Which SATA power should you use?

| Aug 01, 2009 | Comments 2


You’re installing a SATA drive into a computer, and you notice that the drive contains two different power connectors. One of the power connectors is the traditional four-pin “Molex” power connection, and the other is the newer SATA power interface. Which one of these power connections should be used for your hard drive installation??

A) Both of the power connectors are required

B) The “Molex” power interface should be used

C) The new SATA power interface should be used

D) Either power source will operate equally well


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  • gypsyslap

    Has anyone ever seen a SATA HDD that uses the 3.3V power? Just curious.

    • http://www.ProfessorMesser.com Professor Messer

      gypsyslap – Since the older four-pin power sources didn’t provide a 3.3 volt option, using the “Molex” to SATA power converters wouldn’t work with 3.3V drives. Rather than create separate hard drives with different voltage options, the hard drive manufacturers have decided (so far) to stick with 5V and 12V.