What kind of cables do SSD's use?

[StickyRicky]

Hi everyone. I just bought an OCZ Vertex 4 SSD and I noticed that it doesn't ship with any cables. From what I understand, all SATA data cables are identical. However, many of the power cables seem to have Molex 4 pin connectors on them, rather than the 5 pin SATA connectors. Does this matter in any way?

 

[Rockdpm]

uh.... SATA.....???? Anytime you see SATA in the name you know it uses SATA cables. and the power supply should have sata power on it. Just plug it in and your set. and the SATA cables are like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SATA2_und_eSATA-Stecker.jpg

 

[4745454b]

However, many of the power cables seem to have Molex 4 pin connectors on them, rather than the 5 pin SATA connectors.

? I don't understand your problem. With an SSD you need to attach the power and data cable. They should use normal current connectors. I haven't seen any "molex" powered SSDs.

 

[Sakkura]

I think there were initially some HDDs that used SATA data cables and molex power connectors, but that was pretty rare and shouldn't exist today. Certainly not on SSDs.

 

[4745454b]

I know some early 3.5" hdds had both plugs. I can't imagine any SSDs doing this. They need to be able to go into laptops, where the connection should be standard. A molex connecter would ruin that.

 

[StickyRicky]

Thanks for the replies. As you can probably tell, I'm new to this. Did a google search for "SATA power cables" and got a bunch of results for what looked to me like 4 pin molex connectors. The same thing happened when I searched both Amazon and Newegg. Now that I know what to look for, I should have more luck finding cables to purchase.

 

[4745454b]

Your PSU should have a "SATA" power cable already on it. If yours doesn't you need to buy a new PSU.

 

[Sakkura]

Thanks for the replies. As you can probably tell, I'm new to this. Did a google search for "SATA power cables" and got a bunch of results for what looked to me like 4 pin molex connectors. The same thing happened when I searched both Amazon and Newegg. Now that I know what to look for, I should have more luck finding cables to purchase.

Your PSU should have SATA power connectors (if not, you can use molex to SATA adapters). So it's only the data cable you should need to buy, and only if your motherboard/computer didn't come with any (or too few).

 

[StickyRicky]

Now that I knew what to look for, I realized there was indeed a free SATA power cable already inside my case. It seems all I need is a data cable, and these seem as good as any: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119270 . Thanks a lot for the help.