Solved Any difference in Sata2 or Sata3 HDD cable

[trinaz]

Have a system with Sata3 capable MB interface and new Sata 3 drive.

Are cables used originally on Sata2 systems OK to use on the new Sata3 MB & HDD...any performance difference between the two cables when used on new Sata3 components ?

Thanks

 

[Ageeb]

The cables are identical internally. So, yes it's fine to use cables from sataII devices on sataIII devices

 

[Britton30]

The only difference in SATA cables is the SATA III flavor has locking clips on them.

 

[bassfisher6522]

The difference is the speed in which the data is transferred. In sata 2, it's 3.0 gb's and in sata 3 it's 6.0 gb's. But the short to your answer is "YES" you can....it's backwards compatible. If it were me I would use the the sata 3.

 

[cyclic]

Technically what qualifies a Sata III cable, is the near oxygen free copper that should be used. But you can't really test that without lab equipment. I think it's worth getting them just for the locking mechanism. Do you need them ? well no.

 

[TVeblen]

It is not so much a question of using a SATA3 cable vs using a SATA2 cable (the SATA3 cable spec is unchanged from SATA2.6), but more a question of using a high quality cable vs a cheap cable.

Like any discussion about electrical wiring, the major factors come down to quality of build (including materials), AWG (Average Wire Gauge), and shielding. And from what I have read so far it is the shielding that is most important in order to approach the true performance potential of SATA3. EMI is the true enemy of clean data transfer.

So a high quality built SATA2 cable should perform just as well as any high quality SATA3 cable, but a poorly made SATA3 cable would not perform as well.

The locking mechanism alone is a long needed feature. How many issues have we seen here about non-recognized drives that ended up simply being a loose data cable?

 

[Zepher]

The cables are identical internally. So, yes it's fine to use cables from sataII devices on sataIII devices

Actually, they are different inside, but you won't see any loss in performance using a sata2 cable.

 

[Ageeb]

The cables are identical internally. So, yes it's fine to use cables from sataII devices on sataIII devices

Actually, they are different inside, but you won't see any loss in performance using a sata2 cable.

Source?

Q. Does SATA 6Gb/s require different connectors and cables to support the higher transfer speed?
A: The same cables and connectors used for current SATA 1.5 and SATA 3.0 Gb/s implementations can be used to connect SATA 6Gb/s devices, although SATA-IO recommends quality components be selected to ensure data integrity and robust operation at the faster SATA 6Gb/s transfer rate. Keeping the existing SATA connector form factor enables SATA 6Gb/s to
be designed into the same cost-conscious hardware architectures while minimizing infrastructure changes.

If it doesn't require different cables to operate at it's spec, than it's fair to say they're the same cables

just look for quality manufacturing.

SATA International Organization, SATA Revision 3.0 Specification FAQ

 

[stormy13]

Maximum PC | Is Your SATA Cable Slowing Down Your Data Transfers? Max PC Investigates

 

[HKB]

I must say these responses are the most down to earth, to the point answers on this topic. I have browsed and googled using every wording possible and 99% of the time you are reading assumption or indirect evasion of the question.

Seriously, you guys have my deepest respect. Simple, direct, to the point, and most important, true.

 

[coconutdog]

The cables are identical internally. So, yes it's fine to use cables from sataII devices on sataIII devices

Actually, they are different inside, but you won't see any loss in performance using a sata2 cable.

Source?

Common sense. OFC is a marketing gimmick. Unless you are designing the next gen space shuttle. You will notice no diffenece between OFC and normal wire in the application you intend to use.