BUILD Purchased a fractal node 304 and need advice on hardware. "Mid-Budget Build"

[Klontje]

you can buy these, google for seasonic sata or check ebay.

 

[jgreco]

Where did you find these? My Seasonic only has 8 SATA connectors, I'd like to find a few more SATA chains to replace the useless molex ones it includes.

Make them. Buy them. Bribe a friendly electronics shop with a case of beer to make you one. Whatever.

 

[Ericloewe]

Do be careful if mixing and matching between PSUs. Seasonic has used compatible cables on all models from G-Series and up for a few years now. Corsair has a few more or less well-defined families with compatible cables (the original AX models may use Seasonic cables, but don't try this blindly) - the latest two are compatible, but the newer version has additional filter caps in the big cables (ATX, ATX12V, PCI-e).

 

[ethereal]

http://www.btosinte.com/Seasonic-6pin-to-four-SATA-connectors-Modular-Cable-SS-64xSATAB.htm
http://www.btosinte.com/Seasonic-6pin-to-three-SATA-connectors-Modular-Cable-SS-63xSATA.htm

$5 each and $5 shipping.

I plan to add some more connectors to the cable - it is easier than you think.

 

[Bidule0hm]

I plan to add some more connectors to the cable - it is easier than you think.

Be careful to not overload the connector on the PSU side, it's easier than you think... :)

 

[ethereal]

good advice - i have 7 in total and it works fine - i added one connector at a time - there are 4 sockets for cables and i have been trying to balance it.
it probably good luck rather than good judgment that it works.

 

[Kevin Horton]

Be careful to not overload the connector on the PSU side, it's easier than you think... :)

I'd be interested to learn more. Are you suggesting that the PSUs that come with cables with four SATA power connectors may not in fact be able to supply enough power from one modular connector to safely power four hard drives?

 

[Bidule0hm]

Are you suggesting that the PSUs that come with cables with four SATA power connectors may not in fact be able to supply enough power from one modular connector to safely power four hard drives?

No, I answered to "I plan to add some more connectors to the cable". The stock cable is ok of course, but if you add 50 SATA connectors on the cable it'll not be ok...

 

[Kevin Horton]

No, I answered to "I plan to add some more connectors to the cable". The stock cable is ok of course, but if you add 50 SATA connectors on the cable it'll not be ok...

Understood. Thanks for clearing up my confusion. My medium term plans are to add another five hard drives to my NAS, and I wanted to be sure I hadn't missed something important.

 

[Ericloewe]

No, I answered to "I plan to add some more connectors to the cable". The stock cable is ok of course, but if you add 50 SATA connectors on the cable it'll not be ok...

50*30W/12V = 125A of current on drive spinup, worst-case. Not to mention the added current from the drive's power circuitry boosting the lower voltage caused by the massive drop in the cable at these currents.

 

[jgreco]

Understood. Thanks for clearing up my confusion. My medium term plans are to add another five hard drives to my NAS, and I wanted to be sure I hadn't missed something important.

Ideally if the PSU has multiple connectors on it, you take one of the unused ones and repurpose it as a new hard drive lead. This may mean crimping new pins, etc.

 

[Kevin Horton]

Ideally if the PSU has multiple connectors on it, you take one of the unused ones and repurpose it as a new hard drive lead. This may mean crimping new pins, etc.

I agree it makes sense to spread the load across as many of the PSU outputs as possible. I note that my Seasonic PSU has two different types of modular output plugs - 6 wire ones marked "Peripheral - IDE/SATA", and 8 wire ones marked "PCI-E/CPU". Without knowing how many amps each pin of the PCI-E/CPU plug is designed to supply, I would avoid repurposing those for SATA power.

Anyway, my PSU has enough SATA power plugs to handle the max number of drives I can fit in this case - I just need to buy some more cables for a Seasonic PSU modular plug.

 

[Ericloewe]

Without knowing how many amps each pin of the PCI-E/CPU plug is designed to supply, I would avoid repurposing those for SATA power.

Current is not an issue. Those things can (collectively) handle the entire output of the PSU.

The real problem is that they only supply +12V, so you can't use them for peripheral connectors.

Edited to avoid misunderstandings and serious overcurrent situations.

 

[jgreco]

Current is not an issue. Those things can handle the entire output of the PSU.

That's ridiculous, sorry, @Ericloewe ... there's no way that those connectors could handle the entire output of the PSU at the voltages being output... I don't have the time to dig right now for the details but those things just don't handle large amounts of power.

 

[Bidule0hm]

Yep, it's more like 5 to 10 A per pin on those types of connectors usually.

 

[Ericloewe]

That's ridiculous, sorry, @Ericloewe ... there's no way that those connectors could handle the entire output of the PSU at the voltages being output... I don't have the time to dig right now for the details but those things just don't handle large amounts of power.

Not a single connector, but all of the PCI-e/CPU connectors. Each one would be ridiculous.

 

[jgreco]

Not a single connector, but all of the PCI-e/CPU connectors. Each one would be ridiculous.

Go re-read what you quoted and then what you wrote. You're strongly implying something different.

 

[Ericloewe]

Go re-read what you quoted and then what you wrote. You're strongly implying something different.

I guess it could be interpreted that way... I've added a clarification.