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Hardware bit-tech Looks at CableMod's Custom Cables

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Dogbert666, 14 Dec 2016.

  1. Dogbert666

    Dogbert666 *Fewer Lover of bit-tech Administrator

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  2. phoenixck

    phoenixck What's a Dremel?

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    Native advertising?
     
  3. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    I guess Bit should stop reviewing products and services in general then?
     
  4. Omnislip

    Omnislip Minimodder

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    I dunno, this doesn't read quite like a normal review. The service is pretty niche, though, so it does make sense to approach it a bit differently.
     
  5. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

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    I'll be honest and say this has been in the works for a while and was originally intended to be more of an interview. However, our contact at CableMod has been stuck in China for a few weeks working on new product launches and hasn't been able to work with us on finishing the article so we tweaked it to be more of a general look at braiding your cables and how CableMod's products and the configurator can make it easier. I've used the configurator a few times and found the service to be pretty good.
     
  6. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    This isn't a review, it's an ad.

    A review would have pluses and minuses and discussed whether the product was a good value for the money versus making your own. It would have compared the vendor with comparable services etc.

    I expect better from bit:nono:
     
  7. Mr_Mistoffelees

    Mr_Mistoffelees The Bit-Tech Cat. New Improved Version.

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    Articles like this help to pay for the website, so we can all use it free of charge.
     
  8. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    Nice cables but the ones I got were far too thin for my combs so I couldn't use them.
     
  9. Dogbert666

    Dogbert666 *Fewer Lover of bit-tech Administrator

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    I'll step in and clarify that this is not paid-for content, advertising, 'advertorial', native advertising, or whatever else you want to call it. We don't run any such content here and won't under my watch. The fact that it has been taken as such anyway is obviously important feedback regarding the content/tone, but in fairness this was never described as a review. It was more just a closer look at something we think is kind of cool and wanted to share.
     
  10. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    That is how I saw it. I think if there were more people into modding around here they would have seen it the same too, but modding is a shadow of its former self now.

    I found it very interesting :)
     
  11. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Trouble is, modding ain't what it used to be. I remember the glory days: replacement crystals, pencil mods, and golden fingers to overclock processors, being able to write three pages about cutting a fan hole in the top of a case with a Dremel, picking up car radiators and aquarium pumps to build a water-cooling system...

    These days, the audience just ain't there for that sort of stuff. Overclocking is just "go into BIOS, change settings, repeat until crash then back off one." Cases are available in every conceivable colour, shape, size, and configuration of fan mounts, so if you want one with a fan in the top you just buy one with a fan in the top. Water-cooling is the same: nobody's really hacking some ridiculous setup from scrap except as a personal challenge, 'cos you can buy ready-to-go kits that massively outperform anything you could make yourself for very-nearly-pocket-change.

    A topic that would have taken up four pages back in the day would have people commenting "what's the point" and "why not just buy X" before they were half-way through the first page today. S'just the way it is: PCs aren't beige boxes any more, and while the market is healthier for it there's an undeniable knock-on effect for enthusiast sites.
     
  12. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    On the flip side, there are some absolutely incredible modding projects being made now that would have been impossible back in the day. CNCs, mills, 3d printers have all expanded the range of what is possible and we're seeing some AMAZING projects as a result.
     
  13. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Oh, absolutely, but every time you go up a level of complexity and entry price your audience shrinks. You can make interesting stuff with a 3D printer, but while anybody with a spare £15 could pick up a Dremel and a fan you're going to need at least £300 and a considerable learning period to produce anything of use with a 3D printer. Just look at the mods that have been posted in the forum over the years: you'll notice a distinct trend from "I drilled some holes in this case and spray-painted flames on it" in the early days to "I used a £5,000 CNC mill to machine a case designed in a £10,000 CAD package out of £500's worth of aluminium then used a £2,500 anodisation chamber to make it red."

    I don't want to speak for bit's entire audience, here, but I certainly can't afford any of what I just said!
     
  14. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    That's true enough, but then again back in the day not everyone could afford to buy a new motherboard because they'd cocked up a pencil mod, or a new CPU because they'd fried it trying to OC too far :D

    The point stands that modding has changed, but I just wanted to provide a counterbalance to the idea that it's changed for the worse - instead, it's swings and roundabouts :)
     
  15. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Fair point!
     
  16. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    I couldn't agree more, G. All of the good ideas people are having for mods these days are usually gobbled up for free by case companies and it's getting harder and harder to actually make something truly original.

    I am planning a swan song build but I'm so paranoid about my original ideas I won't even talk about it.

    It is all too easy now. Overclocking my 5820k was simply done via Windows, I didn't even have to touch the bios and tbh the settings are not even there you must use the software. And it was all so simple. Just up the voltage to safe levels for the CPU and cooler then keep adding multi. Then when it crashes back off like you say, and that's it. Bingo Bongo, overclock is done.

    I know people mess around with X99 far more than that, but I did just for the LOLs and I could not get the CPU to go any faster. Intel have literally made it as simple as upping the volts, upping the clocks, reducing the volts as much as you can when you hit the limits, job done.

    Modding has also reached a point where it is all about the amount of money you can put into your idea. The more you have the better your ideas are realised. A plotter and a Dremel in my case can only really do so much.

    Then again at least Cablemod are becoming like the fast food of modding. They're making it understandable and accessible to every one for a reasonable price. So I no longer have to read build logs and see crap cables because people don't want to go to the depths of actually taking them apart and braiding them themselves :)
     
  17. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    I'm getting close to the end of what I consider my first "true" mod and I've had to make a lot of parts for it. I've also had to change plans in a few places because things like cables simply were not available in the lengths I needed. On the other hand, some things, like small screens, can be ordered off eBay for $50 instead of re-writing a PSOne. So, I guess it's harder to be a top level madder and be truly original, but it's also much easier than ever to make something unique.
     
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