Friday, 21 November 2008

Internal Hard Drive


If you have a SATA hard drive that only has a SATA power connector on the back (no 4-pin Molex plug) but your computer power supply only provides you with Molex power plugs, this is the adapter you'd need to get power to your drive.



One reviewer mentioned that you have to be careful that the pins are inserting correctly into the holes, which I also found to be the case. If the two halves seem to bump against each other and don't slide together immediately, tilt slightly to one side and then the other until they mate properly; don't force it.



What I appreciate about this Molex plug is that it is sized correctly, not too big, not too small. I will be able to get the two halves apart again without damage. On one hard drive I had several years ago, the computer power supply's Molex plug was so big (or the hard drive's plug was so small) that when I eventually had no choice but to disconnect the power cable, it pulled the 5 volt pin right out of the drive plug, and I had to solder in a replacement wire to bypass the plug. So this correctly sized plug is something I don't take for granted. Syba SY-CAB40007 Molex 4 Pin to 2x 15 Pin SATA Power Cable (5.5 Inches)

Like so many items I look for on Amazon, I selected this product because it specifically met my needs, and it was at a no frills price. What I expect from an item represented on Amazon is to be able to trust that I will always find a product that performs as advertised, and disappointment in the product won't be an issue regardless of the purchase price, or it wouldn't continue to be sold on Amazon. This is a rare occasion that I have been disappointed in something I received from Amazon, and I hope they pay attention to reviews so they can know that weak products in turn weaken their own image. This connector was the right price if it performed as expected. Instead, this is kind of a cheap imitation type product I came to expect from auction type sites before I started making my purchases on Amazon. Specifically, the pins in the 4 pin side, are so loose, that they flimsily move around in the connector, making it very difficult to line up with the connector in the PC. That condition only highlights the very weak metal the pin is formed from, which then crushed as I tried to line up the pins of the connector. Furthermore, even upon making a successful connection, it was immediately clear that there was no intention of a well fitting plastic to plastic connection, leaving only the pins to hold the connector together. And as you can guess from the earlier problem, the pins are weak and aren't going to be holding anything together. In the end, I do not want a replacement of this connector, because what I would receive is something that I would be nervous about connecting two $100 hard drives with, always wondering if I will be dealing with lose connection, and the performance loss, product damage that could occur as a result. I trust Amazon products, and I hope this type of product does not become a common problem. I will be looking for a different one I guess, at my cost.

Cable operates OK once the power connector was finally connected. The pins would misalign with mating connector and made it difficult to get connector started and seated. Otherwise the cable seems to work fine and continues to do so at this date.

Didn't really need the 2-for-one feature of this item. I was just trying to convert one of my spare molex plugs to SATA for a new DVD drive. The first cable started giving off an electric smell. So I shut down the computer, opened up my box, and a couple of the wires were on their way to being melted. The plastic coating did indeed melt on one of the wires.



I purchased two of these and tried using the second one to connect something else. I ruled out error with my power supply and with any of my components. The cable had to be faulty. The second cable seems to be OK, but I'm replacing it with another make. Too risky. And yes, these cables aren't very well made. The pins aren't fixed and seem to be fragile. My suggestion is to use another manufacturer.

Even modern power supplies often have a limited number of SATA power connections and extra Molex connectors. If you have a recent vintage motherboard with six SATA connectors, you have nothing out of the ordinary. But you may need to convert a Molex connector to SATA. This converts one to two connectors, which can be helpful when building RID arrays. (i.e. RAID)



Sometimes, hard disks come with an SATA to Molex cable. They typically convert one connector. I have several of them from different manufacturers. The Syba is better made and has lower gauge (i.e. thicker) wires. The wires are as thick as the ones that come with power supplies unlike many competing converter cables.



I bought several of these from Amazon at $1.30 each. They were eligible for free shipping, making the price even more competitive. If you are buying an SATA drive, you might want to get these at the same time. Don't overlook SATA cables from this manufacturer, which are also a bargain.

While this product had a very low price and I ended up using it out of immediate necessity, it really is not of acceptable quality to me and I cannot recommend it to others. The Molex pins were very loose within the plastic connector housing and were misaligned; and there is nothing I can say but that this is not a quality product and definately not worthy of sale by Amazon.

Pros:



- Does what the description says

- Turns one power cord into two



Cons:



- The fours pins on the molex side tend to wiggle around



When I was upgrading the ol' compy I was shocked when I ran out of sata connectors. Thinking I was going to have to buy a newer power supply I was happy to find this product on the cheap. As mentioned in the con list and in other reviews the molex side of the connector wiggles and you might have to have a little patience getting it hooked up. All in all I'm happy with this product.'


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