Using SATA enclosure with SSD

[Abdul Haq Shaikh]

I have an SATA enclosure in which I have a 3.5" Desktop Hard Disk and this is used as an external hard disk. I have 128GB Samsung SSD which has SATA interface. I would like to know if I can use this SSD in the same enclosure to be used as an external hard disk or if there are voltage differences between regular 3.5" hard disk and SSD. This enclosure is powered and uses an external power supply.

 

[dfk]

No, 3.5" HDDs use more power than 2.5" HDD/SSD hence the need for power adapter. You should use a 2.5" enclosure that is powered by USB only. Some cases are optimized for SSD, try to find ones with USB3.0 adapters and use a 2 headed cable connected to 2 usb ports, this is to support 3 Watts when writing for the SSD compared to limit of 2.5 for USB2.

From post by RetiredChief here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/275122-32-recommendations-external-enclosure

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-707-226

 

[Abdul Haq Shaikh]

Thanks for your timely advice. I will follow your recommendations.

 

[Solandri]

It'll work fine. The SATA power connector carries both 12V (yellow wire) and 5V (red wire), and 3.3V (orange if your PSU supports it). The drive just takes what it needs. It's just like plugging a SSD into a desktop computer.

If you plan to use this SSD in an enclosure permanently, you should buy a specialized enclosure which supports UASP. That's a protocol which allows faster data transfer over USB 3.0. Not an issue with HDDs, but SSDs are fast enough they can max out a regular SATA to USB connection.