Overall, using a SATA splitter can be beneficial if you need more storage capacity without investing in additional hardware or cables. Can You Use One Sata Cable for Multiple Things? Serial buses cannot be split; parallel buses can be broken. SATA DATA Split Cables SHOULD NOT Be Confused with SAS-to-SATA Cables COMPATIBLE with popular SATA equipped devices such as SSD Upgrade Kit, Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive, Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5-Inch Internal Solid State Drive, PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card

Just make sure your PSU has either a Single 12V Rail, or that your 12V Load is evenly distributed over a Multi-Rail Design. Ease-of-use – With plug-and-play technology, connecting a device via a single SATA cable requires no additional setup or configuration. A SATA expansion card is a device that allows users to add extra Serial ATA (SATA) ports onto their PCs. This type of device can be used to expand the number of hard drives and other peripherals connected to the computer, such as optical drives or solid-state drives. 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 On some of our higher-end builds / mods we have connected as many as 15 drives on a single cable using similar connector types...Overall, using one SATA cable provides convenience and flexibility when it comes to connecting various storage devices in your system. Sata Expansion Card No, you cannot use a single SATA data cable to connect two hard drives. You would need two separate SATA cables for this purpose. Is It Possible to Split a Sata Data Cable for Connecting Multiple Devices Cost Effective – Using a single cable for two drives instead of two cables can help save money in the long run.

Now let's look at HDDs (as per your comment). Say you have a Seagate Barracuda 1 TB, when you look at its specs, it draws about 6 W under operating conditions. We'll say this is 0.5 A @ 12 V (though it is probably a combination of the rails) to simplify. This isn't the worst case though, this drive draws 2 A on start up but the connectors can handle it for a short time. Another option (and the better alternative IMO) would be to add a punch down style connector in-line with your existing cable! I make custom sleeved extensions and modded PC's for a living and this is, by far, the better option for most people (unless you feel comfortable soldering and understand the way a PSU and electronics work)! So, in your case if you have one "cable" or set of wires with 3 SATA Connectors already. You could easily use (3x) 3-way Y-Adapters for a total of 9 drives using the example above of 0.5A/drive! Image: SATA expansion card. One of the most effective and economical ways to increase SATA port count. 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 CableUnfortunately the fires are a real thing, though they don’t seem as prevalent anymore. Basically the issue is that cheap poorly made molded sata power connectors can degrade and catch fire, of which there are copious examples online. Here’s a good video that breaks down why this was/is likely happening: What's Inside the Bad Molex to SATA Adapters (And Possible Failure Modes) - YouTube Either way though, you should have plenty of "overhead" using these type of connectors to use 5-10 drives on one 18 AWG cable, possibly more but I'd need more specifics to say for sure. Y-SPLITTER SATA CABLE powers two Serial ATA HDD, SSD, optical drives, DVD burners, and PCI cards to a single connection on a computer power supply; Snug-fitting drive SATA connector and channel guides on the power supply connector provide a secure connection that wont accidentally disconnect Reliable Performance – The connection between the drive and motherboard remains stable even with multiple connections sharing resources.

This 15-pin SATA Power Y-Splitter Cable is an indispensable tool when building, upgrading or repairing computers. It provides an inexpensive solution for adding more connections to an existing power supply with limited SATA power ports.If you look at that spec, you notice that the connector is rated to 1.5 A DC and the wire they use is 18 AWG (I'm a mm² man myself but let's roll with it). If you look up recommended wire gauge to current rating (such as here) you'll note that 18 AWG is rated to 16 A for short runs. So our connector is the weak point, more specifically the point were two connectors meet. SATA cables are able to connect to a variety of devices and can utilise hot plugging technology only when decides and operating systems are compatible. Examples of SATA capable devices are. As it was mentioned already, the wire itself (18 awg) has a current limit of MUCH more than the connector (~16A vs 1.5A). Each SATA cable requires a dedicated SATA port on your motherboard. a Typical motherboard often has 4-6 SATA ports. Image: SATA Ports Each of our mods are custom tailored to the PSU being used, the HDD/SSD/ODD being used, and the system itself.