Logisys UV Reactive Molex Sleeve Kit

Introduction
Logisys Computer makes all manner of PC and modding accessories, as well as cases and power supplies. Logisys isn't a household name, although they have received quite a bit of exposure on many of the hardware review sites. With the market for modding accessories getting crowded, can Logisys make themselves stand out from the crowd?

Today, I'm going to take a look at Logisys' UV Reactive Molex Sleeving kit. I chose the blue kit, but it also comes in red and green. Before we get too far along, I'd like to thank Grace at Logisys for prociding the sample kit used in this review.

The Product
As you can see in the images below, the Logisys UV Reactive Molex Sleeving Kit comes with a lot of pieces. How many of which pieces? Take a look:

1 x 20 Pin ATX Connector
1 x 6 Pin Auxilary Connector
3 x 4 Pin Floppy Connector
3 x Male 4 Pin Molex
1 x Female 4 Pin Molex Extractor
6 x Female 4 Pin Molex
1 x 1/2" UV Sleeve-5ft.
1 x 4 Pin 12V Pentium4 Connector

Installation
One thing I would like to point out right away is that there is only one tool included with this kit. This tool only works on one of the connector types, the female 4-pin molex connector. It does not work on any of the other connectors. This presents a real problem if you're trying to change all of your power supply connectors to the ones in the kit.

The next thing I want you to notice is that there are no instructions at all included with this kit. None. Not even a couple of pictures somewhere on the packaging. This being the first time I had attempted to change a power supply connector, I was more than a little disappointed to discover this. Fortunately for me, Google is a great way to find this type of information!

I was able to change the floppy connectors by using a straight pin to get the wires loose, although it took some experimenting to finally figure out just how to get the job done without perforating my fingers in the process. I was completely unsuccessful in getting even a sigle wire out of the ATX connector, so that one stayed put. Ditto for the four-pin motherboard connector.

Getting the sleeving on wasn't quite as big a chore as my struggle with some of the connectors, but it wasn't exactly easy. There is no heatshrink tubing included in the kit, so I used a match to do a little melting of the cut ends of the sleeving to keep them from totally unraveling. I ended up using electrical tape to wrap the ends and fix them to the power supply wires. Fortunately, the Enermax power supply I used this kit on already had much of the wiring sleeved, as there was nowhere near enough sleeving to cover everything!

Conclusion
There are some good things in Logisys' UV Reactive Molex Sleeving Kit. You get six easy-release female molex connectors and a tool to easily extract the wires from your old ones. Six connectors is enough to handle a typical power supply. You even get three male molex connectors to match with them. Of course, this assumes you have a way to change male molex connectors, since one is not provided. The UV reactive sleeving looks good and is fairly easy to work with, too.

While this kit is a valiant attempt  at providing color coordination and cable management to your PSU, it ultimately falls short in a couple of key areas:

First off, five feet is about half of what should be included if you want to get all of he PSU wiring sleeved. A tiny bit of research, such as using a tape measure on some power supply wiring, would have led someone to this conclusion long before the product was finalized for release. Also, the half-inch sleeving would be great for the ATX connector, but it is a bit large for the other leads. Maybe Logisys could include about five feet of some three-eighths-inch sleeving for the other leads in the next version. Also, some heatshrink tubing for connecting the sleeving to the power supply wiring and keeping the sleeving from unraveling would be a great touch!

Secondly, I don't care how simple a product is to use, some type of instructions should be included, even if it is just two or three lines drawings showing how to use the molex wire extraction tool. Sure, many of the people in their target market are already well-versed in changing molex connectors, but there are always some, like me, that have never done it before. Logisys is doing their own customers a disservice by not prividing even the most basic instructions with this kit. It would also help if tools for each type of connector were included in the kit. Yes, that would make the kit cost more, but you would be able to use connectors that you can't use now, so it's a fair trade.

One other gotcha I would like to point out is that the easy-release connectors do not play well on the X800 Pro, and probably any other video card that uses the four-pin molex connector for its power needs. You can get it connected, but the curved grip pushes against the PCB of the video card and puts an upward strain on the molex connector of the video card. This is probably not the best way to enhance the longevity of a $300, or more, video card.

All in all, the Logisys UV Reactive Molex Sleeving Kit is a great idea whose execution leaves a bit to be desired.