with 2 elastic strings, just loop it around the wires and send the marble through the strings and it's all tied up and easy to take off too.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:05 PM   #11
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Zip ties don't really hide the cableing as much as I'd like, and as said above, you have to clip them and re-tie each time you make a change (granted, not too often). The main problem is my speaker wires which go everywhere because it's 5.1, I have no idea what people do w/ 7.1 computer speakers.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:07 PM   #12
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:07 PM   #13
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*subscribe*
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subarugt
Link?
that one is from chatsworth.com but any datacenter supply company can supply them. They come in different sizes and can be floor or wall mounted.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:10 PM   #15
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anyone know where to buy that type of tubbing or something similar?

Ever seen those server racks? They sell something like that. A plastic piece that has mounting tape on the back side, and has a cover so you can add and remove cables without using zip-ties.

edit:

or

auto parts store sell these for much cheaper.
thanks for links, I was looking for those too
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:13 PM   #16
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Split Tubing/Wire Looms and a bigger USB hub sound like my best solution. The computer specific cable caddy type things are a bit too expensive for what they are. This is exactly what I was thinking of (but didn't know the name):
http://cableorganizer.com/wire-loom/ptfe-wireloom.htm

I was going to hit up home depot and lowes first, but I'll also check out autozone.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:16 PM   #17
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you can probably go to lowes and get much bigger and much cheaper wire loom....

post pics of your results...
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:19 PM   #18
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Anyone know where I can find clips like B above somewhere cheap? I checked Lowe's but didn't find anything.
(no I didn't ask )

:edit: This looks like good stuff:
http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/co...cordmgmt.jhtml
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:23 PM   #19
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Spiral Wrap



You can get spools of it in various sizes from electronics dealers, or buy packs of it at Home Depot. This stuff keeps the phone/network closet at my office tidy.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:24 PM   #20
caseynsb
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Damn that spiral wrap stuff looks perfect. I was going to cut holes and run the split tubing up the frame of my desk but that looks like a more straitforward solution.
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:24 PM   #21
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I used that flexy black tubing with a slit on the side...Home Depot had a good variety of different inside diameter stuff...and a couple strips of black electric tape kept it all neat and tidy.

The only problem I had was that the tubing came coiled up in a box...so when I took it out it was still curled up, and would curl if there wasn't enough cable in it. A day in a warm room, trapped under some books put it back into line.

Someday I will build a computer on a wall though...mark my words. In fact...lemmie post...
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:26 PM   #22
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Just build your PC like this:

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Old 12-01-2005, 02:32 PM   #23
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spiral cables are the devil....when a device fails you have to unspiral that bitch...
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Old 12-01-2005, 02:51 PM   #24
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How about this.... http://www.keepacable.com

If you have a bunch of stuff you might need more than one and you may want to use something else to make it a little tidier on the back side, but at least this will keep things from falling down and getting lost...
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Old 12-01-2005, 03:00 PM   #25
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<-- likes to keep his back side tidy
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