Essentially it’s the pins within the connector shorting out, not the wires themselves. There’s no good way to tell if a molded connector is good, or fire hazard. So the safest thing to do is to use cables with crimped sata connectors. This blog post has provided useful information about the possibility of splitting a SATA data cable. It is possible to split a SATA data cable, but it should be done with care and caution as there are both advantages and disadvantages to consider when using this setup. Overall, using one SATA cable provides convenience and flexibility when it comes to connecting various storage devices in your system. Sata Expansion Card SATA cables are able to connect to a variety of devices and can utilise hot plugging technology only when decides and operating systems are compatible. Examples of SATA capable devices are. So theoretically, yes, you could connect 3 hard drive off a single power point. More would exceed the designed limits of the connector that would connect to the PSU.

Yes, it is OK to use a SATA splitter. A SATA splitter allows you to share the power and data from one SATA cable amongst multiple hard drives. Here are some of its advantages: So, in your case if you have one "cable" or set of wires with 3 SATA Connectors already. You could easily use (3x) 3-way Y-Adapters for a total of 9 drives using the example above of 0.5A/drive! If that’s done, then yes, all that’s needed at that point is to respect the gauge/length amps limit of the cables. Please keep in mind however that we ALWAYS use at least 16 AWG Wire capable of higher current, no matter which PSU we are modding. We also use solder type connectors rather than the punch down style which has less resistance (and thus, less heat and better power transfer).Cost Effective – Using a single cable for two drives instead of two cables can help save money in the long run. As it was mentioned already, the wire itself (18 awg) has a current limit of MUCH more than the connector (~16A vs 1.5A). So you have 3 of these drives and you want to split them off the same SATA power point. The current will be additive so the current draw when operating will be... 0.5 x 3 = 1.5 A Using a split SATA data cable allows for two drives to be connected to the same port with one cable, reducing clutter and simplifying setup. It also reduces the risk of overheating due to poor air circulation within a computer case by allowing for better ventilation. Additionally, it increases drive performance through improved communication between the motherboard and drives. Conclusion Each of our mods are custom tailored to the PSU being used, the HDD/SSD/ODD being used, and the system itself.

If you look at that spec, you notice that the connector is rated to 1.5 A DC and the wire they use is 18 AWG (I'm a mm² man myself but let's roll with it). If you look up recommended wire gauge to current rating (such as here) you'll note that 18 AWG is rated to 16 A for short runs. So our connector is the weak point, more specifically the point were two connectors meet. Just make sure your PSU has either a Single 12V Rail, or that your 12V Load is evenly distributed over a Multi-Rail Design.

Each SATA cable requires a dedicated SATA port on your motherboard. a Typical motherboard often has 4-6 SATA ports. Image: SATA Ports Now let's look at HDDs (as per your comment). Say you have a Seagate Barracuda 1 TB, when you look at its specs, it draws about 6 W under operating conditions. We'll say this is 0.5 A @ 12 V (though it is probably a combination of the rails) to simplify. This isn't the worst case though, this drive draws 2 A on start up but the connectors can handle it for a short time. However, this is when all drives are reading and writing which is unusual unless you have a RAID-1 type setup on all 3 drives.