Powering multiple drives

[groovewerx]

i've built a network storage box w/ 9 drives in it.
my 450w ps only has 6 4pin molex connectors, 2 4pin floppy connectors, and 2 odd cables.

my question is:

how can i power all 9 drives by using the odd cables and not using 'y' connectors?

the odd cables: 1 is named "aux" with 6 wires (1red, 2orange, 3black) and the other has no name with 4 wires (2yellow, 2black). would it be safe to use any of these to power my hdds? which ones would i use??

thx

 

[StormBringer]

I wouldn't recommend it, those cables probably don't have the same voltages on them, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think those cables will have negative DC voltages where you need positive DC, but you can check the voltages and current with a multi-meter to see if it matches your MOLEX connectors, if you get a match, then you can remove the connector and replace it with a MOLEX and it should work as long as the voltages are the same.

 

[Phantasm66]

Originally posted by groovewerx
would it be safe to use any of these to power my hdds? which ones would i use??

No.

Use Y connectors, and sparingly at that.

You are talking to a guy who has 5 Hard drives and 3 CD-ROM type devices, etc.... Use the Y connectors, and give thought to where you connect them.

 

[groovewerx]

ok...skip the splitters and lets talk second psu....

i've got some AT and ATX psu i can use for this. what i need to know is which to use and how to run them in series or link both to 1 power switch.......

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Here is one way of doing it...

Here is another way of using to ATX psu's together...

And here is a third way of doing it...

NOTE: I have not used any of these guides, so I can not vouch for which works/is safe, and which are not...
But when playing around with PSU's, make sure you take the proper saftey precautions! (Per can probably tell you some nice stories....)


Hope this helps you out

 

[Phantasm66]

If you are going to do that, please take. That's potentially a troublesome and dangerous mod...

I have a 400W Macron PSU and have 5 HDDs, 1xDVD, 1xCD-ROM and 1xCD-RW, athlon c 1.33GHz, geforce2 ultra.... 2 extra case fans, etc... Added about 2 splitters with no stability problems.

Chaining PSUs, as I said, is potentially very troublesome, and you dont' want your machine spilling smoke out of the other end. I would not recommend this.

Mind you, that does look groovy!!

You also do get cases which are specifically designed for more than 1 PSU, either for redundancy or for extra juice. Consider looking into one of these as well...

 

[T-Shirt]

Originally posted by MrGaribaldi
Here is one way of doing it...

Here is another way of using to ATX psu's together...

And here is a third way of doing it...

NOTE: I have not used any of these guides, so I can not vouch for which works/is safe, and which are not...
But when playing around with PSU's, make sure you take the proper saftey precautions! (Per can probably tell you some nice stories....)


Hope this helps you out

The second method in the third link (the one with the relay and load generator) is the only safe one, and the only one I would use!