Powering Multiple IDE Drives

by **TheWizard** on Tue Jan 07, 2003 1:27 am

I have seen several folks on this site listing more than 4 IDE drives for a single rig, my question is, how are all these drives powered? I have looked at various power supplies with various wattage and they all seem to have only 4 power adapters that fit IDE drives. I know hooking 5 or 6 drives up is no problem because you can use the IDE ports on the motherboard and a PCI IDE card, but how are 5 or 6 IDE drives in the same PC powered given the power supply limitations mentioned above?

by **cfitz** on Tue Jan 07, 2003 1:42 am

If your power supply has the wattage, just hook up some Y-splitters:

$2 at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.a ... W3%2D01208

And available at your local retailer as well.

cfitz

by **glock20rocks** on Tue Jan 07, 2003 1:57 am

With my Antec 400 Watt PS, I only need one splitter for 2 optical drives+5 hard drives; different powersupplies have different numbers of connectors.

by **TheWizard** on Wed Jan 08, 2003 1:43 am

"That'll do, donkey, that'll do."

Thanks gents, I'll look for the splitters and/or a beefier power supply. So far, all the 400-Watt power supplies I have come across only have four 4-pin adapters for IDE drives, although if you say different power supplies have more adapters, glock20rocks, I'll keep looking.

by **BuddhaTB** on Wed Jan 08, 2003 2:12 am

Try looking for an Enermax for Antec power supply as they are of very high quality and also come with a lot of connectors.

http://www.antec-inc.com/
http://www.enermax.com.tw/

Shop For Power Supplies at NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.a ... =58&DEPA=1

by **blakerwry** on Thu Jan 09, 2003 3:26 am

you might want to see my thread here if you buy cheap splitters of have a cheap PSU with junky moplex connectors. Great information on keeping them alive and working well dispite their inherent cheapness.

by **TheWizard** on Thu Jan 09, 2003 11:58 pm

I'll keep that in mind, blakerwry, thanks! I'm in luck too, I have a hot glue gun!

by **Action Jackson** on Fri Jan 10, 2003 1:30 am

If you're looking for a 400+ watt PSU, then I might recommend the Antec TruePower 430.

It's extremely quiet plus it has a "special" connector for fans. It slows down the speed of the fan to very quiet but of course the fans do not have the CFM as before.

Even though the manual states only 3 fans are to be connected, I've connected 4 80mm fans in my case without any problems for a month now.

I don't know if it's similar to the "7 Volt" mod.

by **TheWizard** on Fri Jan 10, 2003 3:39 am

I looked at prices for Antec and Enermax power supplies, and man, are they expensive! Surely there must be a budget PSU that is decent in quality. Any suggestions?

by **Action Jackson** on Fri Jan 10, 2003 8:36 pm

But they are well worth it!

Seriously, Tomshardware did a review on PSU. Personally I wouldn't skimp on it b/c all your hardware requires it.

If it helps, the Antec I have comes with a 3 year warranty versus the Enermax's 1 year.

I suppose you could also purchase a used PSU to save $$$.

by **Spazmogen** on Fri Jan 10, 2003 9:11 pm

I recommend the Enermax • EG365P-VE FM (fan monitoring).

You could go up a notch or two if needed • EG651P-VE FM 550w supply.

It has 8 IDE drive power connectors coming off the supply.

I'm running 3 HDD's & 2 optical drives & 3 80mm case fans (plus the 2 fans in the PS). No problems yet. Very stable.

It's cheap too. I think I got it for $60 CDN ($33US) nearly 2 years ago.

by **BuddhaTB** on Fri Jan 10, 2003 9:24 pm

Spazmogen wrote:I recommend the Enermax • EG365P-VE FM (fan monitoring).

The model Spazmogen recommended can be had for $53 including shipping at newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.a ... 14&order=1

by **BuddhaTB** on Fri Jan 10, 2003 9:29 pm

TheWizard wrote:I looked at prices for Antec and Enermax power supplies, and man, are they expensive! Surely there must be a budget PSU that is decent in quality. Any suggestions?

If you want a cheaper power supply, but with some decent quality. I would try one from Sparkle Power. They are of fairly good quality, just a notice below Antec and Enermax.

www.SparklePower.com
Newegg's Selection of Sparkle Power Supplies

by **TheWizard** on Sun Jan 12, 2003 2:00 am

Heh, the Sparkle power supplies are the same price as Antec! I figure that $60 would be a decent price for a case AND power supply from Sparkle, Antec, or Enermax...but $60 for a power supply alone is crazy!

by **Action Jackson** on Sun Jan 12, 2003 2:08 am

That's $60 USD right?

You want to see expensive, take a look at PC Power&Cooling.

My PCP&C 275watt Silencer still costs around $190 CDN.

I bought my Antec 430w TP for $130, and the Antec outperforms it in every way.

Mind you I bought them about 3 years apart from each other.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.....usually.

by **BuddhaTB** on Sun Jan 12, 2003 2:31 am

TheWizard, how many watt power supply do you need? And what's the max price you would want to spend on one? I'll try to do some looking around for you and see if I can find a good deal on a quality power supply.

by **TheWizard** on Sun Jan 12, 2003 3:14 am

I'm looking for a 400-Watt power supply and case, preferably included together. I've done plenty of searching and can find 400-Watt power supplies and cases for fairly cheap, although the PSU's are not Antec, Enermax, or Sparkle. As I said, $60 for both a quality PSU and case wouldn't be bad, although it's still a bit steep. $50 or less would be better.

by **BuddhaTB** on Sun Jan 12, 2003 4:25 am

TheWizard, if your planning on bulding an Athlon system, I would highly suggest looking at AMD's approved list of power supply manfacturers for their Athlon and Duron CPU's. I'm sure these power supply companies on this list will provide you with decent products that will keep your system stable and running.
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/Tec ... 69,00.html

by **TheWizard** on Sun Jan 12, 2003 10:14 pm

I'm building a P4 system. I'm an Intel guy.

All the cheapy cases + PSU's I have looked at are Intel P4 approved, so I may try one of them and see how things go. Of course, I'll only purchase a product that comes with a detailed warranty.

by **BuddhaTB** on Sun Jan 12, 2003 10:42 pm

TheWizard wrote:Of course, I'll only purchase a product that comes with a detailed warranty.

That's your best bet. I think 1 year warranty is standard for a PSU or case, but if you can find a PSU and case with a 3 year warranty for cheap, kudos to you!

by **Action Jackson** on Sat Jan 18, 2003 10:53 am

Power supply test:

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1774

Powering Multiple IDE Drives

Powering Multiple IDE Drives

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