PCIe to SATA 2-channel HAT
19,00 € INCL. VAT
- Adds 2 SATA 3.0 ports (6 Gbit/s each) via the Raspberry Pi 5's PCIe slot
- Compatible with 2.5″/3.5″ drives, 5V/12V: perfect for a DIY NAS or media center
- Direct installation, no complex wiring
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- Description
Description
2-channel PCIe to SATA HAT: give your Raspberry Pi 5 real storage
The Raspberry Pi 5 is the first model to feature a real PCIe Gen3 x1 slot. This Waveshare HAT uses that port to add 2 SATA slots to your board, turning your Raspberry Pi into a small storage hub that can host real hard drives or SSDs.
Why choose SATA over USB?
On a Raspberry Pi, an external USB drive is often connected to expand storage. But USB has its limits:
- Bandwidth shared between ports
- Higher latency
- Less fine-grained drive management under heavy use
By going through PCIe and a real dedicated SATA controller, you get around these limits: ideal for a mini-NAS, a media center or a personal backup server.
Technical specifications
- 2 SATA III ports, up to 6 Gbit/s per channel
- Connection via PCIe Gen3 x1 slot
- Controller compliant with AHCI SPEC 1.2
- Support for NCQ queuing (Native Command Queuing) to optimize reads/writes
- Power saving states L0s / L1 (PCIe) and partial sleep (SATA)
- Compatible with 5V and 12V drives
- Formats 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch
- Does not support M.2
What it changes in practice
Performance. Two independent 6 Gbit/s channels let you connect two SSDs for a fast setup, or a 3.5″ drive + a 2.5″ SSD for caching. Also a good starting point for testing a software RAID at home.
Power consumption. Visit power state management reduces consumption when the drives are idle, useful for a setup running 24 hours a day.
Drive compatibility. You can reuse an old 3.5″ hard drive from a desktop PC (often 12V) or install a recent 2.5″ SSD (often 5V).
⚠️ Important point before buying
The 3.5″ drives and some 12V models require a dedicated external power supply for the HAT: the native power supply of the Raspberry Pi 5 is not enough. Check your drive’s datasheet before placing your order.
What this board does not do
This HAT is 100% SATA, it does not support the M.2 / NVMe format. If your project calls for NVMe, you need another dedicated expansion board.
Project ideas for makers
- Home mini-NAS (OpenMediaVault, Samba)
- Media center with a movie/TV series library
- Local video surveillance storage
- Automatic backup server
- First software RAID setup for learning
Installation
The HAT attaches directly to the PCIe connector of the Raspberry Pi 5, with no wiring or intermediate adapter. Once installed, both SATA ports are natively recognized by the system.
In a nutshell
A simple, inexpensive board that unlocks real, high-performance SATA storage on your Raspberry Pi 5 , perfect for moving from a makeshift USB setup to a genuine small home storage server.
