sata to molex adapter safe?

j121

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Nov 9, 2017
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Hi, is sata to molex adapter safe? i know molex connectors usually is safe but i hear some saying that sata to molex should be avoided. is this safe or not safe? i need to use itb ecause im using oem psu without molex connectors. reason for this is running a 92 mm fan on 5v since its way to loud on 12 v

im using this one
https://www.inet.se/produkt/8903530/stromadapter-15-pin-sata-till-4-pin-molex

and on the other end i got one of these plugged in

https://www.inet.se/produkt/8600942/adapterkabel-4-pins-till-4x3-pins?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwd372rKy1wIV14KyCh15-w5qEAQYASABEgLt8vD_BwE
 
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That article is talking about using SATA to power a GPU etc (hence an ethereum forum)..... Yeah, using SATA (say 7A available on 12V aspect) to Molex (I think about 15-17A can be drawn through molex) to a 6pin PCIe connector (which is spec'd for 75W on the 12V ie >6A) is likely to cause many, many problems..... so that certainly wouldn't be recommended.

As for the video of a SATA-Molex adapter catching fire when powering an HDD..... seems a little suspect to me. We don't know the full story, and I'd be the PSU was damaged in some way.

For the comments that those adapters are made in factories in China for $0.005 each...... that's true (well, not 100% on the cost, but it's going to be low).
What the article's author isn't mentioning...

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Are you sure you don't have any molex connectors? I've seen PSUs with minimal molex connections, but not aware of any without a single one.... very strange. They may be labelled "peripheral" connectors, opposed to "molex"?

As for the adapter, I don't see any problem. Both Molex and SATA carry +12V and +5V. SATA power also carries 3.3V, but that's not really an issue in this case.
 

j121

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Nov 9, 2017
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ok thanks, so for powering one fan i shouldnt be worried it all? im Selling this computer to a friend so got to be sure that there is no risk at all.
what about the people claiming this kind of Connections can Catch fire is it when using more Power hungry things connected to the adapter?

Barty it doesnt look like it got any molex, its a Fujitsu p500 with 280 w psu using no standard Connections. it only seem to have
the sata connectors thats why i had to get the adapter.

 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
I have no idea where they'd get that claim.....
Technically molex can carry more 'power' than SATA (like 20Amps vs 13A or so from SATA, 9A without including the 3.3V).

That's not going to be an issue with a fan, even multiple fans.
A 92mm case fan amperage is going to be somewhere in the realm of 0.2-0.5A each. x4 (for example), you'd be lucky if it's pulling 2Amps vs the 9A that the SATA power can provide.

Now, if you were connecting 20 case fans through a single SATA to Molex adapter (10A total), you might have a problem..... but there's a reason those adapters don't exist.

 


Catching fire? hahaha. Good one. Not going to happen. There simply isn't going to be enough amperage involved.
 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
That article is talking about using SATA to power a GPU etc (hence an ethereum forum)..... Yeah, using SATA (say 7A available on 12V aspect) to Molex (I think about 15-17A can be drawn through molex) to a 6pin PCIe connector (which is spec'd for 75W on the 12V ie >6A) is likely to cause many, many problems..... so that certainly wouldn't be recommended.

As for the video of a SATA-Molex adapter catching fire when powering an HDD..... seems a little suspect to me. We don't know the full story, and I'd be the PSU was damaged in some way.

For the comments that those adapters are made in factories in China for $0.005 each...... that's true (well, not 100% on the cost, but it's going to be low).
What the article's author isn't mentioning though is that all other connectors (from legit, or "off brand" manufacturers) are also made in China, for similarly low unit costs. SATA power cables, SATA data cables, power cords - even legit PSU components (although preference is Japan),............ a low unit production cost does not = low quality by default.
 
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