Power supply question - SATA MOLEX's

Hey all!
Im no newbie when it comes to computers, but im lacking ONE SATA molex connector for a hard drive, right now im running a 4pin molex converter. Would it be a *bad* idea to cut the wires to the standard 4 pin molex, and run another SATA one? (of course i would have to tap into the connector for the last wire, on the previous SATA molex though)

Just curious what you guys think. Btw, its a 420W ENERMAX P/S, so its not a cheap one.

-Dan

I was going to, but i have the spare molex here, and i dont mind actually soldering and heatshrinking it. ANd it will look alot cleaner IMO. My case as it is, is full of cables...

Molex is a very simple standard:

BEST WAY is to remember that the 2 black wires
connect to the 2 middle pins: both are GROUND.

That leaves just 2 more wires -- one Yellow and one Red:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molex (see diagrams and photos)

Yellow is +12 Volts

Red is +5 Volts (also known as 5V "Stand-By" voltage or "SB" )

The Red and Yellow wires must
connect to the correct pins
inside the Molex housing.

Note well the 45 degree corners
along one long edge of the connector,
and the 90 degree corners
along the other long edge, like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File: [...] nector.jpg


MRFS

> right now im running a 4pin molex converter


p.s. Confucius say: "If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it!"


MRFS

> Already, i think my PS may be too small for the stuff im running.

Can you buy a cheap Watt meter e.g. from a local hardware store?

Don't forget to power your monitor and other peripherals
via a separate circuit, so you can isolate the Wattage
demand by that PSU.

Without having any specific details about the power
requirements of each of your components, I am going
to venture a guess that they are pulling about 300 Watts
MAXIMUM i.e. well within the Wattage rating of that PSU.

MRFS

> will i experience a voltage drain on that line cause of the extra molex?

To answer that question with confidence,
you would need to know the AMP rating
of the PSU's rail that powers that cable.

There is a major difference between PSUs
with only one rail, and PSUs that use
multiple rails: the rated Wattage will
NOT reflect the maximum current rating
of any given rail in a multi-rail PSU.

There should be a UL plate somewhere
on your PSU, with details about maximum
AMPs for each rail.

WHEN IN DOUBT, try to "spread" the load
across all available peripheral power cables
e.g. either 4-pin Molex or SATA input DC.

Assume about 10-12 Watts PER HDD,
maybe 15 during spin-up.

The other power cables are easily identified,
and they do NOT connect to disks and optical drives
e.g. 4- or 8-pin motherboard power, and
PCI-E video card(s) supplemental power.

MRFS