Modern day PSU.... Your solution to a lack of Molex?

[Caennanu]

Gday all,

Recently i was looking for a 4U case with hotswap bays. Basically a case with a proper backplane.
Well, i got one... and everything is hooked up. Well, almost everything.

Cause, with the ATX PSU's these days, i'm missing a few molex connectors.
For the backplane alone i need 4. 1 per 4 disks and i have 4 rows of em.
Than i need another to power my SSD hotswap tray. And i need another for ... i forgot what for.
But in essence, i'm lacking molex connectors. (got a plethora of sata connectors tho...)

So my question is.
How do you solve this issue? (preferably no janky 1 to 2 molex plugs splitters)

 

[i386]

How do you solve this issue? (preferably no janky 1 to 2 molex plugs splitters)

I use the correct power distributor board (pdb) in my supermicro chassis. It's basically all molex without any sata power connectors

But in essence, i'm lacking molex connectors. (got a plethora of sata connectors tho...)

If it's a modular psu you could try to get cables with just molex connectors.

 

[Caennanu]

I use the correct power distributor board (pdb) in my supermicro chassis. It's basically all molex without any sata power connectors

Yeah, i don't have that in my case haha. so thats a no go.

If it's a modular psu you could try to get cables with just molex connectors.

It is a modular power supply. But its an early version... been trying to find them, no luck so far.

 

[i386]

been trying to find them

Vendor + product number/link?
Maybe other people have more ideas or know compatible cables.

Edit: More information about chassis, hotswap bays etc. can be helpful

 

[Caennanu]

Vendor + product number/link?
Maybe other people have more ideas or know compatible cables.

Edit: More information about chassis, hotswap bays etc. can be helpful

Currently it has a MS-Tech ATX MS-N920-VAL-CM for PSU.
But since its older, i'm thinking about replacing it with a G750M from Cooler master. (its more reliable, and have it collecting dust).
However, the G750M has an 8 pin EPS, but is lacking the 4pin EPS. (which is not ideal for EPYC)
I have another PSU laying around, a 650 model. I believe OCZ, i'd have to dig for it. But i know that one does have both the 4 and 8pin EPS connectors.

The case is an Intertech 4416

 

[Mithril]

Yeah, i don't have that in my case haha. so thats a no go.


It is a modular power supply. But its an early version... been trying to find them, no luck so far.

What kind of connectors? It might be possible to make/repin some if the connectors are fairly standard. Figure out the pinout on the PSU side with a multimeter.

 

[Caennanu]

What kind of connectors? It might be possible to make/repin some if the connectors are fairly standard. Figure out the pinout on the PSU side with a multimeter.

G750 has a connector with 5 side by side.
The OCZ and MS have a 2x4 layout. More like the connector for graphic cards.
And yeah, i geuss i could 'repin' MS ones for the OCZ, or vice versa.
Won't work for the CM one tho.

 

[bonox]

There a reason you don't want to use these?

 

[Caennanu]

There a reason you don't want to use these?

Yes, extensions in my opinion are never a good idea. They introduce more points of failure and make it harder to diagnose when something happens. And you don't want that in a server environment.

Next to that, you have build quality of these things. The few i have had in the past were of such quality that after a few knicks, the copper, if it was even copper, in the sleeve would break and cause intermittend contact. If that happens, shortly after you can say bye bye to your hard drive. Not to mention there are going to be 4 drives connected per molex. So quality is a concern.

Which leads to the last bit. My experience with any such extension cable in combination with molex. is that the molex connector itsself doesn't fit properly, or even worse, the pins get ejected from the plug when connecting it.

 

[bonox]

makes sense when you have a choice - in your case, that doesn't seem to be true. As for diagnosis of problems, elv dc power is as simple as it gets - nothing like trying to track down cross talk on gigahertz busses.

You seem to be working hard to find a solution that doesn't involve doing anything like finding the proper PDU - if you find a quality molex connector (good luck these days) that you trust, then it's not exactly rocket science to split and join + heatshrink to your existing sata power leads even if you contract out that work or choose to de-pin it instead.

Buy what's available or make do with modifying what you've got - you could even take the molex connectors off the backplane and replace them with anderson plugs as an alternative.