Question Which cable do I need?

[roderickdav]

Hi there, I've got a Dell Vostro 470 (2012). I installed a new PSU but am short by one cable (of those that came with the PSU) to power the optical drive. The old PSU had the cables attached, not plugged in.
The new PSU is a xigmatek-hydra-m-550w. Of the spare outlets there are L4P/SATA and CPU/PCI-E. The power on the Optical drive is SATA. I'm guessing that the correct outlet on the PSU is L4P/SATA and I would need a 6 pin to SATA cable - but want to make sure. Am I on the right path?

 

[Lutfij]

You might want to look into some threads here and the www, that adapter's tend to be a bane, they can and will catch fire. You should've done your research prior to buying your PSU, though I'm curious, your PSU;

Hydra M - XIGMATEK

www.xigmatek.com

shows you have access to 6x SATA power connectors, while your HP prebuilt's motherboard has 4x SATA data ports, where did the other SATA connectors go? You should have 2 spare.

If you're still adamant about buying an adapter, you should look for a Molex to SATA adapter, not 6pin PCIe to SATA.

 

[roderickdav]

I don't understand your answer. I need a cable to go from the PSU to the optical drive. What's the motherboard got to do with anything? and it's a Dell not HP.
It's a pretty straightforward question. There are ports labelled L4P/SATA and CPU/PCI-E on the PSU. The question is which one do I plug the cable in to power the Optical drive? Why would I want a molex? L4P/SATA ports are 6 pin.


https://netplus.com.au/products/xigmatek-hydra-m-550w-80-bronze-full-modular-power-supply

 

[ohio_buckeye]

If I’m understanding correctly, you need one of the cables that plugs into the L4P/Sata ports.

Here’s an old listing for one of those power supplies I think.

https://www.f1techcomputers.com.au/product/xigmatek-hydra-m-550w-80-bronze-full-modular-power-supply/

As you can see, in the package you should have received some cables obviously, typically in a modular power supply you should have gotten some cables in your case that are 6 pins on one side and on the other end have a mixture of sata and or molex connectors.

So you should be able to plug one of those cables into one of the LFP/Sata ports on your power supply and it should convert to the needed connector.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I need a cable to go from the PSU to the optical drive.

You should already have it.
Unless you bought PSU used and seller didn't include all the cables with it.

There are ports labelled L4P/SATA and CPU/PCI-E on the PSU.
The question is which one do I plug the cable in to power the Optical drive?

Use any L4P/SATA port and connect appropriate cable to it
(with sata plugs, if your optical drive uses sata power plug or
with molex plugs, if your optical drive uses molex power plug).

Note - if you don't have appropriate cables, then keep in mind - modular cables between different modular PSUs are not generally compatible. Using wrong modular cables will damage/kill hardware connected.