USB C Cable recommendations (original) (raw)

Hey all,

I've been making the Switch over to USB-C Recently but it Turns out a lot of my Cables aren't really good, as they lack either Speed and/or the ability to Charge at 100W. I've been looking Online but I've been Holding off on buying any since I'm not too Knowledgeable in the Topic which is why I've come here to ask for any recommendations.

So far I've been Eyeing some UGREEN USB-C Cable but I don't really know if that's the Best Option when it comes do Data Transfer.

Any Personal Recommendations or Links to Buyer Guides would be Greatly Appreciated

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1 hour ago, p1nkhamster said:

I've been making the Switch over to USB-C Recently but it Turns out a lot of my Cables aren't really good, as they lack either Speed and/or the ability to Charge at 100W. I've been looking Online but I've been Holding off on buying any since I'm not too Knowledgeable in the Topic which is why I've come here to ask for any recommendations.

So far I've been Eyeing some UGREEN USB-C Cable but I don't really know if that's the Best Option when it comes do Data Transfer.

Between the four factors of speed, power, length, and price, there's going to be a tradeoff:

Speed + power + length = Expensive (think, Thunderbolt cables)
Speed + power + cheap = Short
Speed + length + cheap = No power (though USB 3.x still gets flakey after about 6 feet unless you're very careful)
Power + length + cheap = USB 2.0

Depending on what it is you're asking the cable to do, you may need to select for the priorities relevant to the task. I have several USB-C cables that are only for USB PD and not for data, and I have a couple that are for power + data that are only about a foot long (to my work laptop dock). The laptop we use at church for slides has a long, power, data (TB3) cable that costs something like $60 for two meters.

Network:

Spoiler

                       ┌─────────────── Office/Rack ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

Google Fiber Webpass ────── UniFi Security Gateway ─── UniFi Switch 8-60W ─┬─ UniFi Flex XG ═╦═ Veda (Intel X550-T2.1) (500Mbps↑/500Mbps↓) UniFi CloudKey Gen2 (PoE) ─┼─ Veda (IPMI) ╠═ Veda-NAS (Intel X550-T2.2) La Vie en Rose ─┴─ Doven Wolf ╠═ Narrative (Asus USB 2½G NIC) ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ║ ┌── Closet ───┐ ┌─────────────── Bedroom ─────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ╚═ UniFi Flex XG ═╦╤═ UniFi Flex XG ═╤╦═ Byarlant (Silicom Intel X540-T2) (PoE) ║│ │╠═ Narrative (Cable Matters 2½G NIC w/ USB-PD) Kitchen Jack ══╣└─ Dual PoE ┐ │╚═ *Jesta Cannon (Trendnet Marvell 88X3310P) (Testing) ║┌─ Injector ┘ └── Work Laptop (Startech USB-PD Dock) Bedroom ══╝│ Jack #2 │ ┌──────── Media Center ────────────────────────────────────────┐ └──────── UniFi Switch 8 ─────────┬─ UniFi Access Point nanoHD (PoE) Notes: ├─ Sony PlayStation 4 ─── is Gigabit / ═══ is Multi-Gigabit ├─ Pioneer VSX-S520

= cable passed from Bedroom to Media Center └─ Sony XR65A80K (Google TV)

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11 hours ago, saintlouisbagels said:

What are you trying to do?

First you mention your cables don't do 100W and then you ask for what is best for data transfer.

Sorry, I should have Specified.

I Needed a few 100W Cables to chuck in my Backpack and Office for Charging mainly my Phone and Steam Deck.

I Wanted something with a High Transfer Speed for a External SSD as I noticed I wasn't hitting the Advertised Speeds with my Current Cables.

I also needed what I now know are Thunderbolt Cables for my Laptop Dock at Home and at Work.

My worry was that the Cables I was finding were Fake listings, so having Recommendations to work of is a Great help!

Thanks a ton for the Answer!

11 hours ago, AbydosOne said:

Between the four factors of speed, power, length, and price, there's going to be a tradeoff:

Speed + power + length = Expensive (think, Thunderbolt cables)

Speed + power + cheap = Short

Speed + length + cheap = No power (though USB 3.x still gets flakey after about 6 feet unless you're very careful)

Power + length + cheap = USB 2.0

Depending on what it is you're asking the cable to do, you may need to select for the priorities relevant to the task. I have several USB-C cables that are only for USB PD and not for data, and I have a couple that are for power + data that are only about a foot long (to my work laptop dock). The laptop we use at church for slides has a long, power, data (TB3) cable that costs something like $60 for two meters.

Also Thanks for this, when I made the Original Thread I had no Clue what Exactly Thunderbolt Cables were, and just assumed that they were some Propitiatory Stuff (Thinking back I have no clue why I had that Idea).

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2 hours ago, p1nkhamster said:

I had no Clue what Exactly Thunderbolt Cables were, and just assumed that they were some Propitiatory Stuff (Thinking back I have no clue why I had that Idea).

They are proprietary actually. There is a chip/controller inside each end for a particular handshake. If you buy an AMD CPU laptop, they won't have Thunderbolt ports. I have a wonderful ASUS Zephyrus G14 laptop and not having TB4 ports has been a pain in the ass.

Intel and Apple (among other companies) are part of the consortium that developed the Thunderbolt standard.

The TB4 spec is pretty strict, and they are backwards compatible with a lot of specs and USB speeds, so it's generally recommended to buy a TB4 cable for the guarantee that you're buying a perfect cable that meets all specs.

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USB C Cable recommendations (original) (raw)

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