cutting off unneeded psu connectors

[zeppage2]

I am building a budget box for a friend.
Asus p4p800
Vantec A-420
(1) IDE HD
(1) SATA HD
(1) DVD-RW

What dangers/problems can arise if I cut off the many unneeded connectors?

thanks, Mark

[aedipuss]

how about they won't be there if he wants to add something later.

or you might mistakenly put everything on one 12 volt rail of a 2 rail psu.

you could just tie them up neatly with plastic wire ties and leave them in an unused drive bay.

[redwudz]

I've done it a few times, especially with the floppy and the old style motherboard connectors. If you do cut them off, make sure to throughly insulate the ends. The only downside is you may not be able to use the PS with a MB that may need those connectors in the future.

To do it really cleanly, you have to open the PS and cut them off at the terminals. Then use wire ties to re-bundle the main cables. One other method that avoids taping the ends or opening the PS is to use crimp-on wire connectors. This works well for insulating them and you can always rejoin the ends if needed.

Crimp tools and crimps are available at most automotive stores. You can also get crimps that will just insulate the ends.

[zeppage2]

Thanks redwudz...

The live bare connectors were my major concern.

Since the box has no side window, I simply zip tied the 'dreaded' extra connectors above the optical drive.

Quick and dirty

Mark

[redwudz]

That's usually what I do, stuff them into a unused 5.25 bay or someplace out of the way and use some wire ties to keep them compact. Pay attention to the plug ends as a sharp corner of the case might touch inside the sockets.

Except for the extra expense, I really like modular power supplies, as you can leave off all those extra wires. Makes the setup much cleaner.