Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Absence of Berg connectors is no reason to reject a power supply. If
for some reason you actually need a Berg connector, you can buy an
inexpensive Molex-Berg adapter cable. Some power supplies that do
not include Berg connectors include such an adapter cable in the box.
Molex power connector
All current power supplies still include the obsolescent Molex power
connector. The Molex power connector was originally used to pow-
er ATA/IDE and earlier types of hard drives and is still used today to
power case fans, front-panel lights, and some internal peripherals.
SATA power connector
The SATA power connector is the current standard for powering in-
ternal peripherals, primarily hard drives and optical drives. There are
actually three types of SATA power connector. The 15-pin
Standard
SATA power connector is used for powering optical drives and 3.5”
hard drives in desktop systems and is the type you'll find on any cur-
rent desktop power supply.
The six-pin
Slimline
SATA power connector is used to power optical
drives and 2.5” hard drives in notebook systems and some Mini-ITX
and other small form factor systems. The nine-pin
Micro
SATA power
connector is used to power 1.8” hard drives in notebook systems. If
you need to install a peripheral that requires a Slimline or Micro SATA
power connector in a desktop system, you can purchase a Standard-
to-Slimline or Standard-to-Micro SATA power adapter cable.
Ron Morse Comments
Always check the box. Most of the
time a product requiring a particular
power connector or two will come
with converter cables. The converter
cables have Molex sockets on one
end (Molex being sort of the Rosetta
Stone of PC power connectors) and a
plug for whatever the product needs
on the other.
If for some reason you encounter a
device that needs a power connector
that isn't already on your power sup-
ply or doesn't come with a converter,
your local RadioShack store will
almost certainly have what you need
in stock.
For mainstream systems, nearly any current power supply provides
enough SATA power connectors to power all of the drives. If you are
building a server that will have many hard drives installed, make sure
you have sufficient SATA power connectors for all of the hard drives
and optical drives you plan to install. (We once built a tower system
that contained 12 internal drives; we ran out of drive bays and SATA
power connectors at the same time.) The length of the SATA power
cables is seldom an issue unless you are building a full-tower system
populated with a lot of drives. In that situation, pay careful attention
to the lengths of the SATA power cables and the positions of the con-
nectors on the cables.
Manufacturer
Many power supply vendors don't actually manufacture power supplies,
but simply relabel power supplies made by other companies. That's not
necessarily a bad thing. For example, two of the most reputable power
supply vendors, Antec and PC Power & Cooling, purchase most or all of
their power supplies from other companies and rebrand them. Some first-
rate companies, notably Seasonic, manufacture and sell power supplies
under their own name and also distribute power supplies to other com-
panies for relabeling. Still other companies do all three: manufacture and
sell power supplies under their own brand names, manufacture power
supplies for relabeling by other companies, and buy power supplies from
other manufacturers and put their own brand names on them.
