# Define 'good cables'



## dvl@ (Feb 1, 2013)

In a thread I just read, they were talking about good cables.

How would you define good cables?  I'm specifically wondering about SATA cables.


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## Beeblebrox (Feb 1, 2013)

Hi,
Cables was a misnomer. Connector quality makes more difference than cable quality. For example, Power Supply old-type to sata adapters are prone to problems (white connector in this pic).

In other cases the sata data cable -> hdd connection point can have problems if the copper strips on each side do (cable + hdd) not contact each other tightly and consistently. Heavy vibrations can cause intermittent disconnects of the copper strips on cheesy cables.


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## wblock@ (Feb 1, 2013)

For SATA, cables with with locking clips on the connectors and hooded connectors on the controller.  The cables themselves... probably somebody sells tested, certified SATA cables, but I've never had any problems that locking connectors didn't solve.


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## usdmatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Reminds me of that infamous audiophile blog post where he claimed that better SATA cables produced higher audio quality.


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## Terry_Kennedy (Feb 5, 2013)

dvl@ said:
			
		

> How would you define good cables?  I'm specifically wondering about SATA cables.


This was a lot more important in the "old days", with SCSI cables. A number of manufacturers really scrimped (well, "cheated") on them, which (other than flaky operation) you might not notice unless you were trying to use HV differential-interface drives. Those cables would not have twisted pairs for the signals, but simple conductors and one ground. It was possible to detect these because they were unreasonably skinny. Once people caught on, the manufacturers just used a *much* thicker jacket on the cable so people wouldn't notice. I used to have a "wall of shame" where I'd slit the jacket on substandard SCSI cables to expose the guts.

By the time UDMA PATA drives came around, the specs were getting redefined enough that it became harder to cheat - for example, controllers could tell if the cable was not a real 80-pin one.

With the later SCSI (LVD) and SATA interfaces, bad cables seem to be a thing of the past. I've never had one that didn't work or failed for reasons other than damage, normally where the cable goes into the connector shell (SCSI) or in the connector itself (SATA). There are a number of advanced connector styles with latches, retaining clips, and so on both for single SATA as well as multi-lane SATA between controllers and hot-swap backplanes.


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## Carpetsmoker (Feb 6, 2013)

There are very long (>1 meter) cables. I've never trusted those, but that's just a feeling.


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