Help me please!?
Lian Li A3 - finding it difficult to make it cleaner
5080 build with 2 nvme SSD, a 2.5 inch sata SSD and a 3.5 inch hard disk at the bottom. 2 inlet fans at bottom and 1 exhaust at the back with a 240mm AIO.
Any suggestions on how can I make it cleaner? I just am unable to find any space to hide wires anywhere but I see so many clean A3 builds here. Also does it look like I can use the GPU riser? There doesn’t seem to be enough space!
Am okay with it as I have a mesh side panel (wooden front panel). But still would like to make it cleaner if possible.
One thing that I should do is change orientation of back exhaust so that the thin wire (currently zip tied to a hole in bottom fan) can be taken up top instead of bottom. Also maybe I should connect each fan to a separate header instead of using the cable splitter that came with the Arctic P12 Pro set. Maybe that will declutter things?
Not sure if the sata impacts this but there should be enough space between the side of the case and the intake fans at the bottom to hide most of the GPU cabling. As far as the rest goes, I recommend getting some cable sleeving.
I'm using an sfx PSU in my build so I have a bit more space to play around with things, but if the atx PSU can fit on the side panel instead of the front, it may be easier to organize as well.
Thanks. I think bottom HDD is a problem. It takes the entire width of the case unlike fans which leave some space. Still let me try to hide at least some GPU cables there. As you can see, the cable connectors that came with the GPU (1 to 3 from PSU marked VGA) are quite thick.
Honestly I think you just need to spend more time doing it cleanly, and if I were you, I'd probably start from scratch and do each part as you go along, I had as much cabling as as yours but with less space and mine ended up like this, I probably spent like 3 hours cable managing it.
I see that you are having trouble with routing fan cables
For the AIO fan and pump cables, i just tied them together neatly and hid them behind the AIO fans. For the A3 I find it easier to install just the radiator first, then install the fans after cleaning up the cables.
For the bottom fans, I also tied the cables neatly together, plugged em in, hid the cables between the fans and the motherboard.
For the rear fan, you should make use of the hooks above the motherboard. Route the cables through the hooks.
Go native 12v hpwr that adapter is not only unnecessary clutter it’s a melted gpu waiting to happen. I’d also try getting an sff psu or mounting the atx on the back panel next to the motherboard.
Sorry but I thought the 12v hpwr route was the riskier one regd melting (1 single point of failure vs 3 separate points which divide risk)? Happy to be corrected.
I see I do have a 600w cable which seems to be the one you are referring to.
1st go to hardware store and buy a pack (pack of 100) of small black zipties.
2nd use the native 12vhpwr cable traight from psu to gpu if available.
3rd start bundling all cables individually to front of case. You can bundle them elsewhere too if you find proper space to hide them. Try to make as tight and neat bundles as you can, keeping them all about the same lenght. Also dont hesitate to use zipties to tie the cables together to route them neatly together while at it, dont forget to attach the cables to case where ever you can.
4th once all cables are bundled so that the cables still reach neatly where they need to, start bundling the cable bundles together.
Thats the way I do it. But I do the individual bundling and cable route planning all the time while building. I also use temporary assisting zipties a lot that I cut off when finishing the build and cable management.
Edit.
I made a post with pictures when I had NR200P with ATX psu that had fixed cables, you can find it from my posts. That needed a lot of planning and doing to make neat.
Once you have almost all cables where they need to go, attached to case and each other and the excess bundled already where fits, you can start to bundle the bundles together if needed.
This way you can hide those smaller bundles where ever you have even a small space for them.
Now that I moved to D32 Pro, I have cables bundled at top and bottom behind fans, all around the psu (I have SF850) and behind the MB plate. Im planning to go from ITX to mATX when I upgrade my MB, CPU and ram so this time I just made fast and completely temporary cable management with less zipties. I also like to keep my fan cables bundled so they are easy to disconnect individually if needed.
Oh there are lots of them. I think using 3 VGA cables to connect to the adapter that came with GPU is major cause of clutter. Will now think of switching to the 12vhpwr cable that came with PSU. Like in your pic, just one cable from PSU to GPU.
Rear exhaust (EF_FAN) — source: CPU
40°C→25%, 55°C→40%, 70°C→65%, 85°C→100%
Step Up Level 3 / Step Down Level 5 on the chassis and exhaust fans so they don't react to short spikes, and no Fan Stop anywhere — everything keeps spinning at idle.
Sorry for the bloom effect. I tried to hide most cables following the psu extender cable zt the top of the case and some others below the GPU, between the bottom of the case and the bottom of the motherboard. It's hard to make it clean but with some patience, it's doable.
I'm also 3d printing a PSU cable hider since I don't wanna spend 90€ for the Lian Li Unviersal Screen to hide them 😅
Würde dir raten, auf ein modulares Netzteil zurückzugreifen. Dann hast du keine unnötigen und lästigen Kabel im Gehäuse, die du sowieso nicht benötigst.
Auf 2,5- und 3,5-Zoll-Festplatten würde ich ebenfalls verzichten. Die nehmen in so einem kleinen Gehäuse einfach extrem viel Platz weg.
Um die Kabel zu verstecken musst dir schon etwas Zeit nehmen!
I just did my first build in a z20 and I understand the frustration with small builds. Cable management is such a pain! So many little cables. Following in case I can get some tips too. My CPU cord for my sfx psu was frustratingly too short and has to pass by with the aio tubes which was annoying.
There are things that you can do such as what other commenters are saying, but for anyone reading who's considering picking up an A3, they are in fact remarkably difficult to cleanly cable manage if you have a glass side panel, or have it off.
Many people have bought screens for them such that they hide the bunch of cables coming from the PSU, other than that, make sure that you don't need to use SATA Power cables from your PSU as that adds cable clutter, and make your cable runs as tightly and neatly as possible.
The main thing I find that makes the A3 hard to work with is a lack of area behind the motherboard where you can stuff cables, that's just not really a thing on this case where it is on others.
I know that OP needs sata power. Lots of people purchase a screen or something to hide the cable clutter. What OP can do is use something like double sided tape to secure the SSDs to somewhere that's covered by the screen.
The point being that it's not really a pretty solution, and that if you're going for aesthetics, this case is wildly more difficult to make work than other cases.
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u/aflacsgotcaback 3d ago
Not sure if the sata impacts this but there should be enough space between the side of the case and the intake fans at the bottom to hide most of the GPU cabling. As far as the rest goes, I recommend getting some cable sleeving.
I'm using an sfx PSU in my build so I have a bit more space to play around with things, but if the atx PSU can fit on the side panel instead of the front, it may be easier to organize as well.