Those used to the legacy computers and interfaces would be familiar with the older PATA IDE cables. PATA cables, if you’d recall, could be split. Image: Legacy IDE Cables for PATA interface. Each SATA cable requires a dedicated SATA port on your motherboard. a Typical motherboard often has 4-6 SATA ports. Image: SATA Ports All of these methods have their pros and cons. For instance, SATA Hub Port Multiplier is cheap but does not increase the downstream data rate, whereas the SAS SATA expansion cards are expensive but maintain the downstream data rate. Can SATA Power Cables be Split?

They serve the essential function of transferring data. They should not be confused with SATA power cables – which supply power to the SATA hard drive. Image: SATA Power Cable It should be that a SATA hard drive requires both a SATA DATA and SATA Power cable to operate. Image: 2.5″ SATA SSD – SATA Drives require SATA DATA and SATA Power Cable Serial buses cannot be split; parallel buses can be broken. SATA DATA Split Cables SHOULD NOT Be Confused with SAS-to-SATA CablesBut essentially, if you have run out of SATA Ports on your motherboard and want to add more drives to your PC, you can do so using three ways. That cannot be done with SATA, unfortunately. The name itself suggests the difference between the two. SATA is a SERIAL bus interface, whereas PATA is a PARALLEL bus interface. You're still limited to the amount and quality of power coming from your PSU, but with a good quality unit and a bunch of SSDs, you can easily fill your computer with hard drives thanks to this handy splitter extension! Image: SATA expansion card. One of the most effective and economical ways to increase SATA port count. This cable starts off with a SATA Male connector which attaches between any regular power-supply-to-hard-drive connection and goes to two 15cm SATA power plugs - plenty of room for larger cases.

In other words, you need a separate SATA DATA cable for the SATA hard drive and a different SATA port for each. SATA vs. PATA SATA cables, as mentioned earlier, are thin ribbon-like cables with seven-pin connectors with an L-shaped key for connecting a SATA storage hard drive to your motherboard. Image: SATA Cable People often ask if you can split the SATA Data cable, plug two hard drives into one SATA port, or share a SATA cable. SATA power cables originating from the PSU can be multiplied using a simple Y splitter (1-2 power connectors) or a 4x splitter. Image: SATA Power Cable Y Splitter Image: 4X SATA Power Splitter Cable