BlueSmoke - Review : HighSpeed PC Rounded Cables

		Date	: Feb 26th, 2001
		Category	: Case Modding
		Manufacturer	: HighSpeed PC
		Author	: Jin-Wei Tioh

Rounded cables are one of the latest crazes on the 'net, well besides "All your base are belong to us" that is. After case modding really took off around the middle of 2000, it became quite acceptable to paint/chrome your case, add neon lights, perspex windows or even laser/plasma cutting patterns onto your case. While some of these are just for vanity, some do serve the crucial purpose of improving airflow in the case. Modern processors are incredibly efficient at producing heat, and for optimal system cooling, both air intake and output must be adequate.

Rounded cables provide a neat solution the problem of airflow restriction by reducing the clutter in a computer. This trend started after Felix Harrington wrote his cable rounding article. If what he writes is true, the real people who started doing this were those at Compaq. However, being homemade cables, they looked aesthetically challenged and were questionable quality-wise. Lower quality would result in crosstalk on the cables, which ultimately leads to data corruption, especially the newer ATA-66 and ATA-100 protocols which have a lower margin of tolerance. Thus, for all the benefits offered, quite a number people were still reluctant to use them. Targeting this group, manufacturers started producing commercial rounded cables, which are machine made, and should therefore be of higher quality.

Today, we'll take a look at the rounded IDE and floppy cables from HighSpeed PC, which have been kindly provided by Scott Brown.

<img src="http://www.highspeedpc.com/images/highspeed_faster_loop1.gif" width="468" height="60">

HighSpeed PC ships their rounded IDE & floppy cables in sealed plastic bags, just like any normal flat IDE/floppy cables.

The rounded IDE cable is 18" in length, and is well protected by flexible rubber sheathings. Scott sent over the green version, but for those of you who have other color preferences, he has these in red and blue flavors as well, which have just become available. The cable is well machined, and is compatible with the ATA-33/66/100 protocols. What about the performance of these cables? Do they affect transfer rates? In short, not really, no. Running our benchmarks on a Seagate Barracuda ATA using both a generic and the HighSpeed PC rounded cable, there was absolutely no difference in the results obtained.

Probably the most important question would be crosstalk, which can potentially corrupt data transfers. The ATA-66/100 specs call for 80 cables (versus the ATA-33's 40). It basically adds 40 ground wires, arranged alternately with the original 40 signal and ground wires, to reduce the likelihood of this phenomena. ATA-66/100 has tighter timing specs, and hence, less error tolerance. As another margin of safety, manufacturers have also implemented Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) error detection code in their drives. The CRC code will force a transfer retry if it finds any errors. From the Barracuda ATA benchmark results, we can also conclude that there is no crosstalk on the rounded IDE cable. If there was, there would be more transfer retries which would lower the benchmark scores.

The rounded floppy cable is 24" in length and is available in yellow and green flavors. The cable's length reflects thoughtful consideration. Some of us have very tall cases, or we have to install the FDD in the top bay. It stretches from top to bottom of the SuperMicro SC-750A, no small case by anyone's standards. This cable is more vanity oriented as individual, exposed colored strands are used. However, it isn't as well protected as the rounded IDE cable. The rubber sheathing isn't nearly as thick, and there are no rubber "headers". In place of them are thin sheets of transparent plastic with separators which, while holding the individual strands firmly in place, does little to protect them from shearing. On the flip side, the exposed strands do add a touch more of color to your relatively monochromatic case.

So what are the benefits of these cables? For one, they make the inside of your case look well, more vibrant. Most importantly, they have a small footprint, which gives you a less cramped working space and reduced cable clutter. In turn, this improves both the airflow within the case and your health (via less stress :). Here are before and after pictures.

So, how much do these babies cost? HighSpeed PC quotes US$17.99 for the rounded IDE cable and US$15.99 for the rounded floppy cable. Of course, when compared to the price of normal IDE/floppy cables (~US$4), those prices are astronomical. However, home-made rounded cables aren't as presentable, aren't colored, and are questionable quality-wise (remember crosstalk?). The perfect price level for the rounded cables would be about US$12. A disadvantage of the price comes to mind though. You'll now have to keep close watch on your cables as many people will jolly well be eyeing them.

In conclusion, these cables were an absolute pleasure to work with. They bend and twist more freely, and are easier to keep out of the way with wire ties. Reliability and performance are not compromised. Most importantly, they provide some much needed relief in cramped case conditions, improving internal case airflow. Their only disadvantage would be their hefty price tags. But as they say, you get what you pay for. So, if you're looking for professional rounded cable solutions, you really can't overlook these cables. So head on over to HighSpeed PC's online store pronto! As for me, I can hardly wait to show off these cables in public. Highly recommended!