What's the difference between sata I/II/III cables?

hedron

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
495
I've tried difference combinations and have noticed no difference in speed what-so-ever. Do they just label them that just to add a dollar to the price tag?
 
Might be like CAT5/CAT5E/CAT6, where the cables are rated for tolerances under very specific cirumstances. But for everyone in the normal world they notice zero difference.
 
I've tried difference combinations and have noticed no difference in speed what-so-ever. Do they just label them that just to add a dollar to the price tag?

It is purely tolerances for SATA cables. The basics of the cable are exactly the same. What they are doing is guaranteeing the cables to those tolerances.

However, I highly doubt any cable maker for SATA cables is going to have two different lines. More than likely they are all the same but if a batch fails to meet the SATA3 spec...they will brand them SATA2.

So what does this really mean for you? As a home user...not a fucking thing. Probability of you getting a cable from "not so perfect batch" is probably small. Secondarily, the spec is written to the 1 meter length and most of us use 18" or less. However, for a business...I would follow the letter of the law and buy the correct cables. Why? If shit goes wrong..I don't want it to be my ass, I want to make sure the blame gets placed appropriately.
 
I've tried difference combinations and have noticed no difference in speed what-so-ever. Do they just label them that just to add a dollar to the price tag?

There is exactly NO difference between internal SATA cables.

eSATA cables have a little shielding and different connectors.
 
+1 on this. There is no difference in cabling spec between the 3 revisions of SATA. The requirements are exactly the same for each of them. Any cable that meets the SATA specification will be able to handle all 3 modes equally well.
 
+1 on this. There is no difference in cabling spec between the 3 revisions of SATA. The requirements are exactly the same for each of them. Any cable that meets the SATA specification will be able to handle all 3 modes equally well.

++1 - The only difference is around SATA2 release time many cables started coming with metal latches which made them more resilient to falling out on their own (which actually happens more often than you would expect due to vibration.)
 
Back
Top