4X SATA Power Splitter with latches

$20 for one of those cables is not too bad if it is a decent quality cable and the connectors are in the right place. Digikey gets about a dollar for each connector, although they don't show the unusual connector, the one that would normally be on a drive, but in an insulation displacement style. Computer power supply wire is rated to 105 C, and you'd have to get that also, in multiple colors to do things right. The IDT connectors only take 18 gauge wire at the largest, anyway.
 
dvl@ said:
I'm tempted to build my own cables...
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Let's back up - what is the problem you are trying to solve?

If it is to stuff more drives into branded system (Dell, HP, etc.) then the power supply probably doesn't have enough "oomph" to power 3 additional drives. If it is an older system like an OptiPlex 755, you can (with a fair amount of effort) stuff a larger supply into the box, but you are still limited on cooling. And if it is a modern system like an OptiPlex 9020, then there are exactly zero aftermarket power supply models.

If it is to add more drives to a generic system, then just buy a new power supply (with more SATA power cables) and be done with the issue. The expander cables are going to be iffy due to power draw, and the last one you showed adapts from a 4-pin Molex, so there's no SATA 3.3V (but you probably won't miss it).

If it is for a server chassis like Supermicro, etc. then "you're doing it the wrong way" and there is probably a new cable from your server's manufacturer.
 
What type and how many connections does the power supply provide? An EE nerd could quickly tell how many drives are safe to supply from a single 18-gauge wire run. ("Safe" in the sense of reliability.)
 
I think the main problem you'll find is that you can only run a certain number of disks off 1 PSU cable. In the old molex 4 pin days, you were only supposed to put 2 or 3 maximum disks per cable (for example a 4 or 5 disk SATA bay would have 2 molex connectors), and those cables were thicker than SATA power cables. You can't just keep adding more splitters to the same source. A 10 way splitter could cause the cables to heat up dangerously if all the disks were heavily active. However you may get away with more if they are 2.5" disks. It's not about the choice of PSU, it's the current draw compared to the current the cables are designed to handle.
 
usdmatt said:
It's not about the choice of PSU, it's the current draw compared to the current the cables are designed to handle.
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Some PSUs will provide more disk cables than others (even if the power supplies both have the same rating). All of the 12V on the cables (drive, motherboard, PCI Express, and EPS) are coming from a small number of 12V sources inside the supply (often only one, sometimes two, and rarely more).

Some power supplies provide modular cabling, where the supply has many sockets on its case, and few/no permanent cables. It should be possible to purchase additional drive cables (if there aren't enough in the purchased power supply kit) and plug them into available sockets on the supply. Since you won't be using a lot of PCI Express video cards in a storage box, those spaces should be open.

The solution I mentioned in the other thread (about a case for 28 drives), buying a used storage chassis on eBay, like a Dell PowerVault solves the problem in a different and (IMHO) better way - drive caddys seat into a backplane which has the power and data connectors mounted to it. This solves the power cable expansion proliferation problem, and if you use multilane SATA / SAS cables you cut down the data cabling from one per drive to one per every four drives.
 
The storage chassis has to be quiet. This thing will be in my spare bedroom; no jet engines allowed.
 
Some power supplies provide modular cabling, where the supply has many sockets on its case, and few/no permanent cables. It should be possible to purchase additional drive cables (if there aren't enough in the purchased power supply kit) and plug them into available sockets on the supply. Since you won't be using a lot of PCI Express video cards in a storage box, those spaces should be open.
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I had a similar thought last night. Get a decent (1000-1200w) enthusiast modular power supply. Never used one, but as you say, hopefully you'll be able to attach additional drive cables in lieu of the PCI-E cables. These tend to have pretty good fans as well seeing as they're aimed at the sort of people who do stuff like water cooling, so are usually quiet.
 
I am wondering if the capacitors in this 4x SATA cabel will be a good idea, especially if you use it like 7 times. Normally you use staggered spinup, if you use such a amount of drives in one system. A good 1200+W PSU should provide 18x IDE + SATA Power or more.

If you put 20+ rotating drives in this case it won't be "quiet" anymore ;)
 
dvl@ said:
The storage chassis has to be quiet. This thing will be in my spare bedroom; no jet engines allowed.
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28 hard drives will make a lot of heat. That heat needs to go somewhere, and needs to be helped on its way with fans. It probably isn't going to be as quiet as you hope.
 
Terry_Kennedy said:
28 hard drives will make a lot of heat. That heat needs to go somewhere, and needs to be helped on its way with fans. It probably isn't going to be as quiet as you hope.
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There are 120 mm and 140 mm fan bays in the chassis he's looking into. You can get silent fans at that size that push a lot of air through the system. We have Antec cases here at work with 6 drive bays and 120 mm fans, and the only noise you get from it is from the CPU fans, even when benchmarking the drives.

Our multi-drive storage boxes are loud ... but they use 5x high-RPM 60 mm fans, plus the fans in the dual-PSUs, plus the CPU fans. If you get quiet PSUs, quiet CPU fans, and large, silent case fans, this could be a fairly quiet setup.
 
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