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USB3 hub power to run standard SATA HD

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djeyewater

Member
I see on eBay there are lots of cheap USB3 - SATA adapters. These consist of cord with a USB3 plug on one end, and a block with the SATA and SATA power connections on the other end.

My first question is, with a powered USB hub, would this give enough power to run a standard 3.5" SATA hard drive?

If it would, does anyone know what the specifications for the power supply / plug would be to power the hub? I have a Sumvision USB 3.0 hub that has a power socket but it didn't come with a power supply and I can't find any info about it.
 
That's a pretty complex question.

Standard USB3 has 900mA available, which at 5V means 4.5W. So long as the HDD does not draw more then that, you should be fine. Higher performance 7200RPM drives may not get enough power to function correctly. But again that depends on the drive in question. Manufacturers usually have a specification table, that among other things should tell you the power requirements of a particular disk.

In short below 4.5W, good. Above 4.5W, it may work, but no guaranties.
 
Offhand, no. I say that because my experience is that all 3.5-in drives require a separate power brick. It may be possible with a Y connector that can connect it to two USB3 ports on the hub. 3.5-in drives require a 12 vdc line which is not normally available in USB.
 
My experience matches corkyg's. Nearly all 3.5" drives I have encountered require 12v which USB in reality doesn't provide. Those USB to SATA adapters you are seeing are cheap for that reason. They don't give you the 12v you'll need for 3.5". Those adapters were probably meant for laptop 2.5" HDD or SSDs.
 
corkyg said:
3.5-in drives require a 12 vdc line which is not normally available in USB.
Click to expand...

razel said:
Nearly all 3.5" drives I have encountered require 12v which USB in reality doesn't provide. Those USB to SATA adapters you are seeing are cheap for that reason. They don't give you the 12v you'll need for 3.5".
Click to expand...

I completely forgot about the 3.5" 12V detail. Comes from using too many SSDs. You're both right... 😳
 
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