Hey guys I got a small Question, I want to custom made all my cables for my new rig, I allready have a nice Supply an Antec HCP 850 Platinum It ships with 16 Awg wiring. http://www.antecindia.co.in/pdf/manuals/HCP-850 Manual_EN.pdf ( you can find the info on the first page ) Now I want to make my own and replace the enclosed once. But I can't find any wire which is 16 Awg, (1,305mm²) to buy. http://www.elektronik-kompendium.de/sites/kom/0902141.htm What I could find was this quiet expensive Cable http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/...!!g!!&ef_id=VDqYMAAABDplFj25:20141124213328:s which ist 1,31mm² . Will that work? On the other Hand a modder on a german website called pcgh said, that he is using always http://www.****.de/itm/Lapp-Kabel-L...uterzubehör_Kabel_Adapter&hash=item3cbdf48b4f which only has 1,0mm²(AWG17) is this enough because it cost just a quarter of the other wire Does anyone have here experience to help me out? regards Julian edit: sorry for my english, still trying to improve it
With the exception of the molex connectors (and in some cases SATA connectors) 18AWG or the metric equivalent 24/0.2 (0.75mm²) is fine. Providing you don't overload i.e. don't connect too many components on the Molex or SATA connectors then 18AWG is fine for that also. The limiting factor on the ATX/PCIe connectors is the pins which are rated for 7-8A. Check out Farnells or Rapid I've used both and prefer the slightly thicker wire from Rapid as it helps 'training' the shape of the sleeved cables better.
Farnell have a massive selection of 16AWG wire. Litz Cable is totally unnecessary for power delivery (or for anything else below around 100 kHz).
Thanks guys for your answer, but is it really nessecsary to get 16AWg wires ? It is just that they are pretty thick and sturdy, but I want to sleeve them so max 2.6mm² outer thickness. and they should be soft enough that i can move them easily arround. I am a little afraight that I can't do that with that thick cables. My Plan is to use my above posted AWG 17 wire for the atx string and the pci lanes and AWG 18 for Loex and Sata, that should work or?
It Depends. Long answer: to determine the minimum wire diameter needed, consult a wiring gauge chart. You need to check what the maximum current each wire will be carrying, and choose an appropriate wire with a safety margin (10% is more than enough). Wiring runs in a case are so short that voltage drop due to resistance shouldn't be an issue with copper wiring of the correct gauge to handle the desired current. Most of the power in a modern system will be on the +12V output, and you can look to the side of your PSU to find out the maximum current output. Divide that by the number of conductors per channel to determine the wire gauge needed. You can also take into account the maximum rated power for each connector. e.g. a PCI-E 8-way connector has 3 +12V conductors, 5 ground return conductors, and is rated for 150W. Each +12V conductor must carry at a minimum 4.17A, and each GND must carry 2.5A (best to assume 4.17A though, for fallback to 6-pin PCI-E). Since the PSU was wired with 16AWG, a good rule of thumb would be to stick with that for +12V and any GND conductors paired with +12V for PCI-E power, ATX-12V, and ATX; and look at other wires on a case-by-case basis to see what you can reduce the wire gauge to. The penalty for using too large a gauge is slightly stiffer wiring to work with. The penalty for using too small a gauge is your PC crashing due to voltage drops, or having the insulation melt/burn away leading to a live short to a sensitive component, the chassis, or an outright fire.
thanks for your long answer, I will get the expensive AWG 16 wire for the atx string and all the pci strings, I will run SLI with 970s or 980s maybe 980TI(I don't know yet if it will be sold, but I can wait a couple month before buying GPUs) and for Sata and Molex power I will use the cheaper AWG 18 wire which I can buy at the local home depot. thanks alot for you patient to write it all down I really preciate that
That's the exact opposite of what I would suggest. 16AWG is overkill for the ATX and PCIe cables, however it won't cause any problems using it.
Exactly. Unless you're comfortable with calculating the gauge of wire actually required for your usage (be that under or over the normal; specifications) then sticking to or above what the unit came with is a good idea.
Except that the manufacturers sometimes over specify the wiring gauge as well and in Europe AWG specification wire is a lot more expensive than the metric equivalents. I've made custom cable sets for around 10-12 PSUs and 50-60 sets of extenders, all using 24/0.2 (0.75mm²) with never a problem.
I never did that caluculating thingy, but I will try it out. I went today to the lokal store and wire with the Diammeter of AWG16 is not just expensive it is stiff as hell. I could barely move it as I wanted that was also caused by the thick rubber coating. I have to search for wire with sinner once. That would be similar to AWG 21-22, isnt it? So I should really be fine if I take something simliar to AWG 18 which is sold by most of the common modding retailer as E22, modbunker etc.?
No, 24/0.2 is the metric equivalent of 18AWG although it's 0.75mm². I happen to know that Nils of MDPC-X recommends that specification for people in Europe who don't have ready access to reasonably priced AWG specification wire. If you can find 18AWG at a reasonable price then go for it otherwise 24/0.2 is perfectly fine. You mention that the AWG16 wire is stiff but providing it's multi-stranded rather than single core wire that can be an advantage when laying out the cables in the case as it helps them retain the 'flow'. At 2.33mm in diameter it's at the upper end of the size I would use. Personally I no longer use E22 due to problems with him supplying goods and in fact my last order went to Paypal dispute for a full refund and the order before that was delayed for around 3 weeks (by which time I'd bought elsewhere). You could take a chance but I personally won't be dealing with him again. Normally I'd recommend ModBunker but check first to make sure orders are being delivered on time and any problems have been sorted out.
Well that is rather confusing . I really don't know why 24/0.2 is equivalent to 18 AWG with just 0,75mm². But 24/0.2 isn't really good available in Germany I could just find retailer in GB and than it is easier to order at Modbunkers because there I allready got an account. Unfortenatly Nils is still on holiday otherwise I would just get it at his store. His crimping ratchet is awesome . And the huge diameter is the problem, easy sleeving is a nogo -.- and I think crimping it will be horrible too . I will sleeve shrinkless therefore I need all the room and the plugs I can get. I never ordered at E22. Only from Nils and Modbunker and the normal Hardware supplier in Germany and Netherlands. I found now e really good Deal on ebay: there is " Litze H05V-K 1,0mm² braun" (Litze=Wire and braun=brown) for 100m/20€ That should be even better than 24/0.2 or?
If you've bought from MDPC-X then you should have access to the MDPC Forum. Check #1 in the 'The MDPC Crimping-Guide' thread for everything you need to know about wire sizes and explains that you need to look for 24/0.2 hookup wire. I'm surprised it's difficult to find as it's the metric sizing. 2.33mm would be fine for heatshrinkless sleeving although it can be a bit tight in the connectors if using heatshrink. I generally use 2.3mm wire as it gives better results and is not a problem to crimp. Anything over 2.5mm is too large to use both with the standard ATX pins and the MDPC-X Crimping tool. Yes, Nils Crimping tool is excellent (I have a couple of them) but the Lutro Crimping tool is fractionally better (I have a couple of those too) as the crimp section has been machined out slightly and allows crimping on dual wires particulalry for the molex pins on auxiliary connectors. Although I've had to stop sleeving for a while due to an allergy I'm really hoping MDPC-X reopens soon as I'm getting twitchy about my low sleeving stocks. It's been over 2 months now with no sighs of reopening.
I allready asked the same question which I asked here in the mdpc forum, but couldn't get a good response like here which is really awesome. I red the guide but understanding it http://family.million-dollar-pc.com/showthread.php?t=353&highlight=Crimping+guide Yeah I was suprised too that 24/0.2 wasn't as usual as you told. I will ask tommorow at my local depot if they have any there. Google isn't really helpfull to find any in Germany or nearby. what do you suggest I do? Unfortenatly I Don't have enough mdpc-x crimps. Therefore i will probably order at modbunkers to get atx,sata and molex crimps, He asks also 2,8$ for 5m 18AWG wire. I will end at 56$ for 100m fair price? Why is there such a huge difference with the pricing. I know every retailer gets his share but that much? Woha than you are really into sleeving. I only got the MDPC crimp tool and did two sleeving jobs on PSUs. One with shrink and one shrinkless and I really loved the shrinkless version. It just looks a little bit cleaner to me than with shrink. It is not that shrink looks bad, but I just prefer shrinkless on my own built. ( I've got a log here too http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=273891 ) I really hope that you get over the allergy quickly. Is there any curement or do you just wait till you body got used to it? I hope too that Nils opens as quick as possible. I was lucky that i he could get my order out before he cloed it down. Therefore I've got a got stock 150m black,100m Orange, 50m Special X red sleeving here . An a shitload shrinks which I cut with y selfmade shrinkcutter.
Reading this thread I'm genuinely interested what the difference in insulation types is between the AWG wire from the accessory stores you're listing and the kind I sell from my autoelectrical store. I mention it because that price at Modbunkers for the 18AWG seems a bit steep; we sell 32/0.20 for about £16 per 100m and other than it being rated for a maximum for 60v (surely irrelevant for PC 12v and 5v use?) I'm struggling to see the difference. Below is the sort of cable I'm talking about- http://www.automarinecables.com/cables/details.cfm?id=1
The link to Farnells I gave in #2 is for the German site and the wire is reasonably priced. They also stock Molex ATX pins (39-00-0038) at a good price although you need to buy reels of 4000 to get the absolute best price. Alternative suppliers are: ShakMods although I haven't tried his sleeve (not keen on the matte look). You'll find Sali is very helpful if you have any questions. Emil at Sleeve Modding is also very helpful and often has discounts. I've used his sleeve and while it's not as good as MDPC-X for both quality and colour it's not bad. You really need to buy it when it's discounted otherwise I feel it's too pricey. There's also ModDiy but I find many components too expensive and the pins supplied with the overpriced connectors are crap. I've not been impressed with the quality of the sleeve. Spigsy - It's the conductor size rather than the insulation (Silicon seems to be best for crimping and sleeving) that seems to explain the high costs. 24/0.2 is especially good value in the UK (£16 for 100M from Farnells) whereas 18AWG appears to be vastly overpriced. Note that the link to the wire in Farnells shows it as 2.5mm in diameter, it's actually 2.05mm and I've told them often enough.
When comparing wire of the same gauge (as Spigsy was doing) the conductors are - by definition - the same diameter. Modding websites will generally be marking up their wire a lot more than a bulk component supplier (the same phenomena can be seen in the price of mesh sleeving) due to the smaller volumes, and the brand/reputation.
I was trying to point out (probably badly) that if you buy AWG in the UK you pay a substantial premium whereas the metric equivalent is reasonably priced. I believe that the Modbunker 16AWG wire is made to their (Lutro's) specification as the insulation is particulalry thin giving an overall diameter of around 2mm compared to the more normal 2.5mm. I still wouldn't use it at those prices though. I would argue that there are significant differences in quality (in the sense of looks, feel and coverage of the underlying wire) rather than just brand/reputation for sleeving although would imagine that manufacturing costs are very similar. I know I was getting my MDPC-X sleeve at around 50-60% of the normal cost by buying in bulk.
That's was a good question which was answered right. I found at Farnells a good barging of wire. I really think so too, that because they don't sell huge amounts the price is just hire or they just sell special 16AWg wire like modbunker with just 2,01mm² thickness Sometimes I just have to open my eyes. damn I must been beaten by a racket to not see the right price at Farnells. They've got a depot in germany and it cost my only 25€ excl shipping to get for 100m which should be farely enough to custom made everything Thanks a lot for your help Mate. I really appreciate that you took so much time and helpped me out here. Unfortenatly I couldn't find any crimp terminals which you pointed out Farnells should have. I searched there side which is huge (man they've got a shitload stuff), but It was just a huge jungle because my search page is in German ( It doesn't let me change it in english) and I couldn't find the right name for their search list to not have 1127 search results which are all similar and none showed me your posted product ID of Molex ATX pins (39-00-0038) what do you guys think. I will have to order the houle stack that means, crimp terminals which should fit into the mdpc-x retchet otherwise I will have to get a new ratchet, too. And all the connectors (24pin,8pin,6pin,2pin,sata and molex) Do you have any further advise where I can get a good deal. Maybe this time at modbunkers? or Farnell too? You pointed a couple stores out where to buy and where not too. (eg. to not get it at DiY). It would have been easy if mdpc-x would have been open, but thtas not the case
Aren't these the pins? Actually MDPC-X charge about 3 times the going rate for the pins. Probably because he buys the big reels but then cuts and packs them by hand. Damn the pins are even cheaper from Farnells Germany than the ones I buy in the UK! The MDPC-X Crimp tool will crimp ATX and Molex auxiliary pins very well although if you crimp enough of the Auxiliary pins it wears out the tool. After saying that I've only worn one tool out in 3 years. Although the MDPC-X tool will also crimp the fan pins and SATA pins it doesn't do it too well. In fact you'll struggle to fit sleeved wire into SATA connectors after crimping with it. I use the Molex 63811-1000 non-ratchet crimping tool for SATA pins as you can get a really tight crimp. It's also good for fan pins and USB/motherboard pins and one offs like Cathode pins. The tool is a bit pricey for one off jobs and you might get similar results using long nose pliers.
