A technician is replacing a CD/DVD drive in an older desktop that still uses Parallel ATA (PATA) storage devices. Which power-supply connector should be plugged into the drive to deliver the required +12 V and +5 V rails?
PATA hard drives and optical drives draw power through the legacy four-pin Molex (also called LP4) peripheral connector. This plug provides +12 V (yellow wire) for the motor and +5 V (red wire) for the drive electronics, along with two ground wires. SATA drives use the wider 15-pin SATA power connector, PCIe 6-pin connectors power graphics cards, and the small Berg connector is designed for floppy drives, so none of those would supply the correct power to a PATA optical drive.
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What are Molex connectors used for in a PC?
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How do Molex connectors differ from SATA power connectors?
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Why has the use of Molex connectors declined in modern PCs?