- Oct 5, 2002
- 456
- 12
- 18,785
I am trying to work out how I am going to wire all the drives in a new build and I am not sure what to do in regards to a few of the cables.
First thing is that I since I am upgrading from a 4-drive RAID5 to a 5-drive SATA6, I am going to need an additional mini-SAS to SATA adapter/cable. As far as I am aware, they only come in X4 SATA breakout cables and not a single one, so I guess I am going to have three additional unused ports as I am only adding one more drive to the RAID.
That being said, the issue is I am not sure what are good cables anymore. My RAID5 used to give me many problems, until I realized it was the crappy SAS-to-SATA cable I had, and once I replaced it the RAID started working fine. Issue is, it doesn't seem to be sold anymore from the place I got it. It's listed as a "HighPoint Int-MS-1M4S SFF-8087 to 4 SATA Fan Out Cable" and I originally got it from Newegg here: https://www.newegg.com/highpoint-int-ms-1m4s-cable/p/N82E16816115064
But while it used to be available recently, as of a few months ago it appears to be permanently sold out.
I tried looking for other places that sell the same cable, but all I have been able to find was an Amazon link that claims it's the same cable but visually it's clearly not: https://www.amazon.com/High-Point-Internal-Mini-SAS-Int-MS-1M4S/dp/B001L9DU88
Every other cable I can find at anywhere that sells them, they all look exactly like the crappy cable I had before that caused problems (the thin blue double-wires going to each SATA connector). Any recommendations for a good Mini-SAS to SATA cable? I honestly only need one more port, but I have no idea if a single version exists. I just want the cable to be of good quality.
The other issue is in regards to extending my SATA cables. I have heard many horror stories about extensions catching fire, though I am not sure if that's just those Molex to SATA adapters, or even just plain SATA to SATA extensions. And that it can be tricky to find a reliable merchant that sells good cables and doesn't just ship whatever is available where it can be random if you get a good cable or not, or even the same cables if you order several.
Not counting NVMEs, all together the system will have five HDDs, an optical drive, temporarily two SSDs (I want to eventually replace these with a single NVME), and the case has two hot-swap SATA bays that I would also like to wire up (Though said hot-swap bays are powered by a single Molex connector).
First of all, is that safe? The case using a single Molex to power two SATA drives/bays? I am not familiar with how much current Molex can handle/supply vs SATA power.
And that leaves me with needing 8 SATA power ports for my other drives. My PSU has more than enough, it's modular and has enough wiring for I think 10 or 12 SATA drives so that's not an issue, the issue is how much of a mess of unused plugs everywhere it would be if I used them as-is. (For example, the RAID drives. The PSU came with several power cables that have two or four SATA ports on them, so I would need at least two sets of cables for the RAID drives, but the unused ports would not be long enough to reach any of the other drives. Likewise the optical drive is on the top of the case and none of the other drives would be close enough to go off the same power cable).
So I was wondering if it would be safe or even advisable to use extensions to make everything a lot less messy, since I am already going to have a zillion cables all over the case that I have to try to manage so I want to reduce the number of cables, especially when half of them will have unused ports because they are not long enough. And if it is safe, can anyone recommend some good ones and a reliable place to get them? I have no idea which ones would be good.
Also, I noticed that among the cables for my PSU, there is a Molex to 2x SATA splitter. Can the ones that come with your PSU itself be trusted? Or is even that risky? My PSU is a 850 Watt Seasonic Platinum, so it's not some budget low-end PSU. Since I have to use at least one Molex connector for the hot-swap bays, and said Molex cable has two ports, I figured I could use said splitter to connect two other SATA drives.
First thing is that I since I am upgrading from a 4-drive RAID5 to a 5-drive SATA6, I am going to need an additional mini-SAS to SATA adapter/cable. As far as I am aware, they only come in X4 SATA breakout cables and not a single one, so I guess I am going to have three additional unused ports as I am only adding one more drive to the RAID.
That being said, the issue is I am not sure what are good cables anymore. My RAID5 used to give me many problems, until I realized it was the crappy SAS-to-SATA cable I had, and once I replaced it the RAID started working fine. Issue is, it doesn't seem to be sold anymore from the place I got it. It's listed as a "HighPoint Int-MS-1M4S SFF-8087 to 4 SATA Fan Out Cable" and I originally got it from Newegg here: https://www.newegg.com/highpoint-int-ms-1m4s-cable/p/N82E16816115064
But while it used to be available recently, as of a few months ago it appears to be permanently sold out.
I tried looking for other places that sell the same cable, but all I have been able to find was an Amazon link that claims it's the same cable but visually it's clearly not: https://www.amazon.com/High-Point-Internal-Mini-SAS-Int-MS-1M4S/dp/B001L9DU88
Every other cable I can find at anywhere that sells them, they all look exactly like the crappy cable I had before that caused problems (the thin blue double-wires going to each SATA connector). Any recommendations for a good Mini-SAS to SATA cable? I honestly only need one more port, but I have no idea if a single version exists. I just want the cable to be of good quality.
The other issue is in regards to extending my SATA cables. I have heard many horror stories about extensions catching fire, though I am not sure if that's just those Molex to SATA adapters, or even just plain SATA to SATA extensions. And that it can be tricky to find a reliable merchant that sells good cables and doesn't just ship whatever is available where it can be random if you get a good cable or not, or even the same cables if you order several.
Not counting NVMEs, all together the system will have five HDDs, an optical drive, temporarily two SSDs (I want to eventually replace these with a single NVME), and the case has two hot-swap SATA bays that I would also like to wire up (Though said hot-swap bays are powered by a single Molex connector).
First of all, is that safe? The case using a single Molex to power two SATA drives/bays? I am not familiar with how much current Molex can handle/supply vs SATA power.
And that leaves me with needing 8 SATA power ports for my other drives. My PSU has more than enough, it's modular and has enough wiring for I think 10 or 12 SATA drives so that's not an issue, the issue is how much of a mess of unused plugs everywhere it would be if I used them as-is. (For example, the RAID drives. The PSU came with several power cables that have two or four SATA ports on them, so I would need at least two sets of cables for the RAID drives, but the unused ports would not be long enough to reach any of the other drives. Likewise the optical drive is on the top of the case and none of the other drives would be close enough to go off the same power cable).
So I was wondering if it would be safe or even advisable to use extensions to make everything a lot less messy, since I am already going to have a zillion cables all over the case that I have to try to manage so I want to reduce the number of cables, especially when half of them will have unused ports because they are not long enough. And if it is safe, can anyone recommend some good ones and a reliable place to get them? I have no idea which ones would be good.
Also, I noticed that among the cables for my PSU, there is a Molex to 2x SATA splitter. Can the ones that come with your PSU itself be trusted? Or is even that risky? My PSU is a 850 Watt Seasonic Platinum, so it's not some budget low-end PSU. Since I have to use at least one Molex connector for the hot-swap bays, and said Molex cable has two ports, I figured I could use said splitter to connect two other SATA drives.
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