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I have a PC that has room in its case for 3 HDDs, but 6 SATA connectors to the motherboard, and I have 6 HDDs. I am using these HDDs in a dynamics fashion (software raid, that sort of thing), but I want to use all 6, not just the 3 that fit into the case.

So, after looking around on some supplier websites, it seems like people typically buy either an external (hardware) RAID enclosure ($$$) or an external JBOD enclosure (and these don't support dynamic disks).

Why don't people just use their motherboard's remaining SATA connectors directly instead? Am I missing something here? For example, here is a popular JBOD enclosure on Amazon: Mediasonic 4-Bay. This is a JBOD 4 bay enclosure that connects to a PC by eSATA/USB3.0, but this will show up as discreet disks on Windows and doesn't support dynamic disks (such as using mirroring or striping within Windows). What's worse, is that since these HDDs are behind the Mediasonic's USB3.0/eSATA controller, people report HDDs dropping connectivity during extending transfers, etc.

I had the idea to build a small acrylic enclosure to hold 3 HDDs and a small fan. Then, I would use a PCI expansion card that adds a few eSATA ports and 4-pin power connecter onto the back of my PC, and run these cables to the acrylic box like this one. That way the HDDs would be plugged directly into my motherboard (not behind some cheap USB3.0 board or anything) and wouldn't need a power-brick since the PC's motherboard is supplying the power needed.

Can someone please point out any flaws in my understanding? Is there a strict length limit to SATA cables to maintain data transfer? Any thoughts are much appreciated!

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  • Why? Because they don't have a case that supports it just like you.
    – Ramhound
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:09
  • "Is there a strict length limit to SATA cables to maintain data transfer?" Yes, and it's easily found out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Data_connector. Other than that, what's your specific, technical question for us? Nov 14, 2014 at 19:10
  • I am asking if there is any disadvantage to running SATA/power cables from your mobo to an unpowered external enclosure. I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone doing this before, and am wondering why. So, I guess I am also asking if anyone has done this/heard of doing this, since it seems to me the fastest/most reliable method to add JBOD to a system without worrying about dropping long data transfers or having read/write speed caps.
    – jake9115
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:10
  • What sort of enclosure? Most people would just get a larger case before running internal cables to an external enclosure. Of course a JBOD RAID isn't going to support mirroring its just a bunch of disks
    – Ramhound
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:13
  • Obviously a JBOD enclosure won't support on-device mirroring. What I am saying is that even though you can see those 4 individuals drives on Windows, you can't even software-RAID them from within Windows (because they can't be converted to dynamic drives).
    – jake9115
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:27

2 Answers 2

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SATA cables are restricted to 1 meter. eSATA cables are restricted to 2 meters.

Most people would just buy three eSATA enclosures, but if you want to construct your own triple drive acrylic enclosure, you could.

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  • Am I correct in assuming that a 1-bay eSATA enclosure uses no circuitry between the eSATA cable and the actual HDD? I don't like USB since it often causes drops during long transfers. Are there any such multi-bay enclosure that use multiple eSATA connectors?
    – jake9115
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:15
  • @jake9115 - It depends on the enclosure.
    – Ramhound
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:25
  • @jake9115 Not that I've come across. There wouldn't be much of a market for this, especially when 4-drive RAID enclosures are available for $70 or less.
    – Jason
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:27
  • I see what you mean Jason. I'm just really surprised that nobody does this type of thing, especially the budget conscious. I mean, a company could sell a plastic enclosure with eSATA/4 pin molex plugs on it and a fan for very, very cheap, and it would have far superior read/write access to even the priciest classic external enclosures. Especially since a bunch of people use external drives basically as stationary drives
    – jake9115
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:30
  • I've used a StarTech dual drive eSATA dock. Unlike other multi-drive docks, it actually has a separate eSATA connector for each drive. It was really poor quality; moving the dock even slightly usually resulted in the cables disconnecting themselves from the back.
    – Jason
    Nov 14, 2014 at 19:42
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The product developers probably established they could sell more products and/or have less issues by supplying a dedicated power supply for their enclosure rather than relying on molex extension cables from a consumers computer which are not necessarily meant to be routed external of the computer.

Could you imagine if an average consumer tried hooking up 4 or more drives to their 285 watt dell or HP power supply through molex extensions? It's messy and is asking for problems. Or the supplier can just include a couple dollar power supply and avert all power issues.

As a general note, your question assumes nobody has done it. I personally have plans for a cheap mid-tower for drives, molex splitters and extensions for power, SFF-8088 external cables converted to SFF-8087 cables inside the case running from a used PCI-E HBA in our home/office server which would build exactly what you are describing giving room for 9-10+ drives depending on case, 3-6 Gbps per drive dedicated bandwidth to PCI-E slot, for only about $125-$150. But I have not met one person in real life that would do the same, they would (and do) just buy an enclosure much like you linked to.

Interestingly enough, what you really seem to be asking is why the average consumer does not demand the product you describe which is not necessarily in the scope of a super user question; questions about consumer demand for products that is.

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