Hey couple questions inside.

[Moofaa]

Sup? Ok, so I built my PC a few years ago, and will be looking to make a new one this coming year. On my current PC, I already ventured in the world of modding, and keeping it simple, just bought a metallic blue aluminum case, put some chrome wire loom to spruce up and organize those unsightly wires, etched a character from a game into the plexglass window, replaced the ugly black fans with chromed ones and a nice dragon-shaped faceplate.

More importantly, was the lighting, 2 12" cathode lights and 4 lighted case feet.

This is the second time however those 12" cathodes have burned out on me after 2-3 months of use, and I havent replaced them at all for a good year now because its a major pain in the butt to take them out. Also my case feet have died for the second time. So I guess my questions are "Is this a normal lifespan?"
"Would my power supply be at fault?" and "are there any good brands in lighting I should be looking at?"

And before anyone asks, no, I dont remember the stats on my PSU, and removed that sticker with the info on it long ago. However i havent had power issues one would expect from a faulty/stressed PSU like random reboots etc.

Since im gonna make and mod a new PC, this old one will be given away to a family member, but I would like to send it off with a fond farewell and looking nice.

A couple other questions (yeah, im full of them these days):
Is there an easy way to remove stubborn dust from circuit boards when plain old air cans wont do it?
How safe is it to run wires behind the motherboard to keep them out of sight?

Thats it for now, should be enough lol

[Mitternacht]

Sorry, don't know anything about the cathodes.

Is there an easy way to remove stubborn dust from circuit boards when plain old air cans wont do it?

Yes. Isopropyl alcohol and cotton balls.

How safe is it to run wires behind the motherboard to keep them out of sight?

I guess the insulation wouldn't mess things up, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Welcome to the Best Case Scenario.

[slytherock]

As Mitternacht said, welcome in here.

This is the second time however those 12" cathodes have burned out on me after 2-3 months of use, and I havent replaced them at all for a good year now because its a major pain in the butt to take them out. Also my case feet have died for the second time. So I guess my questions are "Is this a normal lifespan?"
NOP
"Would my power supply be at fault?"
It can. Your power supply is probably generic (I say that cause; otherwise, you would remember. In the fact that I might be wrong, the next sentence can be true too)
you 12V rail might be the problem. If the power is too far away from the 12V, or changing too much, it can kill your CCFL

How safe is it to run wires behind the motherboard to keep them out of sight?

Sorry to diseagree with you Mitternacht I would say that unless you bend too much your motherboard, there's no problem. I miss those origami days with ribbon cables...

[Moofaa]

Ok, thanks for the advice, I'll look into a new PSU when I go to clean up this old rig before getting a new one. I asked about the cables because thats where the CCFL wires are running along with some others.

[Mitternacht]

Sorry to diseagree with you Mitternacht I would say that unless you bend too much your motherboard, there's no problem. I miss those origami days with ribbon cables...

So you're saying its safe to do?

[DaveW]

It should be pretty safe.

-Dave

[Zephik]

I've heard of a few people doing this actually. I think the only thing that you have to worry about is the little solder tips on the back of the motherboard connecting with something. Hence the use of spacers between your mobo and mobo plate. Metal touching metal is bad, metal touching plastic? I see no issues there unless a particularly long solder tip punctures through and into the wires themselves. Which is pretty unlikely.

-Snow

[Mitternacht]

I've heard of a few people doing this actually. I think the only thing that you have to worry about is the little solder tips on the back of the motherboard connecting with something. Hence the use of spacers between your mobo and mobo plate. Metal touching metal is bad, metal touching plastic? I see no issues there unless a particularly long solder tip punctures through and into the wires themselves. Which is pretty unlikely.

-Snow

yea those solder tips were my main concern. I just didn't recommend it because its not something I ever did. Besides, I also don't think its good to fold IDE cables flat because I believe it makes information transfer slower. Just my 2¢

[nil8]

Folding cables doesn't interfere with data transmission.

That's not a normal lifespan.

If canned air doesn't work, an air compressor should do it.

[dgrmkrp]

sorry to butt in, but what exactly do you mean by burnt ccfl? is the inverter (not) functional or just the tubes die?
the leds can only die from over current or over voltage (they go hand in hand).. can't think of any other scenario, but they should last like a few years at full... err... nominal power the inverter circuit on the other hand can be fudgy.. i burnt 2 of them, well, i only 1.. but in a series of unfortunate events which involved flaming arches of electric energy .. 2 died.. still, not one of my tubes died in about 2 and a half years.. except 1 when cracked.. i have my first tube still and it works.. gave it as a gift.. so, i would check not only the voltages but also the connections.. (i lost a hard drive because the molex wasn't properly making contact and kept moving.. )
good luck