Cable management is important in all computers, not just gaming computers. However cable management issues, or cable management fails, often happen in custom gaming PCs that the users build themselves. Why? Because the gamer is so excited about their new rig that they haphazardly plug in cables as they build their computer. They don't care about where the wires go, so long as they are connected to the right things. Poor cable management is even more prevalent in liquid cooled computers that gamers build because they think that the cables won't impact cooling since they are using liquid cooling.
Let's take a minute and discuss why cable management is important. One primary reason is airflow. Computers create heat as they run. The harder you push your PC, the hotter it gets. Gaming PCs are particularly affected because they run complex 3D environments that they render and they are often run at their capacity. If components get too hot they will slow themselves down and then turn off to avoid damage. It would be pretty silly to have your computer start to stutter and then shut down just as you're getting to the good part in your game. Your custom PC needs to cool itself to avoid this. If you look inside any computer today you'll see a multitude of fans. One for the power supply, one for the case, one for the CPU, one for the graphics card, and perhaps more. Even laptops have fans inside! These fans move air so that your components don't get hot. A mess of cables and wires will block the flow of air and cause your CPU and other components to get hotter and hotter.
Another way of cooling your components is to install a liquid cooling loop. This uses liquid instead of air to cool your CPU and maybe other components. Liquid cooling blocks allow the liquid to absorb heat from the components and then this hot liquid is taken to a radiator where it exchanges heat with the air around it, then it returns to the component to absorb more heat. You may think that if you were to get a liquid cooling setup you wouldn't need to worry about airflow, and this cable management. However, most setups only use liquid to cool the CPU, the other components - most importantly the graphics card, still rely on airflow to keep themselves from getting too hot. Even if you have a system with liquid cooling blocks on the CPU and graphics card, other components like the memory chips and the motherboard chipset still get hot and need airflow to keep themselves cool.
If you were to have an awesome liquid cooling system one thing you'd want to do is show it off. Many computer cases today come with windows so you can see the inside of the computer. It would be unfortunate if your incredible liquid cooling system was embarrassed by your poor cable management. Bad cable management can even cause damage to your computer. If a stray cable were to get entangled with a fan, the fan would destroy the cable and maybe even short your computer. Cable management is an important component in building a custom PC.
So how do you manage cables anyway? Basically you would guide the cables around components in an elegant way to where they need to go. You would use wire wraps to bundle cables together instead of dealing with many small wires. Most computer cases designed for games are equipped with cable management cables and access holes. After installing the motherboard you would open the computer case from both sides and guide the cables out behind the motherboard instead of out in front where the graphics card is. This creates a classy custom PC that would be the pride of any computer gamer.
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