Power cable management nightmare

[Dannar26]

I couldn't help myself. I put together a budget build with the anniversary pentium chip. Threw in a SSD as well. The problem is that while my power supply has 4 SATA connections, they are two to a cable. So at present it means choosing between the HDD and the optical drive. It's not game breaking, but my pride demands a fully functional machine.

The way the SSD and HDD enclosure are positioned in this case doesn't allow for these devices to be on the same connection cable. And of course the dvd drive is even further...

Power supply: EVGA 430W PSU
Case: Corsair carbide spec 02

I took the HDD out in that pic, and I have yet to fully enact cable management due to this situation.

Maybe I can put the SSD in a rack that will fit into the HDD enclosure? Guessing they should be close enough to share one of the cables with two connections.

It's agrivating to have that unused molex connection just taking up space when it could have been another useful SATA power cable...

 

[alzan]

There's always these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812200061

Not the prettiest but you'll turn that unusable Molex power tap into a usable SATA power tap.

 

[mfenn]

There's always these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812200061

Not the prettiest but you'll turn that unusable Molex power tap into a usable SATA power tap.

That'd work.

Another option would be to get some velcro and use that to attach the drive to the tray below the ODD.

 

[Dannar26]

That'd work.

Another option would be to get some velcro and use that to attach the drive to the tray below the ODD.

Interesting!

I just used a molex converter. 'Sall good now! Just wish I could get my old rig back...

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2393828

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

I had a similar problem with my recent build. The (x4) PSU SATA power cable going to two HDDs has the plugs placed too close together. This and the thick outer insulation means you can't use adjacent 3.5" bays and adjacent plugs without bending the PSU cable into a tight horseshoe shape which puts severe strain on everything.

However it all connects without any strain if there is an empty bay inbetween them and just using the 2nd and 4th SATA connectors on that cable. Problem is I only have four 3.5" bays so anything else added can't have this separating bay, it must be fitted adjacent to the device above.

The other power cable (x2) going to the optical drives can't be used to reach either the 3.5" or the 2.5" bays which are set at 90 degree to each other anyway.

The solution, or one of them, is to use a 3.5" bracket adapter for the SSD but mount it back to front. Fitted this way the bracket is only secured by one screw either side but it means the SDD is set back sufficiently far underneath so that the SATA power cable can still reach it but doesn't have to be bent into a ridiculous shape to fit.

It is still a tight and awkward and I came to the conclusion that it would actually be better just to use a SATA PSU M > F extension lead on one of the two spare plugs. Depending on the length it could even be used from the spare optical drive PSU cable SATA power plug.

Why the Molex > SATA adapter cable was suggested by others here and not this, I would have thought, more obvious solution, I'm not sure. The blurb in the link below specifically mentions its use for solving such problems.

http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Prod...-046-_-Product

 

[mfenn]

Why the Molex > SATA adapter cable was suggested by others here and not this, I would have thought, more obvious solution, I'm not sure. The blurb in the link below specifically mentions its use for solving such problems.

http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Prod...-046-_-Product

The part you linked is $9 whereas the part that alzan linked is $2. So there is that.

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

I just thought spending a paltry extra $7 on a short SATA PSU extension cable would be preferable to having to route additionally the whole of the PSU's Molex cable complete with SATA adapter.

BTW I hadn't noticed that Dannar28's case was a Corsair Carbide. Not sure which model but by coincidence my build is using a Corsair Carbide too, the 200R. The positioning of the PSU and and drive bays looks very different but it is interesting that both of us have had similar problems.

In my case (hah!) some of the trouble described is due to the welcome but relatively inflexible tough, woven outer insulating cable sheathing used by my XFX PSU rather than the case design. But the positioning of the 2.5" drive bays in, perpendicular to the 3.5" ones, is the real problem.

You can understand why it is designed that way as it allows two 2.5" drives side by side which don't extend that much more than the width of the 3.5" bays beneath it. But it does create these sorts of connection issues. You either have to use a 3.5" adapter bracket and/or a PSU extension lead of one sort or another both of which are going to add some, relatively small, additional costs to the build.

Its not the sort of thing the average home builder thinks about when buying a case or a PSU is it? However with the now common use of SSDs it is something we should be considering even if just from a budgetary perspective.