Question Installing a second SATA internal HDD on an MSI Z790 Gaming Plus WiFi (MS-7e06) motherboard ?

[Josh_from_NZ]

Hi, I'm wanting to install more internal storage to my PC. Currently it only has one 2T internal hdd, and I'd like to add either 1x16TB and 1x8TB, or 3X8TB. They would mainly be used for storing video files, and I'd like to do it as cheaply as possible, so I think a hdd would be fine over a sdd. However, I'm pretty green at this and am looking for some advice. I've done some research but still have a few questions.

My motherboard is a msi z790 gaming plus wifi ms-7e06, and from what I can tell it has 6 SATA 6G ports, so I assume I should be able to install 2 or 3 more SATA hdds with no problem? I've also researched which hdds are compatible.

My main concerns are that it seems when installing a new internal hdd, there should be some kind of plastic tray to enclose the hdd in, but I don't have any. Are these necessary, and if so how and where would I connect them?

Second question is, it seems I need to connect a SATA power cable from the power supply to the hdd. Would it be safe to assume that if my motherboard has 6 SATA 6G ports, then my power supply will also have 6 inputs for SATA power cables?

As I mentioned, I'm pretty inexperienced with this, and I just wanna make sure I'm not making any mistakes before I spend money on new hdds then find out I can't use them. TIA!

P.S. I tried inserting images from Imgur, but every time I got the error "Image cannot be loaded from the passed link", so I've copied the link instead:

https://imgur.com/a/A62d25v

View: https://imgur.com/a/A62d25v

 

[CountMike]

Yes, you can install as many SATA HDDs as there are SATA ports on the MB and even more by using PCIe to multiple SATA ports.
Don't know which PSU you have but most modern ones come with at least 2 cables with 3 SATA connectors.
As for mounting HDDs, that's up to case to have mounting racks for them. Plastic enclosures for HDDs are only external HDD. cases have metal cages or other accommodations to securely mount HDDs. That's kind of case you have to look for.

 

[dwd999]

It would help if you could tell us the make and model of your case and your power supply. Does the cable you already have from your power supply to your HDD have any more connectors on it that can be used for new drives? Were you given any more cables for your power supply to connect to new drives? If not you would most likely need to buy more cables from the power supply manufacturer to ensure that they are a proper match.

If lower speed is not a problem you may want to consider external storage where your drives can be inserted into a hub or container and externally powered. Perhaps something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Toolfr...orico,aps,135&sr=8-19&xpid=DpAp0FNslo9VG&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Extern...8739487&sprefix=orico+doc,aps,184&sr=8-3&th=1

 

[Josh_from_NZ]

Thanks for the replies! I believe the power supply is the ASUS Prime AP750G and the case is the ASUS TUF 502. Although hard drive docking stations may actually be a better idea anyway as it'll make it easier to transfer the files to another PC in the future if I want to... If I was to go the docking station route, would I still need to buy hard drives that are compatible with the MB, or would any hard drives that are compatible with the docking station work?

 

[Josh_from_NZ]

It would help if you could tell us the make and model of your case and your power supply. Does the cable you already have from your power supply to your HDD have any more connectors on it that can be used for new drives? Were you given any more cables for your power supply to connect to new drives? If not you would most likely need to buy more cables from the power supply manufacturer to ensure that they are a proper match.

If lower speed is not a problem you may want to consider external storage where your drives can be inserted into a hub or container and externally powered. Perhaps something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Toolfree-External-Enclosure-Support/dp/B00GAML7OK/ref=sr_1_19?crid=353FHF2FOAMVQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4CHwjjpx3MWo2rCZGc12tGLBoyCxZGaXo51mELwU1eEU_oXXB1e-SWzQSxznbRwOaJBZRTojxuvCaPWIqBFBlOzLhhGH8GzB12lq1H35MoqhKBankGVZZKlImUVzap8zMeJyxj6J9NVTt0VGYdPz3tNStMsyXEZGytKCcbimGp1Ydj-HdzoZtVgc0AF4c25Oliq2qMzjps31YDArRZn0PKKcpbB5OnVaEHUeY_ZFzrw.vvd2ydDy8q7f9Z_h2Q_0GroxGgjrrme7jDvATTpltUA&dib_tag=se&keywords=orico&qid=1738739337&sprefix=orico,aps,135&sr=8-19&xpid=DpAp0FNslo9VG&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-External-Docking-Station-Support/dp/B0C2HVR4JZ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2P0VWMBTZAAHK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FGqPfv9ce3QVpVFbRmpmMQ0Bi9B8Qm_p4R6ofJSEVqtCxx4_aXYLajxnqbbelp_hSV7beaOQ82cg_RqgjC-a3NL2BaCHNcb58iSPZCIfZnd2sjAguAjEgaZ7LhqBQi7foDOYRbPt6-Axh71fUHd4cSinyVfGu_1K9swAlrBkj6tEWnRixxfE3idzg6pdfGtIWifdLUFJmYDGMdympZXm7GeExb80QEyNAs4G-lW323o.W7DpLOJsaPZN1-hFUymmZ7B58W3J1ysd8fH3zFjuAa4&dib_tag=se&keywords=orico+docking+station&qid=1738739487&sprefix=orico+doc,aps,184&sr=8-3&th=1

I'm not sure if I was given any other cables for my power supply, I bought it a while ago and would have to look around to see if I kept the boxes. I had a big clear out a while back and have a feeling I may have thrown them out

 

[williamjeremiah]

I had a big clear out a while back and have a feeling I may have thrown them out

SATA power cables which are included with a PSU, usually have multiple connections per cable, so even if you have thrown away the extra cables, it's very likely that you'll have at least two unused connections on your existing one.