Re: What's the best external USB(A&C together) adapters to get for connecting various drives (SATA, IDE/PATA, etc.)?
VanguardLH <[email protected]> Thu, 11 Jan 2024 03:59:12 -0600
| Newsgroups | comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage,comp.sys.mac.hardware.storage,alt.comp.periphs.hdd |
|---|---|
| Organization | Usenet Elder |
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Computer Nerd Kev <[email protected]> wrote: > VanguardLH <[email protected]> wrote: > >> SATA drives only require 5 VDC power. > > The labels of 3.5" SATA HDDs often do say that they need 12VDC as > well, and I see no reason to doubt it. Oops, I was looking at the pinout for the wrong power connector. Thanks for the correction. https://prod-care-community-cdn.sprinklr.com/community/687062f5-603c-4f5f-ab9d-31aa7cacb376/communityasset-b1117b50-b073-47ef-9119-c54d7970d4c4-843465895 There are lines for both 5VDC and 12VDC. Not sure what the 3.3VDC line is for. Seems that is optional since the 5VDC can be used. Some old SATA drives used 3.3VDC, but I don't remember for what. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA "3.3 V is supplied along with the traditional 5 V and 12 V supplies. However, very few drives actually use it." The driver circuitry needs 5VDC, and the motor needs 12VDC. So, yep, SATA still needs 5VDC and 12VDC. So, it comes down to the power requirements for the drive itself versus the outputs from the A/C adapter. Figure the USB-to-SATA converter PCB also consumes some power.