MP 1,1-5,1 SATA splitter cable for multiple devices in optical bay

[macstatic]

How do you wire things up if you want to put in multiple (2 or 3) SATA devices in the lower optical bay of a cMP 5,1?

I've solved this by using a SATA power-splitter cable plugged into the lower optical SATA connector (to give power to two drives), but this also means I need to run a new 7-pin SATA data cable from the backplane board's "lower" connector up to the optical bay (instead of using the existing connector).

For the other drive(s) I obviously need additional 7-pin SATA data cables, so I've run two 1m length cables from the optical bay area to the PCIe area (for attaching to a SATA-2 card I have installed).

My question: regarding the drive attached to the "lower" SATA connector, is there some sort of SATA cable/adapter which plugs into the drive as usual, but also allows for multiple power connectors for other drives?

Except for the above I'm quite happy with my setup, especially since I replaced my 5.25" to 2.5" adapter with a more versatile adapter (Sharkoon 5.25 BayExtension) allowing for a combination of multiple 3.5" and 2.5" devices. This is great if you've used up all 4 normal cMP drive bays, have a SATA PCIe card and/or use the lower optical connector (and upper as well in case you've removed the optical drive).

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

There are these too

And in the middle of the power cable, I just solder in another power jack for the second SSD.

 

[macstatic]

Yes, I finally realized that there are SATA data+power extension cables (as you pictured above) as well.
Have you seen really short ones (10cm or so)? As for power I'll probably solder in 2-3 power connectors.

Strange thing these aren't available ready made -isn't it something many PC users would need, or is this a special situation with the optical bay in a Mac Pro?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I'd just search ebay, cheap ones are from China.
There are very short ones too, about 15cm, but most of them are parts of a HDplayer box, used to attach a bare harddisk.

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[macstatic]

I couldn't find any as short as 15cm in the above link (only 30 or 50cm), but came across some surprising info saying there's a minimum 12 inches (30cm) length limit of SATA cables to avoid timing/noise interference. So now wonder I'm having a hard time finding short ones

I don't know how long the existing "lower" optical bay cable is, and will have to measure it first, but hopefully that along with the extension cable will be shorter than the maximum limit of 1m.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I couldn't find any as short as 15cm in the above link (only 30 or 50cm), but came across some surprising info saying there's a minimum 12 inches (30cm) length limit of SATA cables to avoid timing/noise interference. So now wonder I'm having a hard time finding short ones

I don't know how long the existing "lower" optical bay cable is, and will have to measure it first, but hopefully that along with the extension cable will be shorter than the maximum limit of 1m.

Power cables won't be affected by length.
About the SATA signal cables, I've seen some really short SATA cables inside the iMACs.

 

[macstatic]

Maybe they're custom ordered. I'd make my own custom cable if possible, but don't know if the parts for this can be purchased on their own).

 

[DPUser]

I've housed four SATA SSDs in my 5,1's optical bay for several years now... I use an external firewire-connected Optical Drive (or should I say "barely use"?) for the occasional CD/DVD burn and am thus able to use both native SATA ports for SSDs, splitting power from one of the optical bay combo cables and running the SATA signal cable as described by macstatic.

I figured out awhile ago that the best way to do this is to simply remove the optical bay drive cage... lots more room for everything, and no need to attach the SSDs to anything. I guess if you move your Mac Pro around a lot, that could be an issue, but otherwise, what's the worry? Nice airflow, and the feather-light SSDs sit happily where their attached cables direct them.

Similarly, why worry about the SATA cable running from the backplane? Close the Mac Pro case door. The machine works as intended.

That infö from Seagate is interesting... thanks for sharing it!

Serial ATA cables are available in many lengths up to 1 meter. Minimum cable length is 12 inches, using shorter cables can cause timing, or noise interference on the cable. The same conditions apply to cables that are too long.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

You can easily find on ebay the case to hold up to 4 SSD in one 5.25in bay, which would fit nicely in the place of the DVDRW, and you don't have to remove the aluminum case, for aesthetic purpose, perhaps.

Another example is this cheap 5.25 bay frame, which can hold one 3.5in HDD and two 2,5in SSD.

non-existent products

www.lazada.vn

 

[macstatic]

Yes, it's similar to the Sharkoon 5.25 BayExtension I showed at the end of posting #1.

 

[tomsmods]

This is what I have used to add some hard drives in the optical bay, using a 5.25 to 3.5/2.5 combo mount.
This let me keep the DVD and main drive connected inline and then run additional SATA power splitters as needed.

SATA-22-Pin-Male-to-SATA-7-Pin-and-2-X-15-Pin-SATA-Female-Connectors-2

 

[macstatic]

Cool! Thanks for finding and sharing.

So the end on the left side of the photo plugs into the existing "lower optical" SATA cable coming from the Mac Pro main board, and the data plug along with one of the power plugs on the right side plugs into the SSD/optical drive or whatever while the second power plug on the right passes on power to another SATA device (and can be further split into several more power plugs with the appropriate adapter)?

Does the data and power connector (right side of photo) fit nicely next to each other when plugged into a SATA SSD (or HDD, or DVD drive)? As far as I remember, the problem with the "SATA Y splitter" was that the connector blocked the ability to put a connector next to it.
Not bad for less than US$ 6 (it it weren't for the usual high international shipping costs from the U.S.). If this is some kind of standard adapter I can hopefully find one from China with cheaper shipping.

 

[foliovision]

This is what I have used to add some hard drives in the optical bay, using a 5.25 to 3.5/2.5 combo mount.
This let me keep the DVD and main drive connected inline and then run additional SATA power splitters as needed.

SATA-22-Pin-Male-to-SATA-7-Pin-and-2-X-15-Pin-SATA-Female-Connectors-2

Thanks for sharing that. I'd tried a Delock extensions cable along with a power splitter, but even with all the ends sawed off they wouldn't fit in together. That will make 4 SSD in the optical bay, with two of them at 500 MB/sec (Caldigit Fast USB-SATA adapter) under Mojave. That's a total of eight drive bays in the old 5,1 tower. Not bad.

Right now I have three SSD in there.

For those worrying about power, the optical bay power connectors could handle four spinning drives easily, let alone 4 SDD.

 

[zedex]

For a while now, I have been trying to build the world's most powerful* Mac Pro (cMP5,1) and it is becoming SUPER difficult because - for example - you can fit 40 SSDs (properly ventilated) in the optical bay if you drill deep enough in search of "possible solutions".

See the pictures below and really use your imagination..

(1) BUY THIS..

(2) Rip it out of the completely redundant 3.5in bracket

POWER (x10) and CONNECT (x40)

If you don't care about ventilation you could put 80 SSDs in that space after removing the drive cage. As @DPUser mentioned in an earlier post - SSDs are light as a feather. Brackets are no longer necessary.

*with no regard for any component that has long ago reached it's ceiling (i.e. CPU, GPU or RAM)