Improving My Build's Aesthetics

[DrumsXO]

Hey, everyone.

I have OCD. I haven't gone to see a professional and be officially diagnosed, but I know that I have it, and everyone who knows me would agree, haha. Recently I finished upgrading some of my build, including a new case, but now my OCD is starting to kick in regarding aesthetics and neatness.

Here's how my build looks now.

This is everything that I'm considering doing.

■ Moving my Samsung SSD to the top of the shroud, since the SanDisk logo is upside down, and the Samsung logo won't be. Or, I may move the visible SSD entirely to the front right of the shroud. The problem with moving it entirely is that I had to drill holes into the shroud for the mounting screws, and those holes will be visible if I move the SSD elsewhere.
■ Adding cable extensions from Cable Mod for the ATX, PCIe, SATA Power (if I don't move the drive to the front right of the shroud), Audio (for the sound card), JUSB1 (CPU Pump), and Front IO Cables.
■ Adding a sleeve to the pump hoses.
■ Replacing the SATA data cables with black versions, or covering them with black or green tape.

I have a few different options if I choose to add cable extensions, based on spacial reasoning. The underside of my shroud is already pretty cramped with cables, and I can't fit too much bulk behind the motherboard or the door won't go back on. I could probably fit more cabling under the shroud if I condense them by folding / bunching them and using cable ties though.

Option 1
This would be the toughest option based on space, since I'd have to find somewhere to stash the excess of the massive ATX cable coming out of the PSU.

• 
  ■ ATX
  ■ PCIe
  ■ SATA Power (running to the visible SSD)
  ■ Front Panel Audio (running to the sound card)
  ■ JUSB1 (CPU pump cable)
  ■ Front Panel IO Cables

Option 2
This option should work nicely. The PCIe cable will look nice, and I won't have to worry about stashing the ATX cable somewhere. Plus, the ATX cable is hardly visible in my build anyways because of the pump hoses.

• 
  ■ PCIe
  ■ SATA Power (running to the visible SSD)
  ■ Front Panel Audio (running to the sound card)
  ■ JUSB1 (CPU pump cable)
  ■ Front Panel IO Cables

Option 3
This one would be the easiest for sure, but how would it look?

• 
  ■ SATA Power (running to the visible SSD)
  ■ Front Panel Audio (running to the sound card)
  ■ JUSB1 (CPU pump cable)
  ■ Front Panel IO Cables

What do you guys (and girls) think? The cable extensions honestly are a bit pricey for what they are, but I think it'd look absolutely fantastic. The problem is that I have trouble telling how it actually looks now, since my OCD is telling me it looks nasty because of the cables.

 

[Aeacus]

You can go for custom sleeved power cables (not extensions since those add cable clutter) for more nicer look if you like.

I've done so with my Skylake and Haswell builds, where i bought full sets of CableMod custom sleeved power cables to match the build's color theme. Full specs with pics in my sig.
Oh, my AMD build shares the same color theme as your build but i haven't finished it yet. Planning to get modular PSU for it and also CableMod custom sleeved power cables to match the color theme.

Though, i'd mount the SSD behind the MoBo tray for cleaner looks but it's just me. Other than that, your build looks good.

 

[DrumsXO]

You can go for custom sleeved power cables (not extensions since those add cable clutter) for more nicer look if you like.

I've done so with my Skylake and Haswell builds, where i bought full sets of CableMod custom sleeved power cables to match the build's color theme. Full specs with pics in my sig.
Oh, my AMD build shares the same color theme as your build but i haven't finished it yet. Planning to get modular PSU for it and also CableMod custom sleeved power cables to match the color theme.

Though, i'd mount the SSD behind the MoBo tray for cleaner looks but it's just me. Other than that, your build looks good.

The only problem with getting replacement, sleeved cables is that, since my PSU isn't full-modular, and is only semi-modular, I can't replace the ATX and PCIe cables. That's why I was thinking of extensions.

I would mount the SSD in the back if I could, but I can't due to a lack of cable space and available connections. My PSU only has right-angle SATA power cables, so when I hook one up to a rear SSD, the door won't go on without crushing the cable. I fear doing that could potentially break the SSD itself. My HDD cage only fits two drives at a time, so one has to be out front. I'm okay with it though; I think it looks good now!

I moved the SSD, shrink wrapped my front IO cables, used permanent marker to color the rainbow cables from the sound card and the CPU pump, as well as the red, orange and blue SATA cables that I had. I also did some general tidying of some cables that were a little funky.

Oh, and someone pointed out on Facebook that the top fan in the front wasn't oriented the same way as the other two; the logo wasn't in the same spot as the other two, so I fixed that quickly. Look at the before and after pictures! 😀

Before

After

 

[Aeacus]

While it does cost more, but for cleaner look, you could go with fully-modular PSU.

I have that plan with my AMD build.
Since i currently have Seasonic S12II-520 in there, which is great PSU btw, but it's major drawback is that it's fully-wired. So, my plan is to buy Seasonic Focus+ 650W (80+ Gold or 80+ Platinum) and put it into my Haswell build. Haswell build's fully-modular PSU (Seasonic M12II-850 EVO) would then go to my AMD build, leaving S12II-520 as a back-up PSU.
After that, i'm planning to buy full set of CableMod ModFlex SE-series custom sleeved power cables (Green) to match my black & green theme.

Here are few pics out of my builds from where you can see what kind of difference CableMod ModFlex power cables can give. (I put pics under spoilers, to keep my reply stretching out.)

Skylake

Spoiler

Left side: Before
Right side: After

Haswell

Spoiler

Left side: Before
Right side: After
Do note that my Haswell build was bought as a prebuilt PC and since i did hate that horrendous cable management in there, i bought Corsair 750D Airflow Edition to it and made the cable management by myself.

While CableMod power cables do look great, i still need cable combs to tidy up the power cables. It's best seen when looking where 24-pin connects to the MoBo. I have already ordered cable combs and it takes few weeks before those arrive.


Your build does look better after you tidied it up.
If you want more eyecandy then go for LED strips since those add a lot of eyecandy to the build. I have NZXT HUE+, AER RGB fans and LED strips inside my Skylake and Haswell builds for customizable eyecandy. I can share some pics too if you like.

As far as AIO sleeving goes, CableMod offers those too. E.g here's green colored AIO sleeving kit for your Corsair AIO,
link: https://cablemod.com/product/cablemod-aio-sleeving-kit-series-1-for-corsair-hydro-gen-2-light-green/

You can even buy different colored SATA data cables from CableMod if you like,
link: https://cablemod.com/product-category/sata-data-cables/?show_products=51

I also did thought about those colored SATA cables but since i can hardly see mine (due to the black color), there's not much to gain in eyecandy with those.

 

[DrumsXO]

While it does cost more, but for cleaner look, you could go with fully-modular PSU.

I have that plan with my AMD build.
Since i currently have Seasonic S12II-520 in there, which is great PSU btw, but it's major drawback is that it's fully-wired. So, my plan is to buy Seasonic Focus+ 650W (80+ Gold or 80+ Platinum) and put it into my Haswell build. Haswell build's fully-modular PSU (Seasonic M12II-850 EVO) would then go to my AMD build, leaving S12II-520 as a back-up PSU.
After that, i'm planning to buy full set of CableMod ModFlex SE-series custom sleeved power cables (Green) to match my black & green theme.

Here are few pics out of my builds from where you can see what kind of difference CableMod ModFlex power cables can give. (I put pics under spoilers, to keep my reply stretching out.)

Skylake

Spoiler

Left side: Before
Right side: After

Haswell

Spoiler

Left side: Before
Right side: After
Do note that my Haswell build was bought as a prebuilt PC and since i did hate that horrendous cable management in there, i bought Corsair 750D Airflow Edition to it and made the cable management by myself.

While CableMod power cables do look great, i still need cable combs to tidy up the power cables. It's best seen when looking where 24-pin connects to the MoBo. I have already ordered cable combs and it takes few weeks before those arrive.


Your build does look better after you tidied it up.
If you want more eyecandy then go for LED strips since those add a lot of eyecandy to the build. I have NZXT HUE+, AER RGB fans and LED strips inside my Skylake and Haswell builds for customizable eyecandy. I can share some pics too if you like.

As far as AIO sleeving goes, CableMod offers those too. E.g here's green colored AIO sleeving kit for your Corsair AIO,
link: https://cablemod.com/product/cablemod-aio-sleeving-kit-series-1-for-corsair-hydro-gen-2-light-green/

You can even buy different colored SATA data cables from CableMod if you like,
link: https://cablemod.com/product-category/sata-data-cables/?show_products=51

I also did thought about those colored SATA cables but since i can hardly see mine (due to the black color), there's not much to gain in eyecandy with those.

Honestly, since I bought my PSU less than a month ago, I don't see myself getting a new one just to have something that's completely modular. As nice as it would be to have something that I can connect a full set of sleeved cables to, I just can't justify the cost seeing as my PSU is still practically new. Down the road when it's time to replace mine, I may consider it.

Sleeved cables definitely make a huge difference in not only cable management, but also aesthetics. That's what had me considering the extensions from Cable Mod, since they'll make such a big difference in both aspects. However, I've got limited space in my basement and behind my motherboard, so without spending on a new, fully modular PSU, I don't know as I'd have the space for cable extensions.

Nice builds, by the way!

I'm thinking about adding in some LED strips, actually. I'm gonna wait until Black Friday and Cyber Monday to see if Newegg, Amazon, Tiger Direct, etc. have anything on sale, even though LED strips don't cost that much to begin with, haha.

The AIO sleeves are something I'm already considering, actually; they're not too expensive, and they add a nice bit of color to the build. As for the SATA cables, I don't know as I'll be replacing those, honestly. I thought about it, but I have three of them in my build, and the Cable Mod variety are (IIRC) $10 a piece... That's $30 plus shipping to replace something that still works perfectly fine... If they were broken or wearing out then I'd consider replacing them, but for now, I'll stick with having them colored black with Sharpie marker, haha.

I had thought about wrapping them in either colored duct or electrical tape, but I heard that the tape can start to heat up from the ambient air in the case, causing the glue to start to melt and the tape will come off, leaving a nasty residue on the cables. So, that's no bueno! Another option that I heard about is taking paracord, pulling out the inside, and wrapping the cable with it and sealing the end with heat shrink tubing. The problem is, I don't know if they make paracord that's big enough to fit over a SATA cable, since they're pretty big cables.

They're pretty hidden within my case anyways, so I don't think there'd be much of a gain in aesthetics if I did anything with them. The other cables would make the biggest difference; ATX, PCIe, Audio, JUSB1 (CPU pump cable), front IO cables, etc.

 

[Aeacus]

If you go with cable extensions then 24-pin extension would take up the most space due to the big connector and fat cable. Though, you should be able to fit PCI extension inside your case since that one doesn't take up that much of a space.
E.g this kit: https://cablemod.com/product/cablemod-basic-cable-extension-kit-86-pin-series-green/

Also, there are plenty of cable sleeving tutorials and guides in the youtube that you can watch if you like to sleeve your cables by yourself.

As far as LED strips go, those can be classified into 3 main groups: basic, digital and custom.
While basic LED kits are cheap, they also offer the least amount of customization and LED strips aren't addressable. Digital LED kits (e.g NZXT HUE+) offer huge customization with their addressable LED strips but those are also quite expensive. But if you know some coding, you can create your own custom LED setup and build all from ground up, as you see fit.
Here's some further reading about LED strips: http://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-rgb-led-lighting-kit/

 

[DrumsXO]

If you go with cable extensions then 24-pin extension would take up the most space due to the big connector and fat cable. Though, you should be able to fit PCI extension inside your case since that one doesn't take up that much of a space.
E.g this kit: https://cablemod.com/product/cablemod-basic-cable-extension-kit-86-pin-series-green/

Also, there are plenty of cable sleeving tutorials and guides in the youtube that you can watch if you like to sleeve your cables by yourself.

As far as LED strips go, those can be classified into 3 main groups: basic, digital and custom.
While basic LED kits are cheap, they also offer the least amount of customization and LED strips aren't addressable. Digital LED kits (e.g NZXT HUE+) offer huge customization with their addressable LED strips but those are also quite expensive. But if you know some coding, you can create your own custom LED setup and build all from ground up, as you see fit.
Here's some further reading about LED strips: http://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-rgb-led-lighting-kit/

I did some more investigating on the cable extension front last night, actually.

Based on what Cable Mod has available, I won't be getting extensions for all or most of my cables like I had previously thought about. My fan LEDs are true green on the RGB spectrum; R=0, G=255 and B=0. The only shade of green that Cable Mod offers that will be close to that is their "Light Green," which is only available in their "ModMesh" line; not their "ModFlex" line.

If you buy individual cable extensions through their "Configurator," which is what I was planning to do, the cables are of the ModFlex variety, and the only shade of green in that line is just plain "Green," which is much darker. So, if I do buy cable extensions, I'd go with the basic extension kit in Light Green like the one that you linked me to.

Last night I ordered a set of their Light Green ModMesh AIO Sleeving Kits to wrap the hoses from my radiator. I also ordered a Corsair Commander Pro and a Corsair RGB LED Lighting Pro Expansion Kit. That'll sort out the LED lighting situation and give me plenty of flashiness and color in my case. After that, it's just a matter of adding a bit of color to the ATX and PCIe cables, which I'll most likely use the extensions for. If I get clever with folding / bunching the cables and use cable ties, I can probably fit the cables, with the extensions, somewhere within the case.

I also looked into sleeving the cables by hand, but it's more involved of a process than I'm willing to get into. For the most part, it's going to require disassembling the cables from the connectors to fit the sleeving over, then reattaching the connections, which I'm not comfortable doing. Another thought that I had is that the AIO Sleeving Kit may actually work for the ATX cable, and possibly even the PCIe cable. They're both big enough in diameter that the sleeve may fit. If it does, I may do that instead of getting the extensions and trying to find somewhere to fit them.

When my AIO Sleeving Kit comes in, I'll test it on the ATX and PCIe and if it works for one or both of them, I'll order another one and go from there.

We shall see!

 

[Aeacus]

As far as sleeving goes, i just recently watched a vid where it shows that you don't have to remove the connectors at the end of the cables to sleeve it,
here's that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7QYiu7pJis

While cable sleeving may look simple, getting it just perfect can be tedious thing to do. I'd rather pay some extra for custom sleeved cables than starting to mess with it on my own.

Basically there are 2 differences between Cablemod ModMesh and ModFlex lines:
ModMesh - (PET-based cable sleeving) more durable cables and vibrant colors where some colors react to UV.
ModFlex - (paracord cable sleeving) more flexible cables for easier cable routing.

Corsair Commander Pro is quite big and make sure that you have enough free space behind MoBo tray where to put it. Also, consider all the cables that run from and to it since those take up quite a bit of space, as seen from this image,

 

[DrumsXO]

Corsair Commander Pro is quite big and make sure that you have enough free space behind MoBo tray where to put it. Also, consider all the cables that run from and to it since those take up quite a bit of space, as seen from this image,

Spoiler

What?! That's how big that thing is?! Dude, whoever I talked to at Corsair is a filthy liar! They told me the Commander Pro was very easy to fit inside just about any case, because it's small in size!

I honestly don't think I have the room for that in my case... I'm so pissed right now, because it already shipped, so I can't cancel the order.

In other news... I did a thing! I front-mounted my radiator in push / pull configuration! This allowed me to get my remaining two Corsair SP120 RGB fans up top! I just wish the hoses were shorter so I didn't have to swoop them up like that.

Thoughts?! 😀

 

[Aeacus]

Corsair Commander Pro dimensions are: 133mm x 69mm x 15.5mm,
specs: http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/corsair-commander-pro

Before ordering any component, do the research of it. Reading the specs page would be minimum. Though, reading reviews and watching video unboxings would be better. Don't do impulsive purchases since it's high chance that you end up disappointed due to various reasons.
I research each component extensively before i make a purchase so that i know exactly what i'm getting.

Though, Corsair Commander Mini is a bit smaller, with dimensions of: 145mm x 58.9mm x 13.5mm.
Commander Mini has less temp sensor ports (2 vs 4) and less LED ports (1 vs 2) than Commander Pro. But both have 6x fan ports and compatibility with Corsair Link,
specs: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-commander-mini

Do note that LED strips within Corsair RGB LED Lighting PRO Expansion Kit aren't compatible with Commander Mini. For Commander Mini, you'll need LED strips within Corsair Link RGB LED Lighting Kit,
specs: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-link-rgb-led-lighting-kit

About your pump's microUSB -> internal USB 2.0 cable. I'd reroute that cable from different path so that it wouldn't stand out so clearly in the middle of the MoBo. Under the spoiler is your image where i marked 3 possible cable routing paths for that cable.

Spoiler

As far as your AIO goes, rather than mounting it as front intake in push-pull, i'd mount it as top exhaust and only in pull. Here's a good video why rad in pull and not in push-pull,
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyC3lZ5WFMk

To be honest, i wouldn't use AIO at all but instead an air cooler (big heatsink with fans).
Reason behind it is that you won't gain any cooling performance if you use AIO over air cooler since both are cooled by air. (For equal cooling performance between AIOs and air coolers, rad needs to be 240mm or 280mm.)

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues
no CPU clearance issues
takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink with fans in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise at a higher cost while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs, including king of AIOs (NZXT x61 Kraken),
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on an air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.

 

[DrumsXO]

Corsair Commander Pro dimensions are: 133mm x 69mm x 15.5mm,
specs: http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/corsair-commander-pro

Before ordering any component, do the research of it. Reading the specs page would be minimum. Though, reading reviews and watching video unboxings would be better. Don't do impulsive purchases since it's high chance that you end up disappointed due to various reasons.
I research each component extensively before i make a purchase so that i know exactly what i'm getting.

Though, Corsair Commander Mini is a bit smaller, with dimensions of: 145mm x 58.9mm x 13.5mm.
Commander Mini has less temp sensor ports (2 vs 4) and less LED ports (1 vs 2) than Commander Pro. But both have 6x fan ports and compatibility with Corsair Link,
specs: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-commander-mini

Do note that LED strips within Corsair RGB LED Lighting PRO Expansion Kit aren't compatible with Commander Mini. For Commander Mini, you'll need LED strips within Corsair Link RGB LED Lighting Kit,
specs: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-link-rgb-led-lighting-kit

About your pump's microUSB -> internal USB 2.0 cable. I'd reroute that cable from different path so that it wouldn't stand out so clearly in the middle of the MoBo. Under the spoiler is your image where i marked 3 possible cable routing paths for that cable.

Spoiler

As far as your AIO goes, rather than mounting it as front intake in push-pull, i'd mount it as top exhaust and only in pull. Here's a good video why rad in pull and not in push-pull,
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyC3lZ5WFMk

To be honest, i wouldn't use AIO at all but instead an air cooler (big heatsink with fans).
Reason behind it is that you won't gain any cooling performance if you use AIO over air cooler since both are cooled by air. (For equal cooling performance between AIOs and air coolers, rad needs to be 240mm or 280mm.)

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues
no CPU clearance issues
takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink with fans in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise at a higher cost while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs, including king of AIOs (NZXT x61 Kraken),
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on an air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.

Yeah, I have to admit that I dropped the ball by not looking at the dimensions of the unit before I ordered it. In the pictures available on the Corsair website, it honestly doesn't look like it's as big as it apparently is. Their pictures make it look about the same size as the Corsair RGB Fan LED Hub, so I thought I'd have no problems fitting it into my case. No matter though. I found out that the drive bays that sit on the backside of my motherboard area are in fact removable, so I'll pull those out and I should be able to mount the Commander Pro right in that spot.

Thanks for that idea on the USB 2.0 cable, by the way! I'm gonna work on that after I finish this post! The reason that I routed it where I did is because the cable isn't actually as long as it seems, and I had trouble getting it to reach where I wanted it to. But, if I reroute the entire cable, rather than just the end that connects to the pump, I think I can easily make one of the locations that you marked in the image work out.

As far as the Liquid AIO vs Air Cooler topic is concerned, I'm definitely sticking with my Liquid AIO Cooler. I had an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2 on this CPU before I switched to this Corsair H100i V2 and my temps were ridiculously high. It just didn't perform well enough to keep the CPU cool. This H100i on the other hand, does a fantastic job. Having it in the front where I do now, in Push / Pull configuration actually keeps my temps while gaming almost 10 degrees cooler as well. After several hours of Ghost Recon: Wildlands today, my maximum core temperature was nearly 10 degrees lower than it ever has been before after a similarly long session in that same game.

So, I like it where it is. Thanks for your $0.02 though!

 

[DrumsXO]

Alright. I just spent the past couple of hours working on a lot more cable management. Some of it was in the front of the case, and the rest was in the back, since I couldn't stand the way it looked before, and I needed to make room for the Corsair Commander Pro that's going back there on Friday night.

So, let's start with the new location of the USB Cable for the H100i V2 Pump. I chose a slightly different location than what you had suggested, but it's your suggestion that inspired this choice, so thank you again for that, because this looks A LOT better. Or, at least, I think it does.

Next we have the before and after shots of the back of the case.

Before

After

So, in the "After" shot, there's one more thing that's already been changed. The bundle of braided cables that runs almost diagonally across the back of the case (those are the Front Panel IO Cables); that's been moved to the left up against the ATX cable to make more room for the Commander Pro to mount in that big open space.

The USB Cable that runs down the middle, in front of the back of the CPU, will be moved when the Commander Pro gets installed as well, since it'll plug right into the Commander Pro itself. That cable is the USB Cable for the H100i V2 that I rerouted tonight as well.

I'm actually quite proud of how this turned out! It'll look a bit better still once 4 of my fans are plugged into the Commander Pro, since I can bundle the majority of the cables together just to neaten everything up a tad bit more. But that'll be the easy part, honestly; tonight was the majority of the work that the back of this case needed. It's amazing what throwing the headphones in and listening to some Marshmello can do for your focus on such a tedious task.

 

[Aeacus]

Arctic Freezer 7 is small-sized CPU cooler with only one 92mm fan. While it may have been enough for your i5-4670K, it isn't enough for i5-7600K or i7-7700K what you're currently running, especially when you OC your chip. Going with any bigger CPU cooler over Freezer 7 will give better cooling performance regardless.
For K-series CPUs, minimum CPU air cooler size i'd look at would be medium-sized, like my Arctic Freezer i32 which is cooling my i5-6600K. I have 2x 120mm fans on my 150mm tall heatsink and most what i've seen out of my CPU during CinebenchR15 is 55°C while my CPU idles at 26°C.
But if you have i7-7700K then minimum i'd look at would be big-sized CPU cooler (e.g NH-D15 or Dark Rock Pro 3) since that CPU is the most hot running chip among Intel's last 3 generations (Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake).
Oh, i don't say that AIOs are bad and you should replace yours, i was just giving you some additional info about AIOs vs air coolers.

Your pump's USB cable does look a lot better now when it's nicely routed around the pump. Also, your cable management behind MoBo tray is neatly done and ready for Commander Pro. Though, for me, cable management isn't tedious and i like doing it. While it may take me around 3 hours to complete, i'm loving every moment since i love working with PC hardware. Getting my PCs looking just right isn't due to the OCD but instead it's a lifestyle that i've been living for last 20+ years.

 

[DrumsXO]

Arctic Freezer 7 is small-sized CPU cooler with only one 92mm fan. While it may have been enough for your i5-4670K, it isn't enough for i5-7600K or i7-7700K what you're currently running, especially when you OC your chip. Going with any bigger CPU cooler over Freezer 7 will give better cooling performance regardless.
For K-series CPUs, minimum CPU air cooler size i'd look at would be medium-sized, like my Arctic Freezer i32 which is cooling my i5-6600K. I have 2x 120mm fans on my 150mm tall heatsink and most what i've seen out of my CPU during CinebenchR15 is 55°C while my CPU idles at 26°C.
But if you have i7-7700K then minimum i'd look at would be big-sized CPU cooler (e.g NH-D15 or Dark Rock Pro 3) since that CPU is the most hot running chip among Intel's last 3 generations (Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake).
Oh, i don't say that AIOs are bad and you should replace yours, i was just giving you some additional info about AIOs vs air coolers.

Your pump's USB cable does look a lot better now when it's nicely routed around the pump. Also, your cable management behind MoBo tray is neatly done and ready for Commander Pro. Though, for me, cable management isn't tedious and i like doing it. While it may take me around 3 hours to complete, i'm loving every moment since i love working with PC hardware. Getting my PCs looking just right isn't due to the OCD but instead it's a lifestyle that i've been living for last 20+ years.

In the future when it comes time to replace my H100i, I'll consider looking into some bigger, better Air Coolers!

I mean, I enjoy the cable management too, because I like working on my PC and getting it to exactly how I want it. But, since I have OCD, it takes me hours to do, and sometimes, it gets tedious because of that. Last night was rather enjoyable though since I had music playing, and I knew I was doing something that desperately needed to be done in my case, lol. I know some people don't care about the back, because nobody ever sees that side, but I still care.

Plus, my Commander Pro is ready to go in there now, so when I get home from work Friday night, I can hook it up and dive into gaming! 😀

 

[DrumsXO]

Installing my Commander Pro and the RGB LED Lighting PRO Expansion Kit was a cinch! The only thing I'm thinking of doing now is moving the visible SSD on to the side of the drive cage so that it doesn't block the LED strip in the bottom of the case. Look at the left side of the PSU shroud; see how it's lit up by the LEDs? Now look at the right side of it, where the Samsung SSD is; it blocks the light. It bugs me! I can't fit the drive in the drive cage itself, so I may cable tie it right to the side of it.

Sure, it'll block some of the air from the bottom-front fan that goes into the drive cage, but drives don't get very hot to begin with, and there's enough cables shoved in there to block almost all of the airflow as it is, lol.

 

[Aeacus]

Your build now looks like a Christmas tree thanks to all those LEDs. 😀

Not sure but don't you have enough space next to the Commander Pro where to put your Samsung SSD? Since behind MoBo tray, there are 3x spots for 2.5" SSDs though.

Oh, did you try sleeving 24-pin and 8-pin power cables with the AIO sleeving to see if it could work?

 

[DrumsXO]

Your build now looks like a Christmas tree thanks to all those LEDs. 😀

Not sure but don't you have enough space next to the Commander Pro where to put your Samsung SSD? Since behind MoBo tray, there are 3x spots for 2.5" SSDs though.

Oh, did you try sleeving 24-pin and 8-pin power cables with the AIO sleeving to see if it could work?

It does, and I love it! LEDs! LEDs everywhere! 😀

I had to take the drive bays off the back of the motherboard to fit the Commander in there, so the drive can't go there. Maybe I'll just leave it where it is. I'm not sure yet.

Yeah, I tried it. For the PCIe it was too big, but it would work decently on the ATX with some shrink tube on the end.

 

[Aeacus]

Yes, LEDs are nice and give a lot of eyecandy to any build, especially when you have addressable LEDs.

You could also take your Sandisk SSD out of the system and put your Samsung SSD to where your Sandisk SSD currently is. Though, you'd loose some storage space due to that, unless you go for a bigger HDD (e.g if you have 1TB HDD, you'd replace it with 2TB HDD to compensate the lost storage space).

 

[DrumsXO]

Yes, LEDs are nice and give a lot of eyecandy to any build, especially when you have addressable LEDs.

You could also take your Sandisk SSD out of the system and put your Samsung SSD to where your Sandisk SSD currently is. Though, you'd loose some storage space due to that, unless you go for a bigger HDD (e.g if you have 1TB HDD, you'd replace it with 2TB HDD to compensate the lost storage space).

My Samsung is only 250GB and houses my OS and certain programs that run faster off of an SSD than they do an HDD. My SanDisk SSD is 960GB and houses nothing but games and the programs that run them (Steam, Uplay, etc). My Seagate HDD is 2TB and houses programs that don't need to run fast, stores photos, movies, etc.

I'll not be removing my Games SSD for obvious reasons. My Samsung may be failing though, so I'm considering replacing it with an NVMe M.2 SSD.

 

[Aeacus]

As far as M.2 SSDs go, Samsung 960 Evo has good price to performance ratio when compared to other M.2 NVMe SSDs,
comparison: http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-SM951-NVMe-PCIe-M2-512GB-vs-Samsung-960-Evo-NVMe-PCIe-M2-500GB/m30300vsm204072

 

[DrumsXO]

As far as M.2 SSDs go, Samsung 960 Evo has good price to performance ratio when compared to other M.2 NVMe SSDs,
comparison: http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-SM951-NVMe-PCIe-M2-512GB-vs-Samsung-960-Evo-NVMe-PCIe-M2-500GB/m30300vsm204072

Yeah, that's the model I've been looking at. My SSD may actually be okay though. It kept slowly filling up until I would reboot, but turning off TRIM and setting Windows to optimize it daily seems to have done the trick. I think Samsung Magician and Windows stopped playing well together and caused TRIM to not function properly.

I may still get an M.2 just for the form factor and better cable management alone though.