Tidy cables make a PC easier to work on later and keep wires out of fan blades and away from intake fans. They look better through the glass, too. The trick is knowing what each cable does and routing them in the right order, before parts get in the way.
Why it’s worth doing
A bundle of cables hanging in front of the intake fans blocks the cool air meant for the graphics card and CPU cooler. Loose cables can also drift into a fan. And a build with planned routes is much quicker to upgrade, because you can follow each cable instead of untangling it.
The cables in a gaming PC
- 24-pin ATX: the motherboard’s main power, on the right edge of the board. The thickest cable in the build.
- 8-pin CPU (EPS, often 4+4): CPU power, at the top-left of the board. Some boards have a second 8-pin or 4-pin socket; use it if your manual recommends it for your CPU.
- Graphics card power: 8-pin PCIe (often 6+2) or the 16-pin 12V-2×6.
- SATA power: for SATA SSDs, hard drives and some fan or lighting hubs.
- Fan headers: 4-pin (PWM) cables to CPU_FAN, SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN headers, or to a fan hub.
- Lighting: addressable RGB uses a 3-pin 5 V header; older RGB uses a 4-pin 12 V header. They are not interchangeable, and plugging ARGB into a 12 V header can damage it.
- Front panel: power and reset switches and LEDs, front USB (USB 3.x 19-pin and USB-C front header) and HD audio.
Plan before you build
Lay out which cutout each cable will use before anything goes into the case. In smaller cases, route the 8-pin CPU (EPS) cable through the top cutout and plug it in before the graphics card and cooler go in, because the connector is hard to reach afterwards. With a modular power supply, plug in only the cables you need.
Routing behind the tray
Route the thickest cables first: the 24-pin motherboard cable, the CPU cable and the graphics card power cable. Then fit the thinner SATA, fan and front-panel cables around them.
Use Velcro straps rather than zip ties. You’ll want to change or add a cable at some point, and cutting a zip tie in a tight space risks nicking a wire. Leave a little slack at each connector so nothing pulls on the socket.
Graphics card power connectors
Newer graphics cards use the 16-pin 12V-2×6 connector. Push it in until it sits flush, with no gap. Don’t bend the cable sharply within the first 35 mm or so of the connector: PSU makers such as Corsair and Seasonic advise keeping that stretch straight. If the side panel is too close for that, use a 90-degree cable.
For cards with two or three 8-pin sockets, use a separate cable from the power supply for each socket where you can, rather than one cable with a daisy-chained second plug.
Use the modular cables that came with your power supply. Pin layouts differ between brands and even between models, and a mismatched cable can damage parts. Custom cable sets must be bought for your exact PSU model.
Fans and lighting
Most boards have fewer fan headers than a well-cooled case needs. A PWM fan hub, powered by SATA and controlled from one motherboard header, keeps the cabling simple. Daisy-chain lighting and fans only as far as the header’s rating allows; the manual lists the current each header can supply.
Taming the front panel
The front-panel header is the cluster of small pins, usually at the bottom right of the motherboard, for the power button, reset button and case lights. Route these thin leads through the lowest cutout, and connect them before the graphics card goes in, when there’s still room for your fingers. The motherboard manual shows the pin layout, and some boards include an adapter block that makes it easier.