Author Topic: $20 if you make me a 6' Molex cable. $10 for recommending a better solution. (Read 31760 times)

Innuendo · « **Reply #25 on:** July 20, 2009, 02:09 PM »

superboyac,
My question was unanswered & I'll ask again because I'm genuinely curious. Why were you asking about a molex connector extension when you are buying a SATA drive enclosure? The two just don't mix.

superboyac · « **Reply #26 on:** July 20, 2009, 03:57 PM »

superboyac,
My question was unanswered & I'll ask again because I'm genuinely curious. Why were you asking about a molex connector extension when you are buying a SATA drive enclosure? The two just don't mix.
-Innuendo (July 20, 2009, 02:09 PM)

The enclosure I bought has an alternative molex connection in the back. It's there for emergencies, I suppose. The normal connection for power is a mini-din plug that attaches to a brick power supply. Since the brick was not enough power, the molex could provide more power when connected directly to my pc's psu. That's why I was looking for a molex.
sata_alumhotswap_1-2 bay_man_Page_15.png

sata_alumhotswap_1-2 bay_man_Page_15.png

f0dder · « **Reply #27 on:** July 21, 2009, 09:14 AM »

Pretty lousy quality picture, but that looks like a regular SATA power cable connector rather than the traditional IDE molex...

Innuendo · « **Reply #28 on:** July 21, 2009, 10:37 AM »

Just as I thought. The port's label even says SATA Power. If that were a molex connector it wouldn't be as wide and it would have been taller than the SATA power cable.

I do hope you're happy with your purchase, but if you don't require hot-swap you could have bought a D-Link DNS-323 for about the same price (if you shop sales) and would have gotten a lot more functionality for your money.

superboyac · « **Reply #29 on:** July 21, 2009, 10:38 PM »

Ok...I thought I made it clear. Mine has a molex connector where the picture shows SATA power. I couldn't find an exact picture of it.

I've seen the DNS-323. The only think I didn't like about it was the plastic feel to it and the wobbly way everything connects. And I did want hot swap, very much so.

S_O_B · « **Reply #30 on:** July 27, 2009, 03:01 AM »

I feel your pain. I found your post because I was searching for a non-standard molex cable as well. I've searched high and low and only found one place so far. Here is what I found.

http://www.sidewinde...s.com/sidcuscab.html

You can buy male and female empty molex plugs and pins to make your own cable, which can be any length you want. They do make crimpers for the pins, but you really don't need them. Just stick the wire in the pin and pinch the end with some pliers. After that you just shove the pin in the plug and the little metal parts that stick out will keep the pin from coming back out.

The plug and pins will run you about $1 and you can get wire almost anywhere. I hope this is what you were looking for.

superboyac · « **Reply #31 on:** July 27, 2009, 10:53 AM »

I feel your pain. I found your post because I was searching for a non-standard molex cable as well. I've searched high and low and only found one place so far. Here is what I found.

http://www.sidewinde...s.com/sidcuscab.html

You can buy male and female empty molex plugs and pins to make your own cable, which can be any length you want. They do make crimpers for the pins, but you really don't need them. Just stick the wire in the pin and pinch the end with some pliers. After that you just shove the pin in the plug and the little metal parts that stick out will keep the pin from coming back out.

The plug and pins will run you about $1 and you can get wire almost anywhere. I hope this is what you were looking for.
-S_O_B (July 27, 2009, 03:01 AM)

Thanks for the website, I'll have to save it.

I was THIS close to making a cable. But i ended up buying a 2-bay enclosure that I talked about previously in this thread. I haven't connected it yet, I'm still waiting for my sata cables to arrive, but I'm happy with it. I tend to avoid doing DIY things unless I absolutely have to.

Innuendo · « **Reply #32 on:** July 27, 2009, 12:51 PM »

Ok...I thought I made it clear. Mine has a molex connector where the picture shows SATA power. I couldn't find an exact picture of it.
-superboyac (July 21, 2009, 10:38 PM)

How odd and non-standard. That's quite an oddity you have on your hands.

I've seen the DNS-323. The only think I didn't like about it was the plastic feel to it and the wobbly way everything connects. And I did want hot swap, very much so.

Only the front cover is plastic. The rest is metal & the way things connect you might think it would be wobbly, but it's very snug & efficient. There's no wobble at all. However, if you wanted hot-swap then you are right. The DNS-323 doesn't have hot-swap.

However, in its defense, the DNS-323 wasn't designed where hot-swap was a desired feature. It's a NAS rather than an eSATA enclosure. I bought the DNS-323 so I could hang it on my network & have central storage available to all the computers on my network without having to keep a PC on to access its attached enclosure.

I really like Granite Digital's aesthetics, but I know if I got one I'd spend too much money buying a PC case to match.

Like you, I tend to avoid DIY things, especially when pre-built things with warrantees that exist that give you more features than you had & for not much money. That two-bay enclosure for $99 is a very good deal.

superboyac · « **Reply #33 on:** July 27, 2009, 01:21 PM »

Ok...I thought I made it clear. Mine has a molex connector where the picture shows SATA power. I couldn't find an exact picture of it.
-superboyac (July 21, 2009, 10:38 PM)

How odd and non-standard. That's quite an oddity you have on your hands.

I've seen the DNS-323. The only think I didn't like about it was the plastic feel to it and the wobbly way everything connects. And I did want hot swap, very much so.

Only the front cover is plastic. The rest is metal & the way things connect you might think it would be wobbly, but it's very snug & efficient. There's no wobble at all. However, if you wanted hot-swap then you are right. The DNS-323 doesn't have hot-swap.

However, in its defense, the DNS-323 wasn't designed where hot-swap was a desired feature. It's a NAS rather than an eSATA enclosure. I bought the DNS-323 so I could hang it on my network & have central storage available to all the computers on my network without having to keep a PC on to access its attached enclosure.

I really like Granite Digital's aesthetics, but I know if I got one I'd spend too much money buying a PC case to match.

Like you, I tend to avoid DIY things, especially when pre-built things with warrantees that exist that give you more features than you had & for not much money. That two-bay enclosure for $99 is a very good deal.
-Innuendo (July 27, 2009, 12:51 PM)

Re the DNS, I thought the front cover was a little wobbly...it came off too easily for my tastes. But it's a decent system, I don't mind it much at all. I do like Granite Digital a lot. Even though they are expensive, I will continue to support them because of their amazing customer service.

I am curious as to what the power supply to the DNS is like. For two hard drives, it would have to be a little more than usual. By the way, I know a lot of people here are saying that it's unusual for me to run out of power and the Granite Digital stuff is overkill, but I've been cranking the numbers myself and the problem I ran into makes sense. I'm a licensed electrical engineer, so I like to think I know what I'm talking about. For a 2 hard drive system, I would recommend an 80-100W power supply, if you want to be on the safe side. I'm really wondering why other people are not running into problems with their enclosures. Just a little curious on my end.

Let me explain, maybe it will help someone who comes across this post. My enclosure came with a 40W power supply in the form of a brick-type. That's plenty for the most part. However, with these large drives, it's not that unusual for them to consume more than 30W at some instant (however rare that might be). I've heard that the initial spin-up consumes the most power. In that case, it is quite possible that 40W is not enough. With power, you never want to cut it too close to the specified values because all sorts of things can be going on. There can be dips and surges, whatever. I always go way on the safe side. In my case, it seemed like I didn't have enough juice to startup the drive and I could never get it going after a while. but with a larger power supply, it was fine.

Innuendo · « **Reply #34 on:** July 27, 2009, 04:24 PM »

Re the DNS, I thought the front cover was a little wobbly...it came off too easily for my tastes.
-superboyac (July 27, 2009, 01:21 PM)

Empty the cover is a little wobbly, but there are metal coil/spring type things on the back that provide pressure against the drives once they are installed and then there's enough positive pressure that there's no movement/wobble at all.

I am curious as to what the power supply to the DNS is like.

According to the DNS-323 Wiki:

(with two drives)
HDs spinning/powering up - up to 72 watts for 3 seconds
HDs up, high CPU, Gigabit network transfer via CIFS/SMB - 23-24 watts
HDs powered down (sleep), otherwise running - 7 watts

My power brick has the following writing on the bottom:

Jentec Technology Co, Ltd"
Model: JTA0512
AC Input: 100-240Vac/1.2A
50-60Hz
DC Output: +5V/3A, +12V/3A

According to Jentec's web site it's a "34-61 Watt Dual Output Switching Desktop Power Supply."

I've been running this unit for over a year now & it's been a solid performer. I bought this as something cheap to get me by till I could afford something better, but I've been really impressed. I'd definitely buy a second one to run alongside the first if I ever had the need.

superboyac · « **Reply #35 on:** July 27, 2009, 04:37 PM »

So there you go. Those numbers still don't tell me everything, but enough to say that there are situations where power can insufficient. But again, for the most part, you will be fine. Same with me. I was fine for the most part, but the situation came up where I probably approached the limit and a random spike/dip caused a problem. That's why I never want to cut it that close. I'm perfectly happy with my new 300W power supply for my two HD's. I know I'll always have enough juice, and if it's overkill, I really don't care. The thing with power is that you only consume what the actual demand is. So if I have a 300W power supply, but I'm only using 20W of it, then I'm not being wasteful or anything. I'm only drawing 20W from the power company. So knowing that, I'd rather overshoot than try to get a right fit. Of course, this attitude is partly due to the fact that I've already experienced my previous problem. Normally, I just use whatever brick comes default.

4wd · « **Reply #36 on:** July 27, 2009, 10:57 PM »

So if I have a 300W power supply, but I'm only using 20W of it, then I'm not being wasteful or anything. I'm only drawing 20W from the power company.
-superboyac (July 27, 2009, 04:37 PM)

Not quite

Because the efficiency of your typical switchmode PSU depends on the output power load you might find that your 300W PSU is only running at 50%-60% efficiency at a load of 20W - so your actual input power might be around 40W from your power company.

When you get up near the full rated capacity of the PSU then you start to get near an 80%, (or more with the right PSU design), efficiency.

The 80 Plus Program is trying to get manufacturers to use better switchmode designs:

The 80 PLUS performance specification requires multi-output power supplies in computers and servers to be 80% or greater energy efficient at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load with a true power factor of 0.9 or greater. This makes an 80 PLUS certified power supply substantially more efficient than typical power supplies and creates a unique market differentiation opportunity for power supply and computer manufacturers.

But even if the 300W PSU in your external has a 80Plus sticker on it, it's still not running at that because the 20W load, (6.7% of full load capacity), is well below the requirement for 80% efficiency at 20% load, which is 60W.

Thus a lower rated PSU would actually be more efficient.

superboyac · « **Reply #37 on:** July 28, 2009, 01:20 AM »

OK, 4wd, you got me! I know about the 80 Plus, i was just hoping nobody was going to call me out on it.

Here's the thing. I don't care about that stuff primarily. My top concern is that the hard drive works, environment be damned. I really don't care if my little PSU uses more than optimum power. If I need to be a little wasteful to get my setup to work, so be it. I'll let the manufacturer's worry about the regulations and stuff. It's not my job (at least not at home...at work is a different story).

To be truthful, it's not that I don't care. This is just the solution for me, that's all. My "efficiently sized" power supply wasn't enough. I tried looking for a cable, or larger brick, etc. to replace the existing one. I couldn't find one that was affordable. However, I found a 2-bay drive just like the one I had for an extra $20. It happened to have 300W supply. Do I care? No. Why? Because my hard drive will work. So I got it. It could have been a 100W or 500W supply, I still would have gotten it for that price. My goal is a working hard drive.

Innuendo · « **Reply #38 on:** July 28, 2009, 09:51 AM »

superboyac, for some reason people seem to be obsessing about this 300W power supply. When I buy something like this the only two concerns in my mind are that it works and that it looks good sitting next to my other PC gear on my desk. I don't care about PSUs on devices like this unless internet reviews start popping up saying something is "woefully inadequate" or the like.

My thoughts on Granite Digital are I compliment you on your taste, good sir. Granite Digital has been around forever. It's just that most of us haven't heard of them because they are almost exclusively a Mac vendor & you can tell by the way all their stuff blends in with the styles of Mac Pros. And if something seems odd in a few of their designs chances are it was done to cater to their Mac customers because there was some kind of need for it.

As for me, although I really like the looks of Granite Digital's stuff I'm not going to buy anything of theirs as I know it will be the first step down a slippery slope towards me buying a $600 silver aluminum Lian-Li or Silverstone case.

superboyac · « **Reply #39 on:** July 28, 2009, 10:46 AM »

As for me, although I really like the looks of Granite Digital's stuff I'm not going to buy anything of theirs as I know it will be the first step down a slippery slope towards me buying a $600 silver aluminum Lian-Li or Silverstone case.
-Innuendo (July 28, 2009, 09:51 AM)

AHH!! This case is SO sexy. I need to get it:

Innuendo · « **Reply #40 on:** July 28, 2009, 02:37 PM »

AHH!! This case is SO sexy. I need to get it:
-superboyac (July 28, 2009, 10:46 AM)

Must....resist....

4wd · « **Reply #41 on:** July 28, 2009, 08:39 PM »

superboyac, for some reason people seem to be obsessing about this 300W power supply.
-Innuendo (July 28, 2009, 09:51 AM)

I wouldn't say obsessing - just pointing out that it is a really poor design, (and actually, considering that their single drive version also failed to work properly - it was also poor design).

Considering the size of the case and the PSU, if I was willing to get one I'd be installing a Mini-ITX, Pico-ITX or Nano-ITX motherboard in it and turning it into a fileserver.

I don't care about that stuff primarily. My top concern is that the hard drive works, environment be damned.
-superboyac (July 28, 2009, 01:20 AM)

Now if you'd said you were a 'tree-hating, doze-in-a-greenie, there-ain't-no-such-thing-as-global-warming, screw-the-environment' kind of guy, well then............I would have been right up there with you

Personally I'd prefer the flexibility of the Addonics range:

10 if you make me a 6' Molex cable. $10 for recommending a better solution.

Now if only I could afford them

superboyac · « **Reply #42 on:** July 28, 2009, 11:44 PM »

4wd, in defense of Granite Digital, I don't consider it poor design completely. The only thing I fault them for is for not putting a large enough power supply to cover all cases rather than 80% of the situations people might encounter. But again, their customer service has been really great about it. Furthermore, I'm still not convinced all these other power supplies on other manufacturer's external drives are sufficient to cover all cases. Just because you or other people haven't experienced problems doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Again, according to the numbers, it seems reasonable that problems can occur.

I came across another website when searching for larger power supplies (I don't remember where) but they made power supplies for mini computers and there was a special note/warning in it saying that 80W may not be enough to cover some situations with multiple hard drives.

Anyway, I just don't think GD really did anything wrong. The only thing I would recommend is that they maybe warn users that larger drives may need larger power supplies, and/or they provide larger power supplies by default. Who knows?

By the way, i do like the Addonics stuff. I have one of them in my old computer. They have a lot of cool solutions for these things.

mouser · « **Reply #43 on:** July 29, 2009, 12:33 AM »

i'd like to point out what i like about the models 4wd posted -- which is that the opening is full 5.25 opening which holds exposed racks. i prefer this to a case with a door and internal mountings that wouldn't allow you to use a rack of your choosing. if you know you're never going to want to swap drives in and out then it doesnt matter of course.

4wd · « **Reply #44 on:** July 29, 2009, 01:16 AM »

They have a lot of cool solutions for these things.
-superboyac (July 28, 2009, 11:44 PM)

Yes, I'm seriously tempted by this little gadget - very cool for plugging your external USB drive into the LAN at a meeting.

Innuendo · « **Reply #45 on:** July 29, 2009, 10:40 AM »

Yes, I'm seriously tempted by this little gadget - very cool for plugging your external USB drive into the LAN at a meeting.
-4wd (July 29, 2009, 01:16 AM)

That is so cool! Now I need about 5 of them....

superboyac · « **Reply #46 on:** July 29, 2009, 05:59 PM »

i'd like to point out what i like about the models 4wd posted -- which is that the opening is full 5.25 opening which holds exposed racks. i prefer this to a case with a door and internal mountings that wouldn't allow you to use a rack of your choosing. if you know you're never going to want to swap drives in and out then it doesnt matter of course.
-mouser (July 29, 2009, 12:33 AM)

This is true. This is why i got Addonics stuff a while back. But it turned out that i swapped out my drives so infrequently, that it didn't matter (like you said). If I were to swap in and out a lot, I would definitely get a generic opening for flexibility.