Mike wrote regarding '[EE] PC construction questions' on Tue, Dec 27 at 14:35:
> I have a notion that next time I build a PC (who knows
> when that will be), I'll crack open the power supply and
> remove the built-in wiring harness, replacing the wire
> with something a little more supple and of a length
> more appropriate to the actual distance I need to reach
> the drives and motherboard and so forth.

Buy a nice power supply instead of using the one that comes with the
case.  Most of the stand-alone power supplys come with longer power
cables, nicer wiring, sheathed/bundled cords, etc.  You can obviously
replace the wire yourself, but if you get something like a
Coolermaster, Enermax, etc power supply to begin with, you save
yourself the hassle.  Figure on spending about $75+, though you really
do get what you pay for a lot of the time.

> Has anyone tried this?  Is it just plain stupid to attempt?
> Jameco sells the 5.25" and 3.5" drive power supply
> connectors, and the 20-pin mobo connectors, but some
> of the more esoteric ones (SATA) may be missing from
> their catalog.  Ideas on sources?

I have, actually.  I needed a benchtop supply for testing things like
"does this drive spin up" and for "oh, darn it - I know where the CD
is - in that drive I just removed from the case."  And I wanted longer
cables.  I got connectors from a local place that's been closed for
about 5 years now, so their phone number probably wouldn't do you much
good. :)

> Second question:  Has anyone seen a slot-loading
> DVD burner?  I'm really looking for a DVD+-RW dual
> layer hum-dinger, but I haven't happened upon any
> slot loading drives.  In fact, I've seen precious few
> slot loading drives ever.  I do have a slot loading CD
> drive from way back...I wonder if I could hack the guts
> of a DVD burner into the loading mechanism...

Pioneer makes a slot-loading DVD drive that I particularly like,
though I've insisted on a tray for burners.  The reason?  If I want to
burn the mini DVDs for "video game archival" or the business card /
mini CDs for whatever reason, I've gotta have a tray.  I use the mini
CDs for rescue disc creation, etc, because it makes my toolkit that
much smaller.  Anyway, Plextor makes a slot-load DVD burner.  It does
+ and - as well as double layer.  It's priced like a plextor - around
$150.  http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131352

--Danny
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