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Question Power supply for 3.5 HDD

Z

zogthegreat

Junior Member
Hi everyone!

I'm planning a project and I will need an independent power supply for 2 x's 2TB 3.5" 7200 rpm HDD. I have a SATA to USB adapter like this one.

sata_adapter.jpg
This is a powered adapter, however, when I connect a 12v 3a PSU, the drive spins up and then powers down repeatedly. I'm not sure about pushing more than 3a through the adapter, it's rather cheap and I might fry the electronics or the drive.

I do have SATA power plugs that can be crimped onto a wire, so what I would like to do is find some type of 12v external power source that has enough amps to power up 2 drives's, but is as small as possible.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

zog
Click to expand...
 
zogthegreat said:
Hi everyone!

I'm planning a project and I will need an independent power supply for 2 x's 2TB 3.5" 7200 rpm HDD.
Click to expand...

I'd buy a couple of 3.5" compatible external cases in that case. Much more reliable, and you can plug in drives separately.

zogthegreat said:
I have a SATA to USB adapter like this one.
Click to expand...

Ah, but that kind of adaptor will not work with 3.5" drives, since 3.5" drives require a 12V power supply. USB can only supply 5V.
 
They make USB-to-SATA cables that work with BOTH 2.5" (5V-only) as well as 3.5" (5V and 12V) devices, but they have an additional power supply, and plug into the SATA end of the adapter. I picked up a couple, for under $20 at Amazon.

You CANNOT use the 2.5" USB-to-SATA cables, that are designed for cloning laptop HDDs and SATA SSDs, with 3.5" drives, sorry. Just won't work, no +12V power supply.
 
Why not something like this?

index.php

 
@SKORPI0 , thanks for the suggestion, I sot of leaning that way as it would be the simplest way to get things done.

However..... (sigh), I'm a cheap bastich and what I;m thinking is to take a 12v PSU, split the 12v line and add a DC to DC converter for the 5v line that the HDD needs and run the lines to a SATA power connector like this:

sata_psu_connector.jpg

I just sent a message to my son, one of his degrees is in electronic engineering and since I paid for both of his bleeping degrees, he can tell me if I will need any capacitors, shunts or any other electronics to keep the power steady. :mask:
 
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