SATA 15-Pin Power Connector Pinout

A description of each pin for a SATA 15-pin power connector

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on June 23, 2023

The SATA 15-pin power supply connector is one of the standard peripheral power connectors in computers. It's the standard connector for all SATA-based hard drives and optical drives.

SATA power cables protrude from the power supply unit and are meant to reside only inside the computer case. This is unlike SATA data cables, which are also usually kept behind the case but can also connect to external SATA (eSATA) devices such as external hard drives via a SATA to eSATA bracket.

SATA 15-Pin Power Connector Pinout

A pinout is a reference that describes the pins or contacts that connect an electrical device or connector. 

Picture of a 15 pin SATA Power Connector
Lifewire / Tim Fisher

Below is the pinout for the standard SATA 15-pin peripheral power connector as of the ATX Specification (Version 2.2). If you're using this pinout table to test power supply voltages, be aware that the voltages must be within ATX-specified tolerances.

SATA 15-Pin Power Connector Reference
Pin Name Color Description
1 +3.3VDC Orange +3.3 VDC
2 +3.3VDC Orange +3.3 VDC
3 +3.3VDC Orange +3.3 VDC
4 COM Black Ground
5 COM Black Ground
6 COM Black Ground
7 +5VDC Red +5 VDC
8 +5VDC Red +5 VDC
9 +5VDC Red +5 VDC
10 COM Black Ground
11 COM Black Ground (Optional or other use)
12 COM Black Ground
13 +12VDC Yellow +12 VDC
14 +12VDC Yellow +12 VDC
15 +12VDC Yellow +12 VDC

There are two less-common SATA power connectors: a 6-pin connector called a slimline connector (supplies +5 VDC) and a 9-pin connector called a micro connector (supplies +3.3 VDC and +5 VDC). The pinout tables for those connectors differ from the one shown here.

More Information on SATA Cables and Devices

SATA power cables are required for powering internal SATA hardware such as hard drives; they don't work with older Parallel ATA (PATA) devices. Since older devices that require a PATA connection still exist, some power supplies may only have 4-pin Molex power supply connectors.

If your power supply doesn't provide a SATA power cable, you can buy a Molex-to-SATA adapter to power your SATA device over a Molex power connection. The StarTech 4-pin to 15-pin power cable adapter is one example.

One difference between PATA and SATA data cables is that two PATA devices can connect to the same data cable, whereas only one SATA device can attach to a single SATA data cable. However, SATA cables are much thinner and easier to manage inside a computer, which is important for cable management and proper airflow.

While a SATA power cable has 15 pins, SATA data cables have just seven. 

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