Maximum cable length / Quality of cable for a multi location setup

G

GabbingAbout

Active member
Hiya.

I'm looking to locate my PC in one side of my attic, whilst having my monitor etc in the other side.

To allow for some cable slack, it'd be approximately 6m away.

I would have 1 1440p, 1080p monitor, keyboard, mouse, webcam, stream deck, 2 lights, microphone USB and microphone jack, 4k cable box, USB headphone stand.

The monitors have 2 USB ports on them, and the headphone stand has a jack/USB port as well if needed.

Is there a way to keep these operating over such a distance?

Any and all help is welcome, and I'll answer questions as quick as I can.

Kind Regards,
JP
 
B4zookaw

B4zookaw

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
So what type of cables are we looking at? USB for sure, DisplayPort or HDMI for video? Anything else?
At first glance, 6m would be within the supported distance of USB and DP, provided you can locate cables in this length. I have to ask though, why does PC have to be on the far side of room?
 
G

GabbingAbout

Active member
IRLRobinS said:
So what type of cables are we looking at? USB for sure, DisplayPort or HDMI for video? Anything else?
At first glance, 6m would be within the supported distance of USB and DP, provided you can locate cables in this length. I have to ask though, why does PC have to be on the far side of room?
Click to expand...
Thank you for the reply.

I'm currently using 1 DP and 1 HDMI cable for monitors. I believe everything else will go find via USB or jack, unless I use the jack port on the headphone stand.

The reason why? Two things - temp and noise. The other side of the attic is always very chill, as it has no radiator. I can become hyper focused on noise quite easy, and if I play without my headset on or I am simply doing content creation, the fans on my PC can get to me.

I also worry about my PC being picked up by my mics.

It's a me thing, no doubt.

The attic is divided in 2, so siting it in the other part has a couple of benefits.
 
B4zookaw

B4zookaw

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
GabbingAbout said:
Thank you for the reply.

I'm currently using 1 DP and 1 HDMI cable for monitors. I believe everything else will go find via USB or jack, unless I use the jack port on the headphone stand.

The reason why? Two things - temp and noise. The other side of the attic is always very chill, as it has no radiator. I can become hyper focused on noise quite easy, and if I play without my headset on or I am simply doing content creation, the fans on my PC can get to me.

I also worry about my PC being picked up by my mics.

It's a me thing, no doubt.

The attic is divided in 2, so siting it in the other part has a couple of benefits.
Click to expand...
Understandable reasons. I would of course be trying to tweak fan curves, etc to minimise noise, but it's near impossible to have a completely silent system these days with the power of CPUs and GPUs.

In theory, it should all work, but important to get the right quality cables. Options might be limited, and expensive.
 
B4zookaw

B4zookaw

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I'm sure you'll get some feedback on anything you post. I think it would be good to list each device and what cable you plan to use to connect, so people can understand the full setup. For example, will you have all usb devices on desk connected to hub, and then hub to PC, or each device connecting directly to PC, etc.
 
G

GabbingAbout

Active member
IRLRobinS said:
Understandable reasons. I would of course be trying to tweak fan curves, etc to minimise noise, but it's near impossible to have a completely silent system these days with the power of CPUs and GPUs.

In theory, it should all work, but important to get the right quality cables. Options might be limited, and expensive.
Click to expand...
If I post some links of cables I look at, would I be able to get your yay/nay on this suitable? Please.

I'll do some window shopping tonight and get the links.
 
G

GabbingAbout

Active member
IRLRobinS said:
I'm sure you'll get some feedback on anything you post. I think it would be good to list each device and what cable you plan to use to connect, so people can understand the full setup. For example, will you have all usb devices on desk connected to hub, and then hub to PC, or each device connecting directly to PC, etc.
Click to expand...
Great. Shall do. Thank you kindly.
 
G

GabbingAbout

Active member
IRLRobinS said:
I'm sure you'll get some feedback on anything you post. I think it would be good to list each device and what cable you plan to use to connect, so people can understand the full setup. For example, will you have all usb devices on desk connected to hub, and then hub to PC, or each device connecting directly to PC, etc.
Click to expand...
2 pc monitors - hdmi/dp
Elgato face cam - usb
4k60s+ - usb
2 x litra glows - usb
Corsair st100 - usb
Elgato wave:3 -usb
Mouse / Keyboard -usb
Stream Deck - usb
Lapel mic - jack

I do have a USB hub in the house, but rarely use it. In theory, would that + the hubs via the monitors do the job?

Kind regards
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I'm sceptical about whether this will work. If it does, it's despite it being beyond the specification. A USB 3.2 cable is rated for 2-3m: USB 2.0 cables could be a lot longer. You may struggle to even find a cable that claims to be able to do what you need.

The "correct" way to do this is with optical Thunderbolt, but that's a very expensive, not to say complex, operation. You would in theory then be able to run the whole thing over one cable, displays and all. But AIUI it's quite a troublesome system, prone to errors, and I personally would avoid it.
 
G

GabbingAbout

Active member
Going to grab a 6m hdmi, dp and usb 3 extension cable to give it ago.

I'll report back in a couple of days. If it does not work, then I was thinking about maybe getting some sound proofing and shielding the PC? Still give it space to get air circulation etc but then potentially dampen the sound?
 
G

GabbingAbout

Active member
SpyderTracks said:
I would suggest it's a better idea to buy a proper sound dampened case rather than modding one as you're sacrifice the cooling substantially doing it yourself.
Click to expand...
Not sure if moving everything in to a new case would invalidate any warranty I have with PCS?

Good news though, the plan to move the case has worked... Mostly. The only issues I've ran in to is my capture unit - 4k60s+ - now has a small delay. I'm guessing the 5M cable is just too long to keep up the zero delay.

However, everything else is working flawlessly.

Now to relay the attic, then I can settle in to the quieter room.

Cheers for the support!
 
G

GabbingAbout

Active member
Update on the update...

The delay isn't the cable etc, it seems GhostWire: Toyko has a small input delay depending on what graphics settings you're running on PS5.

Jusy recorded some ER gameplay, no delay at all.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I tend to use KableDirekt also, not had any issues with them.

When it comes to the longer cables, quality definitely matters. The rating on them should have you covered though, as long as it's a reliable brand. The great thing with digital is it either works, or it doesn't.

I've got some seriously long cables in my games room. Everything works as I had hoped so here are some brands/items that I know work well at their stated lengths/uses.

5m USB 3.0 (Not in use now, but worked perfectly for motion rig previously)

3m USB 3.0 (PC to Motion Rig, split unto USB Hub)

10m HDMI 2.0 (4k 60hz Projector)

7.5m HDMI 2.0 (4k from PC to TV/Projector via AV receiver)

3m DP 1.4 (Valve index to PC extension)

5m DP 1.4 (no longer in use, previously used for Valve Index but required a booster)

DP booster that actually works
 
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