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SATA Cable question
#1
I just opened up some SATA drives that I purchased from zip-zoom-fly. There were no cables included, so I need to purchase some. What do I need? Do SATA drives need power supplied in addition to the cable that goes to the motherboard? While I'm asking questions, why do they sell SATA cables that are 1m long? do people actually hang naked drives outside of their computers? That doesn't seem safe to me.


This is for a Linux box that I plan to install MythBuntu on.

Would something like this work:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6812226004
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#2
That cable will work. SATA drives use a different power connector than previous drives using molex connectors, so unless your power supply has SATA power connectors, you will need the adapter (which is included in the cable you've selected).

And some people do use SATA cables outside of the computer, instead of using eSATA for whatever reason (you can get panel mount SATA connectors).
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#3
You do need a power adapter for the SATA drive, with the little SATA power connector on one end and a connector for a typical power supply plug on the other.

The longer SATA cables you mention might be intended for use with external drives

I can't quite figure out the cable(s) in that picture.
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#4
Since it took Microsoft soooo long to release Vista, I haven't needed to update any of my computers in my network for probably 4 years. If the computer ran XP in 2002, it is probably still chugging along on my network running XP SP3. That means that I haven't had to deal with SATA at all. I'm just starting to see it on new computer that I buy. I'm sure I'll be an expert soon.
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#5
The cable pictured is a normal SATA data line cable and also incorporates the power, but it converts it from an older molex power cable (typically what you see on older power supply units...the 'white' plastic power connector) to the newer standard that SATA drives use.

As for length...in many computers (IBM-compatible based), 1M usually won't cut it, as many times you need to snake the SATA cable around to make it to the motherboard connector. 1M may seem like a lot with these cables, but believe me they are not and you usually want to go one step longer than what you think you need.
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