Sata 3 Cables

[seekermeister]

I know that there is really no difference between a SATA 1 and SATA 2 cable, despite the fact that some vendors try to give that impression. However,the new Asus Asus M4A89GTD motherboard includes two pairs of cables, 2 x SATA 2 & 2 SATA 3. The only difference that I can see in them, is one pair has black connectors, and the other gray. Also the gray pair are marked as SATA 6GBs. Does this mean that there is a real difference between them, or is it like in the past...hype?

 

[DustSailor]

Well, if you have a device that supports 6GBs, than yea, it is a significant difference. If not, likely there wont be much difference.

Solid State Drives can really use the Sata III 6GBs to their advantage, increasing the speed dramatically. It is still often a noticable difference for some, but as I said, the difference will more likely come in getting hardware that supports it

 

[GeneO]

I know that there is really no difference between a SATA 1 and SATA 2 cable, despite the fact that some vendors try to give that impression. However,the new Asus Asus M4A89GTD motherboard includes two pairs of cables, 2 x SATA 2 & 2 SATA 3. The only difference that I can see in them, is one pair has black connectors, and the other gray. Also the gray pair are marked as SATA 6GBs. Does this mean that there is a real difference between them, or is it like in the past...hype?

Though the cabling is the same, the SATA III requires a higher quality than is required for SATA II transmission speeds. Your SATA II cable would probably work fine, but I think there is no guarantee. Well, that's the story spun anyhow

 

[seekermeister]

A higher quality, but the same number of contact pins...right? I read a thread elsewhere, that one poster said that if a SATA 3 system was connected to a SATA 3 device, with a SATA 2 cable, that the performance would only be that of SATA 2, rather than SATA 3 as it should be, but I got the impression that was his opinion, rather than a statement of fact.

My interest is somewhat academic at the moment, because the only SATA 3 devices that I currently have are hard drives, which I understand are not able to really use the SATA 3 bandwidth, but I still wanted to experiment with this to see if there would be even a small difference in performance. If there is, then I would want to get some longer SATA 3 cables than the ones that Asus provides, so as to be able to connect my external SATA 3 drives in that fashion also. At the rate that things are going, I suspect it will be some time before I buy any SSDs.

 

[DustSailor]

The two cables themselves are exactly the same, it is only the interface that is different on the motherboard. However, increasing cable length can harm the effectiveness of SataIII. If you would like some more reading on it, here is the website I got my info from: SATA 2 vs. SATA 3 cable - General-Homebuilt - Homebuilt-Systems

Later on in the reading, it is suggested that the SataIII cable is more compatable with sataIII, but if SataII works, it shouldn't matter

Now, don't stop reading till you get to the bottom, some people at the top misspeak. There is also a link to a pdf that explains even more.

If you want more, google might turn up something newer.

*Edit:
I was looking up for an actual numbered benefit to having SataIII 6GBs vs SataII 3GBs and found the answer to be there right in front of me. The pdf I mentioned states that there is a simple doubling of speed. right. I mean, what else could there be, from 3GBs to 6GBs, right? lol

 

[seekermeister]

DustSailor,

The two cables themselves are exactly the same...Later on in the reading, it is suggested that the SataIII cable is more compatible with sataIII, but if SataII works, it shouldn't matter

Obviously, if there is a compatibility factor involved, then the cables cannot be exactly the same. The difference may be small, but even small counts. I had already Googled this question before posting, and the ambiguity that I found did not satisfy my curiosity. I will take a look at the pdf that you mentioned, but I suspect that it has more to do with general aspects of the SATA categories, than specifically the fine point of the cable question. Thanks for the input.

EDIT: After a quick scan of the PDF, it appears that there is a higher quality standard for SATA III cables than before, but it really isn't spelled out exactly what that means. Therefore, until proven otherwise, I shall consider SATA III to be a different cable than before. It spoke of the possible problems with too long of a cable, but it did not spell out exactly how long is too long either.

EDIT: I found that there is no difference in the maximum cable length between SATA II & SATA III.

 

[Hopalong X]

Link for the organization that sets the standards. Though some manufacturers still do not follow them.
Serial ATA International Organization

 

[pparks1]

This is very similar to the discussion between Cat5e and Cat6 network cable. Technically, both can run gigabit speeds over copper. Cat6 has tighter tolerances and in a small number of situations might work a bit better than 5e. But I've never personally seen a situation with a measurable performance increase when I switched out a Cat5e cable with a Cat 6 cable. If I was responsible for wiring an office brand new, then I would just go with Cat6 to be safe...since the price difference is negligible.

 

[whs]

the only SATA 3 devices that I currently have are hard drives, which I understand are not able to really use the SATA 3 bandwidth

That is not neccessarily true. I am sure your external disks can run at more than 50MB/sec which is approximately the maximum transfer speed of Sata2 (480Mb/sec). I suggest you verify your disks with HD Tune or Atto.

 

[pparks1]

the only SATA 3 devices that I currently have are hard drives, which I understand are not able to really use the SATA 3 bandwidth

That is not neccessarily true. I am sure your external disks can run at more than 50MB/sec which is approximately the maximum transfer speed of Sata2 (480Mb/sec). I suggest you verify your disks with HD Tune or Atto.

What? I think you have confused something. SATA 2 is known better as Sata 3.0Gbps. A SATA2 drive can sustain almost 375MB/sec...

480Mb/sec is the USB 2.0 spec. I think that is what you are thinking of. The original poster didn't necessarily mention an external hard drive....i think he was talking about internal SATA drives and their physical connections to the motherboard.

 

[kbronski]

Don't quote me on this, but, if my research is correct, SATA 3 cables use slightly thicker wires inside the insulators, allowing for more data handling and therefore a faster transfer. I'm still new to the SATA 3 phenomenon though, so again, don't quote me on it. I do know that it's not really beneficial at all unless you have a SATA III solid state drive though.
My laptop has SATA 2 hookups, and I'm sure that will be plenty for now, for me.

 

[whs]

the only SATA 3 devices that I currently have are hard drives, which I understand are not able to really use the SATA 3 bandwidth

That is not neccessarily true. I am sure your external disks can run at more than 50MB/sec which is approximately the maximum transfer speed of Sata2 (480Mb/sec). I suggest you verify your disks with HD Tune or Atto.

What? I think you have confused something. SATA 2 is known better as Sata 3.0Gbps. A SATA2 drive can sustain almost 375MB/sec...

480Mb/sec is the USB 2.0 spec. I think that is what you are thinking of. The original poster didn't necessarily mention an external hard drive....i think he was talking about internal SATA drives and their physical connections to the motherboard.

I think you are right. I was thinking of USB2 versus USB3.

 

[GeneO]

the only SATA 3 devices that I currently have are hard drives, which I understand are not able to really use the SATA 3 bandwidth

That is not neccessarily true. I am sure your external disks can run at more than 50MB/sec which is approximately the maximum transfer speed of Sata2 (480Mb/sec). I suggest you verify your disks with HD Tune or Atto.

What? Sata 2.0 is 3 Gb/s and use 8b/10b encoding so the maximum rate is 300 MB/s. 480 Mb/s -that is USB 2.0 speed, not SATA 2.0 speed.

 

[GeneO]

the only SATA 3 devices that I currently have are hard drives, which I understand are not able to really use the SATA 3 bandwidth

That is not neccessarily true. I am sure your external disks can run at more than 50MB/sec which is approximately the maximum transfer speed of Sata2 (480Mb/sec). I suggest you verify your disks with HD Tune or Atto.

What? I think you have confused something. SATA 2 is known better as Sata 3.0Gbps. A SATA2 drive can sustain almost 375MB/sec...

480Mb/sec is the USB 2.0 spec. I think that is what you are thinking of. The original poster didn't necessarily mention an external hard drive....i think he was talking about internal SATA drives and their physical connections to the motherboard.

SATA uses 8bit/10bit encoding. The result is that every 8 bits of data uses 10 bits on the wire. So for SATA 3Gb/s the mazimum data transfer speed is 300 MB/s - not 375 MB/s. And for SATA 6Gb/s it is 600 MB/s. The 8b/10b encoding makes it easy to calculate MB/s for SATA - divide the Gb/s by 10

Just an FYI, some other high speed transmission protocols that use 8b/10b encoding are SAS, Fiber Channel, USB 3.0, DVI, HDMI, Gbit Ethernet, Infiniband, PCI Express up to 2.x, and IEEE 1394B.

 

[whs]

the only SATA 3 devices that I currently have are hard drives, which I understand are not able to really use the SATA 3 bandwidth

That is not neccessarily true. I am sure your external disks can run at more than 50MB/sec which is approximately the maximum transfer speed of Sata2 (480Mb/sec). I suggest you verify your disks with HD Tune or Atto.

What? Sata 2.0 is 3 Gb/s and use 8b/10b encoding so the maximum rate is 300 MB/s. 480 Mb/s -that is USB 2.0 speed, not SATA 2.0 speed.

I think I said so in the post just above yours. I was indeed thinking of USB and not the Sata port. Nobody is perfect . LOL.

 

[GeneO]

That is not neccessarily true. I am sure your external disks can run at more than 50MB/sec which is approximately the maximum transfer speed of Sata2 (480Mb/sec). I suggest you verify your disks with HD Tune or Atto.

What? Sata 2.0 is 3 Gb/s and use 8b/10b encoding so the maximum rate is 300 MB/s. 480 Mb/s -that is USB 2.0 speed, not SATA 2.0 speed.

I think I said so in the post just above yours. I was indeed thinking of USB and not the Sata port. Nobody is perfect . LOL.

No slam intended. I should read through the whole thread before responding

 

[profdlp]

Looks like the "quality" questions have been covered.

...The only difference that I can see in them, is one pair has black connectors, and the other gray...

If nothing else, in a crowded case the color coding would help you get the right drives to the right MB connection(s).

 

[HammerHead]

Pin Outs

The pin outs are the same is why they will interchange. The sata 3 cable is connected to controllers running at higher speeds. To take advantage of this the cable should be constructed of thicker mils of wire and/or higher purity copper. Either or both of those factors would lower the ohm rating of the cable. Which would enhance the capability of the cable to transfer signals at a higher rate and maintain the same temp.

 

[GeneO]

I think what you said may be misunderstood. Any quality SATA 2.0 cable will work with SATA 3.0. I don't think the wires have to be bigger in diameter or have less resistance and I doubt there is any difference in copper purity in any electrical conductors used for computer transmissions, but I would be happy to be proved wrong.

 

[seekermeister]

I think what you said may be misunderstood. Any quality SATA 2.0 cable will work with SATA 3.0. I don't think the wires have to be bigger in diameter or have less resistance and I doubt there is any difference in copper purity in any electrical conductors used for computer transmissions, but I would be happy to be proved wrong.

I'm not sure how anyone would go about proving you wrong, but the fact that there is some kind of difference in the quality of the cables suggests that you probably are. If not the wire gauge, or the metallic composition, the only thing left would be the insulation, and some how that seems highly unlikely.

EDIT: This is not a question of whether a SATA II cable will work with a SATA III device or not. It is whether it will work as well?