One of the common gripes with modern tech comes in the form of the statement that modern devices are not built to last and tend to drop performance or completely throw the towel only a couple of years after they are purchased.
Although such wild claims are not completely unfounded it is hard to escape the feeling that one of the main reasons why our devices drop performance or break so fast is the sheer lack of maintenance and care we ever put into them.
The best example of what we're talking about can be found in how well you are managing the cables in your PC.
Didn't know this is something you should actually pay attention to? Don't worry – we will do our best to right these wrongs in this short cable management breakdown.
Why you should put more effort into PC cable management?
Let us start from the very beginning – why you should even care for this seemingly mundane chore?
- Protecting the equipment - This issue is especially symptomatic for external cables that, if spread out without any sense or order make it incredibly easy to slip, trip over, and damage thousands of dollars worth of gaming gear. But things are not that different when we move inside the PC case where cluttered space makes even the smallest fixes a dangerous chore.
- More room for upgrades - To put it simply, poorly managed internal cables leave very little room for upgrades. Even if you manage to squeeze in the components you want, the lack of space may cause overheating and various performance issues.
- Maintenance made easy – All human beings tend to avoid the things they find intimidating and taxing. And there is nothing more taxing than wiping the dust off the messy and tangled cables. The thing is that this lack of care can cause severely cut the PC's overall lifespan.
- Improving the PC performance – The performance of modern PCs is built around seamless airflow. Keeping that in mind, just as poor management of internal cables can compromise the PC performance, a lack of internal clutter can drastically improve it.
What can we do to manage the PC cables better?
Now that we've seen why proper management of PC cables is so important and how this activity can affect the performance of our devices, let us take a look at a couple of practical tips that can make this job easier.
Invest in proper equipment
This suggestion mostly applies to external cables. Be that as it may, investing in cable management equipment can go a long way in making the vast majority of these problems disappear. We are talking mostly about the equipment pieces like cable sleeves, secure power strips, cable runs, and similar. Also, keeping the cables out of sight (e.g., keeping them behind or underneath nearby furniture pieces) will keep most troubles at bay.
Use modular PSU configurations
If you are not familiar with the term, modular PSUs (Power Supply Units) are PC power supplies that feature detachable cables that are not soldered to circuit boards like their non-modular cousins. This simple difference opens up tons of different opportunities since being able to attach only the cables you want to use at the moment you are eliminating a lot of clutter, enabling better airflow, and saving more space for the components that actually matter.
Choose a quality PC case
Some PC cases are simply better than others and leave room for whatever PC build you might be having in mind. Some of them even claim to be built specifically with airflow and management of cables in mind. So, if you want to cut this problem at its very root, you should start with getting a PC case built with this purpose in mind. We might add that you should make a draft of the components you want to use first so you know just how much space you will need.
Use wireless peripherals
Last but not least, we would like to remind you that we are living in a time when IoT and smart tech have completely taken over our homes. So, the idea of drooping as many cables as you can and relying exclusively on wireless tech is not that far-fetched. Also, we would like to point out that the present-day mouses and keyboards pack excellent response times so your gaming experience won't see any difference. If you can you can even stream video to nearby screens dropping the monitors altogether.
In conclusion
We hope this short breakdown gave you a bit clearer idea about why the proper management of your PC cables is so important as well as presented a couple of simple ideas about how to make this chore easier. As we can see, when it comes to PC maintenance there are really no tasks that are too mundane not to give them proper attention. All the care and effort we put into keeping our devices clean and optimized can only help them work better and longer. Taking care of PC cables does seem like a good place to start.