Is it possible for a 7 port USB hub with a 5V 1A power adapter to power 7 USB hard drives?

[SRC_S]

HI,

So I got this 7 port USB 2.0 hub from ebay which came with a 5V 1A power adapter, and I'm sorta skeptical about weather or not it will be able to power 7 hard drives connected to it via a SATA to USB converter. Do I need to get a power adapter with a higher amperage of say about 7A to be able to connect 7 hard drives to the hub and expect them to just work without any issues?

Thanks!

 

[13thmonkey]

No, typical harddrive power usage is about 5W, 1amp multiplied by 5V is 5W, so you'd need about a 3.5A PSU, BUT there is no guarantee that it can distribute the power correctly.

 

[SRC_S]

No, typical harddrive power usage is about 5W, 1amp multiplied by 5V is 5W, so you'd need about a 3.5A PSU, BUT there is no guarantee that it can distribute the power correctly.

Based on your post I can conclude that each hard drive needs 1 amp; if each hard drive needs 1 amp then doesn't that mean if i wanted to connect 7 hard drives I'd need a 7A PSU (1A * 7HDDs)?

 

[SRC_S]

No, typical harddrive power usage is about 5W, 1amp multiplied by 5V is 5W, so you'd need about a 3.5A PSU, BUT there is no guarantee that it can distribute the power correctly.

Will it be okay if I use a 4A power supply? Because I have one of those lying around.

 

[13thmonkey]

No, typical harddrive power usage is about 5W, 1amp multiplied by 5V is 5W, so you'd need about a 3.5A PSU, BUT there is no guarantee that it can distribute the power correctly.

Based on your post I can conclude that each hard drive needs 1 amp; if each hard drive needs 1 amp then doesn't that mean if i wanted to connect 7 hard drives I'd need a 7A PSU (1A * 7HDDs)?

yes, i'm still seeing 7x0.5 in my head for reasons unknown.

 

[13thmonkey]

No, typical harddrive power usage is about 5W, 1amp multiplied by 5V is 5W, so you'd need about a 3.5A PSU, BUT there is no guarantee that it can distribute the power correctly.

Will it be okay if I use a 4A power supply? Because I have one of those lying around.

maybe/maybe not, it's quite possible that the controller can only take 1A max, or 1A+ safety margin max. Why would you build in a 7A controller (that's actually quite a lot of current).

In post apocalypse world where you only had a 4A, then i'd consider it, and very carefully consider the order you plugged drives in. But that's not where we are, SO, why do you want to plug 7 HDDs into a USB port.

 

[SRC_S]

No, typical harddrive power usage is about 5W, 1amp multiplied by 5V is 5W, so you'd need about a 3.5A PSU, BUT there is no guarantee that it can distribute the power correctly.

Will it be okay if I use a 4A power supply? Because I have one of those lying around.

maybe/maybe not, it's quite possible that the controller can only take 1A max, or 1A+ safety margin max. Why would you build in a 7A controller (that's actually quite a lot of current).

In post apocalypse world where you only had a 4A, then i'd consider it, and very carefully consider the order you plugged drives in. But that's not where we are, SO, why do you want to plug 7 HDDs into a USB port.

Because I'm all out of SATA ports.

 

[SRC_S]

No, typical harddrive power usage is about 5W, 1amp multiplied by 5V is 5W, so you'd need about a 3.5A PSU, BUT there is no guarantee that it can distribute the power correctly.

Based on your post I can conclude that each hard drive needs 1 amp; if each hard drive needs 1 amp then doesn't that mean if i wanted to connect 7 hard drives I'd need a 7A PSU (1A * 7HDDs)?

yes, i'm still seeing 7x0.5 in my head for reasons unknown.

Is getting a 7A PSU sorts redundant, because the hub is a USB 2.0 hub and the max current a single USB port can supply is 0.5A based on USB 2.0 standards

 

[13thmonkey]

probably yes, get a PCI-E SATA card, or something more like this: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/4-bay-icy-box-ib-3640su3-external-jbod-system-for-35-sata-hdds-with-usb-30-and-esata-host
There's something in the US with an identical picture. Note you need a port multiplier for esata to work, but thats a £20 pci-E card.

 

[gamerboyz]

Sorry I am not understanding, if the External Adapter is only 12v / 2.5amp that came with a " 7 Port " USB 3.0 Hub and I want to plug 7 External HDD's into the Hub, Then where must I get a Higher Volt / Amp plug that will fit into the USB Hub if the one supplied default with it in the package is not enough power, doesn't the usb port power from the Laptop offer some power current as well to the Hub / HDD's ?

 

[13thmonkey]

Sorry I am not understanding, if the External Adapter is only 12v / 2.5amp that came with a " 7 Port " USB 3.0 Hub and I want to plug 7 External HDD's into the Hub, Then where must I get a Higher Volt / Amp plug that will fit into the USB Hub if the one supplied default with it in the package is not enough power, doesn't the usb port power from the Laptop offer some power current as well to the Hub / HDD's ?

1. Please create your own thread.
2. We've no idea where you can get one from, amazon, radioshack etc. are a good bet.
3. Just because the power supply can provide more power doesn't mean that N way USB port can distribute it, especially as it has to cut it down from 12V to 5V, the devices that do this will have power limitations.