MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

[JuniperSprouts]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has ever encountered a problem using MOLEX 4-pin to SATA power adapters.

I noticed the call for 3.3V on pins 1,2, & 3: http://pinouts.ru/Power/sata-power_pinout.shtml

And the following notice:
*

*Pins 1, 2, and 3 are optional as well, as evidenced by some adapter cables that connect the drives to older PSUs. These are usually Y-adapters that have the four-pin drive connector on the other end. Currently, SATA drives rarely use 3.3 volts. That may be because there are too many people using adapters so the drive makers don't want the headaches which come with using 3.3 volts. But in the future, 3.3 volt drives may become common so you need to be careful when using SATA power cables which don't implement 3.3 volts.

Anyone ever used these adapters? Any thoughts?

[Phaihn]

Re: MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

i made my own

[Phaihn]

Re: MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

pic

[larrymoencurly]

Re: MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

I bought many from Meritline, which sells stuff of very low quality, and all of them have worked fine with every SATA drive I've tried.

Will 3.3V HDs or SSDs become a reality? Because drives already have at least 1-3 onboard voltage regulators that take 5V or 12V. My 1TB Hitachi 7K1000C has 4 coils, including 2 near an 8-pin switching regulator chip and 2 near the Smooth motor/servo chip.

[ratdude747]

Re: MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

I could see an SSD doing it to conserve power draw. Otherwise, probably not.

[JuniperSprouts]

Re: MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

Thank you for the input.

I'm not sure what I was thinking. I should have looked at my own SATA connections on the PSU. There is no 3.3V line on them.

Thanks again.

[mariushm]

Re: MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

The mini pci express SSDs and some of the 2.5" SSD drives use the 3.3v on the sata connector.

Most however use only the 5v.

[JuniperSprouts]

Re: MOLEX 4-pin to SATA Power Cable

The mini pci express SSDs and some of the 2.5" SSD drives use the 3.3v on the sata connector.

Most however use only the 5v.

Thank you for the info.

I looked again at some PSUs. Some have 3.3V going to the SATA power connecters. Some do not. It seems like the earlier (revision) PSUs do not include the 3.3V (even high quality Antec PSUs).

I never noticed that before.