Mooooore.... POWAAAAH!!!!!

[manveruppd]

Following the problems in my other thread I'm giving thought to buying one of these: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-001-AN

However, what I really need is to test not just the power supply as a whole but also the particular SATA cable. Is there some product that does this in a quick and easy way or do I need a multimeter?

 

[semi-pro waster]

If you need to test a (data) SATA cable then why not just swap it for another one? Seems the simplest option to me. Failing that then yes I think you need a multimeter.

 

[manveruppd]

I did, but I want to make sure The fact that it's working now doesn't mean much because the crashes I was experiencing before were intermittent, and there's still the chance it might be the drive. Or possibly even the PSU itself rather than the cable.

The problem with using a multimeter is I don't know what would be a normal measurement for a SATA cable. How much voltage is it supposed to supply anyway?

 

[semi-pro waster]

Quick check reveals it is apparantly 0.5V or 500mV if you prefer it that way, 1/10th of what is needed for PATA data cables.

 

[manveruppd]

Thanks, I should be getting my hands on a multimeter to test tonight, then I'll know!
That's surprisingly low though! SATA hard drives are pretty much the same piece of machinery as older IDE drives, how do they get by on lower power? And how can my cable be providing insufficient power when its voltage is so low already? Have my drives bee running on fumes all this time?

 

[Phatzy]

HDDtune good software to test hard drives