Question How can I use an old 2.5" USB caddy to connect an extra SATA drive within the case?

[homo habilis]

I have 5 x 3.5" SATA disks (mostly 500GB from dead kit) and only 4 ports on my desktop. I'm quite happy with connecting #5 at USB2 speed but it would be tidier inside the case.

Basically I have an old 2.5" caddy ( even a new one would be cheaper than a 3.5" caddy) and I don't want another 12V mains adaptor (the expensive part) since everything's going into the desktop anyway. SATA boards are even more expensive and I only need one more port.

So I want to connect the extra 3.5" by data cable to the SATA/USB interface in the caddy but use the in-desktop PSU connector to power the new disk.

I'm thinking of using a normal F-F SATA cable and making a male-male adaptor from 2 old male SATA sockets wired together to plug it into the data part of the caddy (at zero cost) - or do the RF problems mean I should bite the bullet and buy a male-female cable? (Not that expensive but not much less than paying for a mains adaptor I don't want).

Yes, it's penny pinching but it avoids buying stuff to throw away.

Thanks.

 

[geofelt]

It might be easier to simply buy a sata adapter card.
Here is one:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...a card&cm_re=sata_card-_-16-124-045-_-Product

 

[homo habilis]

Thanks geofelt - the thing that interests me about the card you suggest is that it could equip my PC with SATA 3 for not much cash - so it's a kind of future-proofing.

I'm mainly looking for a temporary solution because I'm waiting for one of my small recycled SATA 2 disks to fail - and at that point I'll replace it with a new bigger one - at least 1TB SATA 3 (the longer I wait the cheaper they get) and with the extra space I''ll also be able to put one of the others in reserve so I'll be OK with 4 ports again.

It is tempting to get SATA3 now but ...The question is when will it be worth just replacing the motherboard which would give me SATA3 and USB3 in one go.

I'm not into gaming so the other option at the moment is to buy a cheap low-spec micro barebones now (SATA3 and USB3 in one go) for general work and network it to the faster noisier, hotter, thirstier desktop so I can continue jobs on the desktop when I need its power.

For now I'm going to see this USB cludge through anyway.

Thanks.

 

[geofelt]

The card I linked was just an example, not necessarily a suggestion.
If you are using hard drives, there is very little difference in using sata 2 vs 3.
The faster sata 3 data transfer applies only to the HDD cache to channel data transfer from a HDD with sata 3 capabilities.
Very little data will be found in a cache, even one with 64 mb.
Performance is determined by the mechanical characteristics of the HDD.

With a ssd even, the performance difference mainly applies to sequential operations.

What are your pc components and what is the main use for this pc?
That will determine what your best upgrade options might be.

 

[popatim]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6ZP3R87613

 

[homo habilis]

I got distracted into thinking about upgrades - I've upgraded by motherboard at least twice in 8 years (though one of those was caused - or at least re-scheduled - by stupidity. What I learned was that you can get a DIMM in the wrong way by feel - using less than twice as much force than the right way).

I just want a quick fix that won't involve the PC being in pieces for even a day or two - I have other non-electronic jobs that are more urgent (yes, I could buy a new case and pace it - but I'm far too mean, and I certainly don't need 2 desktops - ever).

I'll rephrase my question - has anyone made a M-M adaptor that worked on a data cable at SATA2 or above?

I'm willing to fudge the caddy into service as an experiment but there's no point trying if SATA is that touchy about RF effects.

Thanks.