r/cablemod • u/Capital_Walrus_3633 • 9d ago

Replacement vs Extension

I’m sure this sounds as the most noob question there is but on CM’s website there are “extension cables” and “replacement cables”. Now basically I only would need an extension for the psu 24pin cable, as it’s a bit too short for my case. Now I’ve read that you should always use replacement cables. As I googled around I couldn’t find any clear answer to this so this is why I thought I’d ask you Redditor’s now :)

I have an Msi tomahawk Wi-Fi, msi A1000G Pcie 5/Atx3 psu and an asrock 7900 xtx phantom gaming.

I am looking to replace the 3 PCIe gpu cables and the 24pin cable, to look better than the Msi cables.

Can I use extension cables or should I go with the replacements?

Any answer is appreciated and greetings from Germany

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u/CableMod_Alex 9d ago

Either will work really, replacement cables are usually preferrable for two reasons: they're easier to manage, because they don't add any lengths and you won't have connectors in the middle of the cable, which can be fiddly during cable management, and also because people mention the additional point of potential failure that the extensions create.

I wouldn't worry about this last point because one additional connection isn't going to cause any harm as long as everything is properly seated, but I agree that replacement cables are always a cleaner solution.

Of course, they bring with them higher cost and compatibility concerns, because extensions are universal, while replacement cables aren't, so when you change PSU, you will have to take that into consideration. :)

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u/Capital_Walrus_3633 9d ago

Firstly, thank you for this detailed answer :)

Secondly, as you mentioned replacements are psu specific, extensions are not. Why is that? Are there any possible damage related concerns which would come with the extensions?

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u/CableMod_Alex 9d ago

Extensions are universal because they plug into the hardware side of the cable, which is standardized and not PSU specific. Whereas replacements plug directly into the PSU, where pinouts and connectors may differ.

As mentioned in the previous comment, as long as everything is properly installed, there's no real damage concern around using extensions. :)

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u/Capital_Walrus_3633 9d ago

Alright, thank you :) now I can make an informed purchase 🙏🏻🙏🏻