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I have installed this Corsair CV550 PSU in my computer. In the specification it says it has 2 PATA connector in single cable. Check the following image:

enter image description here

As I don't have or need any PATA powered device, I didn't really bother about this 2 PATA connector because this PSU has 7 SATA power connector which will be sufficient for my need. I looked over the internet and found that, following is a general PATA connector:

enter image description here

In my PSU, the said PATA connector doesn't look like the above PATA connector in any way. It looks like the following, just like a MOLEX connector, which match my older MOLEX cable in shapes & sizes.

enter image description here

Here is an older MOLEX connector of mine from an older PSU:

enter image description here

My question is, are they actually MOLEX power connector in my PSU? If so, why the manufacturer called them as PATA connector? Thanks!

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  • PATA (Parallel ATA), SATA (Serial ATA) pata was always referred to a IDE which was incorrect but it stuck.
    – Moab
    Commented Sep 26, 2021 at 21:31

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"Molex connector" is actually a rather imprecise term, since the Molex company makes many, many different connectors. Including the main 24-pin ATX motherboard power connector! And companies other than Molex also make the connector you know as a "Molex connector", notably AMP but also many unbranded/generic ones are also available.

The 4-pin power connector that is commonly called a "Molex connector" is really more a general purpose peripheral power connector that delivers 12 V and 5 V power. It was most commonly used with pre-SATA hard drives, which are nowadays referred to as PATA (previously called IDE) drives.

Therefore, a power connector referred to as a "PATA" or "IDE" power connector is likely to be a "Molex 4-pin power connector" or "peripheral power connector" and looks like your latter pictures. Despite the different names, they are the same thing.

Your first pictured connector is actually a PATA/IDE ribbon data cable. Not power.

The ATX power supply specification actually refers (§ 4.2.2) to them as a "peripheral connector", specified as "AMP* 1-480424-0 or Molex* 15-24-4048 or equivalent". Note that AMP and Molex are two different manufacturers, and those are just part numbers.

Note also that the main 24-pin power connector (§ 4.2.1) is specified as "Molex* Housing: 24 Pin Molex Mini-Fit Jr. PN# 39-01-2240 or equivalent" -- another, different, "Molex" power connector.

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  • So connector at image 4 should connect with image 3?
    – AL-zami
    Commented Sep 26, 2021 at 17:01
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    @AL-zami They look compatible, yes. What is the second one connected to? Note that there are current capacity limits, and some applications (e.g. peripheral 4-pin to PCIe) may start a fire. For any high-power application, GPUs in particular, you should always use a direct cable from the PSU without any additional adaptors or connectors. For higher power GPUs you may even need two or three independent cables from the PSU, rather than daisy-chained connectors on a single cable.
    – Bob
    Commented Sep 26, 2021 at 17:29
  • The white molex peripheral is connected to a casing fan which is not in use for many years. But it has branches consists of a single sata connector. It was handy as my old psu was mostly molex (only 1 sata). Now i don't really need it as my new psu has 7 sata power connector.Wanted to connect the fan to my new psu just to check if this fan still works or not!
    – AL-zami
    Commented Sep 26, 2021 at 21:56
  • @AL-zami Ah yes, old uncontrolled case fans do often use that connector. You should be fine to connect it up that way if you want; fans are rather low power devices. Whether you use the SATA power or peripheral power connector doesn't really matter, use whichever is more convenient and maybe looks neater in your case. Personally I don't like using the peripheral connectors because they can be a bit hard to unplug if there's a poorly sized/fitted one. P.S. more modern fans tend to be temperature-controlled and connect to the motherboard, which also lets them run quieter when the system is idle.
    – Bob
    Commented Sep 27, 2021 at 3:39
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Top photo is the signal connect from drive to motherboard. The 4 pin connectors are power for old PATA drives. I assume that is just to avoid confusion with SATA type power connector.

Examples with photos:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

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