Many users have one common question in their mind, which is whether all the Power supplies have SATA cables or not.
Yes! Every power supply is included with the 15-pin SATA power cables, but the SATA data cables never come with the Power Supply; they come with the motherboard.
The SATA power cables that come with your power supply are intended to give power to various storage drives, including modern hard drives and 2.5″ SSDs. In addition, these cables are also used for various fan hubs, controllers, and RGB strips.
Many people often need clarification on SATA data and SATA power cables; both cables are required to install storage drives in our system. The Power cables send power to the drives and the data cables used to transfer the data.
How Many SATA Cables Come With PSU?
This query cannot be answered in a single line because of how many SATA power cables come with the Power Supply that depends on PSU to PSU.
Some PSUs come with 2 SATA cables & multiple connectors-
- PSUs come with two cables & 4 SATA power connectors each, allowing you to install (8 SATA devices).
- PSUs come with two cables & 3 SATA power connectors each, allowing you to install (6 SATA devices).
- PSUs come with two cables & 2 SATA power connectors each, allowing you to install (4 SATA devices).
Some power supplies come with three cables & multiple connectors-
- PSUs come with three cables & 4 SATA power connectors each, allowing you to install (12 SATA devices).
- PSUs come with three cables & 3 SATA power connectors each, allowing you to install (9 SATA devices).
- PSUs come with three cables & 2 SATA power connectors each, allowing you to install (6 SATA devices).
So, it’s clear how many SATA cables come with the Power supplies that depend on PSU to PSU.
Always check the specs of the Power Supply before buying to determine how many cables are included with the PSU.
Do Modular PSUs Have SATA?
The modular PSUs come with all the detachable cables, including the detachable SATA data cables. Check the image below how the modular PSU ports look like-
If you buy a modular Power supply, then you will get a bunch of cables included in a bag or box. You have to pick the SATA data cables from the box and connect them to the PSU SATA port. The other end of the cable (15-pin connector end) goes to the hard drives or SSDs (15-pin) power connector.
The advantage of the modular PSUs SATA cables is that you can use as many SATA power cables as you want and unplug the rest of the cables. Because of this, the PC looks cool and doesn’t suffer from airflow issues.
Do Semi- Modular PSUs have SATA?
The semi-modular PSUs also come with detachable SATA power cables. The semi-modular PSUs mostly come with two attachable cables (the ATX motherboard and CPU cables). Except for these two cables, all the semi-modular PSUs have all the detachable cables.
You can see in the above image that the semi-modular PSUs have some attachable cables and some detachable ones. Just like the modular PSUs, the advantage of the semi-modular PSUs SATA cables is that you can install as many cables as you need; you can leave the rest of the cables.
Do Non-Modular PSUs have SATA?
The non-modular PSUs have attachable SATA cables. Not only the SATA cables; the other cables of the non-modular PSUs are attachable cables. Here’s an image-
You can see in the above image that a non-modular PSU has all the attachable cables, and that’s why many users don’t like these PSUs because you can’t unplug the cables that you don’t want, and this factor affects the PC’s airflow and aesthetics.
Is Using SATA Cable Optional on PSU?
Yes! Sometimes using a SATA cable can become an optional choice for you, especially when you are not using any SATA storage device.
Many users are building PCs without hard drives; instead, they only use an NVMe SSD. For this kind of user, the SATA data cable is optional.
But, if you are building a PC with hard drives or SATA SSDs, you must need SATA Power cables from the Power Supply. Asides from installing the storage devices, users also need a SATA power cable if they want to install RGB strips. In addition, various fan hubs and controllers also need these SATA Power cables.
How Many SATA Power Cables Do You Need?
How many SATA power cables you need depends on many factors, including the number of SATA devices you will use and whether you will use any fan hub, controllers, or RGB strips.
I made a table for you that will help you a lot to calculate how many SATA power cables you need in different cases-
| Devices | Number of SATA Power Cables Needed |
| 1 Hard Drive | Need 1 SATA Power cable |
| 1 SSD (2.5 inches) | Need 1 SATA Power cable |
| 1 hard drive & 1 SSD (2.5 inches) | Need 2 SATA Power cables |
| 1 Fan Hub | Need 1 SATA Power cable |
| 1 RGB Strip | Need 1 SATA Power cable |
In case you already pick a power supply that doesn’t have sufficient SATA power cables that you need, then there are two options open in front of you. You can use the SATA splitter cables or Molex to SATA adapters to connect multiple devices. You can read this article on connecting multiple devices to one SATA cable.
Final Verdict
The Power supplies come with SATA power cables, and these cables are mostly used to install different SATA storage drives, controllers, fan hubs, and RGB strips.
But, there is no exact number that the Power supply comes with this number of SATA cables; it depends on PSU to PSU. So, always check the power supply specs to know exactly how many SATA cables it has.
