Not recent at all, been an issue for atleast 10years

Video explain it a bit.

There are several points of failure of these ranging from in adequate gauge wire and shitty insulation but one odd ball thing is the plastic used in injection molding is an insulator but still slightly conductive, the voltage from the pins over time exchange metal for plastic (similar to electroplating) till they bridge from +V pins to G pins, when this happens the plastic that has a low thermal rating melts allowing even more of a short and then it all just burns up. Crimped connectors use a much better plastic that doesn't suffer from this issue. This is why thin gauge wires have VA rating and use very certain insulator to stop things like this from happening.

Electricity has a way of finding the path of least resistance and will do weird shit to achieve this. I've seen this quite a few Molex to sATA failures and also on HV power supplies (mostly CFL ballasts) arc thru insulators from a microcrack, it's one of the reason its SUPER no-no to run metal (especially sulfate containing w/ copper tubes) LPG/LNG lines near CFL lamps.

TL;DR

Good

Bad

This is good:
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-108794-24-Inch-15-Pin-Female/dp/B009GULFJ0
https://www.amazon.com/Syba-Molex-Right-Angle-SY-CAB40018/dp/B003AVN6D4

This is not:

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Molex-Power-Adapter/dp/B00STNUB04

In the "good" ones, the whole wire is passed through the connector and pierced.

Most of the bad ones are the ones where the cable enters from the back instead of the bottom.

You can definitely stick with the Fractal series. I did because I couldn't have a loud, unsightly machine setup anywhere in my home. I have my main system w/ 10 Drives + 2 SSDs + 3 NVME drives in an R6. That has a DAS connected with 19 drives inside an R5; 8 stock bays + 3 in 2x5.25 bay adapter + extra 3 drive cage + extra 5 drive cage.

As you are in Europe, you might not even have to pay crazy shipping charges to buy spare drive cages from https://www.fractal-design-shop.de/Define-R5_1. In the US I had to source the extra drive cages from r/hardwareswap but that proved to be easier than I expected. Here is a pic I took before I added the 2nd 5-bay drive cage: https://imgur.com/a/TWL8IB1

Edit: Request for more info...

I have not done a build log as I am not yet "finished" with the build, but it looks like there is sufficient demand for parts info so here it goes:

I have an R6 for my main NAS server loaded with the motherboard, 10 3.5 drives and one SSD. The R5 has two extra drive cages (3 + 5) as well a 2x5.25-to-3x3.5 bay adapter.

The expansion cards I use are:

• 1x LSI 9210-8i with SAS to SATA cables for 8 of the 10 internal drives in the R6. The other 2 + SSD use SATA ports on the motherboard.
  
  
• 1x LSI-9207-8e connected via 8088 cables to two HP SAS expanders powered in the R6 by riser cards which connect to the drives with the same SAS to SATA cables as above.
  
  Additional parts I used:
  
  
• An SFX PSU is important so you can fix the extra drive cages. Don't skimp on this one. You don't need a ton of Watts (I'm using a 600W Gold) but you need quality, you are hooking up thousands of dollars of drives to it!
  
  
• Power splitters: One & Two
  
  
• Power switch to turn on the DAS PSU and reset it any time you need to take the NAS offline (DAS always must be powered on first)
  
• Fan controller for powering fans in the DAS
  
  More inspiration can be found here: https://www.serverbuilds.net/16-bay-das

> Picture 3

PLEASE GET RID OF THAT MOLEX TO SATA ADAPTER!

The one you are using has molded ends and are known to cause fires.

If you absolutely must use Molex to SATA, the best ones separate each pin. A close second runner are the ones that splice into the cable.

You have a beautiful build. Please don't risk it over a five dollar cable.

I bought this Monoprice one last year and it's been working just fine for me for nearly a year now.

Just don't buy the 99¢ special and you'll be fine.

molex to single SATA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00STNUB04/

Molex to 4 SATA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GULFJ0/

Good to know. Been running these adapters for 3+ years now, but will inspect them.

Edit: these are the ones I have. Monoprice is usually trustworthy. Monoprice 108794 24-Inch 4-Pin Molex Male to 4 15-Pin SATA II Female Power Cable Net Jacket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GULFJ0/

Monoprice 108794 24-Inch 4-Pin Molex Male to 4 15-Pin SATA II Female Power Cable Net Jacket https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B009GULFJ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_hLI1CbGQKJFPP

I'm assuming you're going Molex to SATA.

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-108793-12-Inch-15-Pin-Female/dp/B009GUL5CM/

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-108794-24-Inch-15-Pin-Female/dp/B009GULFJ0/

Make sure it's a crimped one, not molded. The QC issues with molded connectors have let to shorts/burns/fires for people in the past.

Example of a crimped one.

Example of molded.

I've used a Molex to Sata breakout cable, havn't had any issues with the 8TB ones I'm currently using. May not be an ideal solution for a large number of drives but for my use case it was as easy as plug and boot. All of this assuming you have molex avail of course. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GULFJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Do you know if this is a "good" style? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GULFJ0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

uh oh, they look crimped https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GULFJ0/

Awesome, thank you for the detailed response.

So if I'm doing my math correctly, one SATA cable from the PSU would have four connectors. Splitting it with the 4x SATA splitter would put me at 7 connectors total. Let's say I run a high estimate of 9W per HD, that's still only 63W which is well under the 192W calculation. I was thinking about running a blu-ray drive on the same line which would still only be (9W6)+30W=84W total. So I would be safe in my instance is that right?

The AMP connector route you mentioned would still be well under since the molex to 4x SATA would be the only thing connected to that cable. 9W4=36W or (9W*3)+30W (BD drive)=57W.

Would you recommend one route over the other (SATA to 4x SATA vs molex to 4x SATA)? Looking at either one of these guys..

https://smile.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Power-Splitter-Adapter-PYO4SATA/dp/B0086OGN9E/

https://smile.amazon.com/Monoprice-108794-24-Inch-15-Pin-Female/dp/B009GULFJ0/

Thanks!

I used these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GULFJ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_q.hvCbWSYD5B5

Thank you so much for the response and info!

I saw this review on Amazon. What do you think?

That person also links to the following products. How essential/necessary do you think they would be to the node-804? I've read some other review that don't highlight suggestions as the review above does. What are your thoughts?

• SilverStone Technology 3.5-Inch to 2 X 2.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive HDD / SSD Bay Converter, Silver (SDP08)''
  
  
• Monoprice 108794 24-Inch 4-Pin Molex Male to 4 15-Pin SATA II Female Power Cable Net Jacket
  
  
• StarTech.com 4x SATA Power Splitter Adapter Cable (PYO4SATA)
  
  
• SilverStone Technology All Black Sleeved 1-to-2 Sleeved PWM Fan Splitter Cable (CPF01)
  
  Unfortunately I'm in a strange situation where I don't have as much time as I'd like to review/research for the absolute best route to go -- and I'm in need of making a decision very soon.
  
  I'm totally cool with building, although I must say that I'm not as experienced as I would like -- however, I will have time on my hands to learn what is needed to build the setup I decide to purchase.
  
  Any and all info/feedback is most welcome! Thanks!

Personally I'd recommend the monoprice version instead since they have a lifetime warranty on all their cables:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8794

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-108794-24-Inch-15-Pin-Female/dp/B009GULFJ0

And don't worry too much if you read about how molex-sata adapters are fire hazards, that really only seems to apply to the kind where the wire is molded directly into the plastic sata connector (which is not the case here).

yeah, i ordered a crimp style.
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-108794-24-Inch-15-Pin-Female/dp/B009GULFJ0/