mSASx4-4SATAx1 : connect MacPro quickrelease?

[pirloui]

Hi everyone.
User boiancs asked in the main Hack Pro thread, if it was possible to use a mSASx4 to SATA adapter to connect the quad quickrelease from the Mac Pro.

I have looked up that connector, and found little information, but there are many mSASx4-4SATAx1 . They seem to have the same connector as the Mac Pro has one one side, and four SATA cables on the other side. It is not clear if there are male/female versions.

It would be brilliant it it was possible to avoid that soldering.

Do anyone know anything about those connectors, and whether it should be possible to use them?

Thanks a lot ^_^

Just got a Mac Pro case with a PSU, and I want to make it real nice
BTW: I have the working innards of the Mac Pro PSU, if someone is interested in buying it or exchanging it for ram / cpu cage and fan block.

[aquamac]

Hi Pirloui,

Can anyone find a decent image of one of these adapters, I have been struggling to find one.

Is this what you mean?

[pirloui]

That's more or less what I've found, pictures are unclear indeed.
On these ones it looks like the SATA plug isn't normal, and it seems the large connector is the same as Apple, not the corresponding other half.
But if it's a standard that somehow involves SATA, it has to exist..

[blackknight]

The problem with these cables is that there is absolutely no adapter out there that has the receiving end connected to another receiving end. The only thing it will plug into is a Mini-SAS connector on a controller board. Believe me, I looked everywhere.

[pirloui]

I see.. That's a shame, the less soldering the better. For me at least
Thanks for the information!

[blackknight]

I know what you mean. I've already had two of my sata connectors fail due to the soldering not holding. I ended up using 90* Sata data/power cables as the other connectors won't work with my full ATX board anyways. Still not the best option though. I need a way to secure the cables as they get pulled on a lot and aren't holding together well either. Oh well.

[pirloui]

That's bad luck with the solder.
There are these sata+power combo plugs who maybe exist with an angle, if there is a way to hold them to the case guide it might be worth it.
Slightly frustrating from a "stock look" point of view, but possibly less hassle.

[blackknight]

Yeah, that's what I'm using now. They're combo cables at a right angle. You just need to get them with the left-hand angle as opposed to right as they will be hanging down and the drives are upside down. They're made by Kingwin I think. These should be the correct ones: www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=348_351&products_id=24025.

[blackknight]

Hey guys, I just found this: www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_id=176 and though it's a bit pricey, it would be perfect. It seems to be about $72 USD or so with the mini-SAS to 4xSATA cable included. MaxUpgrades also makes a kit to replace the Optical Bay sled with one that will hold either 2 HDDs + 1 Optical or 4 HDDs. Anyways, just keeping this thread up to date.