Cable management is a boring but necessary part of any PC build. Without it, you’ll struggle to make sense of the cable jungle inside and outside your PC, and end up shoving cables wherever you can. That poses other problems related to airflow, dust accumulation, cable damage, diagnostics, and, of course, esthetics. When I first started building PCs, I never did any cable management. Gradually, I learned the hard way that I should have picked up some tips along the way.
These tips would have made many of my builds far simpler while improving their looks significantly. Cable management takes time, some planning, and a little investment, but the returns are more than worth it. Try some of these tricks the next time you’re putting a PC together.
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7
Buy the right case in the first place
Don’t go for the cheapest case you can find
This one might sound obvious, but I’ve personally regretted buying a case that made tidy cable management impossible. For the PC I built in 2017, I picked the Corsair SPEC-04, a budget case that wasn’t terrible in terms of airflow, but lacked a proper way to hide the PSU cables. No dual chamber or PSU shroud meant that most of my cables were left hanging in plain view, running the looks of my precious budget build.
Today, the quality of PC cases has improved across the board, so even budget cases provide enough cable management features like grommets, channels, and even removable panels. Shopping for a quality case has become easier, but you still need to ensure you’re getting the most out of your money. So, put some thought into the case beyond the looks and size, and you’ll have a much easier time managing cables during your build.
Corsair 3500X
The Corsair 3500X series of PC cases are an offshoot of the tried and tested Lian Li O11 Dynamic design with two glass windows and primary air intake moved to the side panel. This is a version of the Corsair 6500 without the dual-chamber design, instead opting for a traditional PSU shroud to hide the power plant and all its cabling.
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6
Spend time planning your cable routing
After all, well-begun is half done
Once you have secured a decent case with good airflow and cable management features, it’s time to plan ahead before you end up with a cable mess out of nowhere. Any PC build involves a lot of cables coming from the PSU, front panel, CPU cooler, and case fans. To do your best at cable management, assess where each of the cables needs to be routed, depending on the case layout, PSU position, number of motherboard headers, and the length of the cables.
Assembling your PC without this step can easily lead to a haphazard situation where you’re forced to stuff and tie cables anywhere you can. Planning well, however, will allow you to build in peace, route cables via the nearest channels, and craft a PC that not only performs well but looks good too. Cable management is not about perfection, it’s about attention to detail and giving your PC the respect it deserves.
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5
Invest in a modular power supply
No reason not to buy one anymore
The best way to manage cables inside your PC is to eliminate them wherever possible. A modular power supply is one of the easiest ways to do that. By allowing you to use only the cables you need for your components, a modular PSU significantly simplifies your cable management needs. And modular power supplies aren’t too costly compared to non-modular or semi-modular units anymore.
A fully modular power supply doesn’t come with any cables already attached to the unit. Unlike a non-modular PSU, this gives you more freedom when planning the cable management of your build, and also allows you to use custom cables, which I’ll talk about more later. Unless you are building a super-budget PC and working on a strict budget, buying a modular PSU is a no-brainer in 2025.
Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 850W
The Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 850W is an ATX 3.0 power supply with a fully modular design, flat cables, and a true 450W 12VHPWR connector. Its 80+ Gold efficiency and 10-year warranty make it a great unit for the price.
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4
Consider fans with fewer cables
Fans have come a long way
Case fans are usually the biggest culprits when it comes to adding to the cable clutter inside the PC. If you’ve worked with fans that come with individual cables, for both power and RGB, you’d understand. Fortunately, you now have many simplified options when choosing case fans, which minimize the number of cables by using proprietary connectors. These can be magnetic or clip-on mechanisms, but they do the same thing.
Brands like Corsair, MSI, and Lian Li have their own daisy-chained fans that are a bit pricey, but look way better than conventional case fans. Instead of two cables per fan, a three-pack of these daisy-chained fans will only result in one or two cables that you need to connect to the motherboard or a fan hub. Not only does this simplify cable management, but it also enhances your build experience as you spend less time worrying about multiple cables and more time enjoying the build.
Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 RGB fan
The Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 RGB fan is great for quickly adding multiple case fans to your PC without having to worry about cable clutter. These connect to each other via a custom connector, and they even have a built-in temperature sensor and MCU, allowing you to control them separately.
3
Use custom cables
Whoever’s looking, make it worth their while
You aren’t “tied” to the stock cables of your PSU, you can use your own. Once you realize this, the world’s your oyster. Custom cables add a touch of elegance to any build while beautifying the cables inside your PC, if not reducing them. You can buy custom cables in almost any color and pattern, or make your own if you’re up for it.
You’ll need a modular power supply to use custom cables, but I hope you’re already doing that, so that won’t be a roadblock. Custom cables enable you to match the esthetics of your build — you could pick a set that matches or contrasts with your GPU, motherboard, or CPU cooler. Sometimes, even black or white sleeved cables look great in a subdued build. It’s all about playing with the theme of your build and using cables that fit in nicely with that.
Corsair Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit
$50 $70 Save
$20
These official PSU cables from Corsair feature flexible triple-layer mesh paracord sleeving, you get five cables in the box, and you can choose from a variety of different colors. If you’re looking for a cable set perfect to replace the cables on a Corsair PSU, this is an excellent choice.
2
Move to wireless peripherals
Your desk needs to look the part
Cable management isn’t limited to the inside of your PC. If your desk is cluttered with keyboard, mouse, headset, and speaker cables, it won’t really feel tidied up. Switching to wireless peripherals can instantly eliminate all cables from your desk, ensuring the outside of your PC looks as clean as the inside. You might not want a wireless speaker system, but a wireless keyboard, mouse, and headset are virtually identical in performance to wired counterparts.
These days, you can get budget mechanical keyboards that come with wireless functionality (both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz), a great typing experience, and a breadth of other features. Wireless gaming mice with flagship sensors and lightweight builds are easily available for around $50–$60, and wireless gaming headsets under $100 provide great microphones and decent sound quality. There’s no reason to shun wireless peripherals anymore, especially when they can enhance the looks of your PC setup.
NuPhy Air60 V2
If you’re a mechanical keyboard connoisseur, you might want to pick up this 60% keyboard from Nuphy. It offers wireless connectivity and Gateron Brown switches that are great for typing.
Razer Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed
Aimed at the professional gamer, the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed offers a 55 g ultra-lightweight and ergonomic design complete with a smooth-touch texture and up to 100 hours of battery life. Its Dynamic Sensitivity feature tweaks your DPI on the fly depending on what suits you best.
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1
Don’t ignore cable trays and troughs
The cherry on the cake
Your entire setup should look like you’ve put some thought into the overall esthetics instead of hiding everything behind the desk. This is especially important in cases where the back of your desk doesn’t hide the cable jungle completely — they end up loosely hanging under your desk, at risk of getting entangled in your legs or damaged by pets.
Tidying up the PC, monitor, speaker, and power strip cables might seem like a gargantuan task, but under-the-table cable trays and troughs allow you to do a great job without being a cable management wizard. These trays are strong enough to hold multiple heavy cables, even entire power bars. All you need to do is affix them to the underside of your desk properly, and route each of your power cables through them. You can also use cable boxes if you want to go for a different look.
Scandinavian Hub Under Desk Cable Management Tray
$24 $36 Save
$12
This set of 2 cable management trays is great for holding extra cables under your table.
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Cable management is an ongoing process
You need to do a good job of cable management while building your PC, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. You can keep improving as you go on, adding little touches over the years. For instance, you can decide to move to wireless peripherals later, or slightly delay using a cable management tray. Even case fans and custom cables can be added later without too much disruption to the PC. Adding a modular power supply and changing the case is slightly more difficult, so I suggest opting for them right when you build your PC.
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source: https://www.xda-developers.com/cable-management-tricks-i-didnt-learn-sooner/
