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SATA can handle up to 4.5A

https://i.stack.imgur.com/pBoXr.jpg

However a 3.5" drive typically uses power from both the +5V rail (for its circuit board) and +12V rail (for its motor) from the PSU (source) while a 2.5" Sata drive only uses power from the +5v for both its motor and circuit board

Let's say I have 4x of a 3.5" Hard disk drive that has this specs for its power:

5v DC: 0.6A

12v DC: 0.45A

So if I connect all 4 (four) of these 3.5" Hard disk drives to the SATA power cable, it will still be able to handle them all?

Because: (0.6*4) + (0.45*4) < 4.5A

Hence: 4.2A < 4.5A

Also, With regards to the above

I am looking at a spreadsheet of Seagate hard disk drives and they have a start up Power of 2A each

https://www.seagate.com/www-content/datasheets/pdfs/3-5-barracudaDS1900-7-1706US-en_US.pdf

SO if I connect lets say a 2TB, 3TB and a 4TB Seagate Barracuda - each having a startup power of 2A each for a total of 6A Startup power, then I would exceed the 4.5A limit of the SATA connector. Will that present any issues?

I think this is a similar issue/concept where in if you have a device that has a very high inrush current when you turn it on and that inrush current exceeds your circuit breaker's amperage, it can trip the circuit breaker on your panel - causing your lights to flicker for a split second.

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  • When a cable is overloaded it is getting hot and can melt, but I don't think that you would manage to do so by a few HDDs and their spin-up power usage which only occurs infrequently especially as the power limit of the cable is not really exceeded based on your calculations.
    – Robert
    Jun 10, 2021 at 16:14
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    Does this answer your question? Is there any limit on how many SATA power connectors i can extend
    – harrymc
    Jun 10, 2021 at 17:08

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