How do I know if my cable is a SATA 3 cable?

[Phusius]

my new 1 TB HDD storage, are these speeds normal for a sata 3 HDD? or do I need a new SATA 3 cable?

 

[Soup]

I don't think any mechanical hard drive out there will even saturate SATA 2, so I doubt there is an issue with the cable... though I am also foggy about SATA2 vs. SATA3 cables... gimmick?

 

[Phusius]

I don't think any mechanical hard drive out there will even saturate SATA 2, so I doubt there is an issue with the cable... though I am also foggy about SATA2 vs. SATA3 cables... gimmick?

Thanks, it seems to be working fine, so I guess I just am not going to worry about it. /shrug

 

[[Ion]]

Agreed. SATA II can do up to 3 gigabits a second, or ~375 megabytes a second. You're seeing transfer speeds of about half that (peak) so you're well within the limit of what SATA II can do. You'd need a modern SSD to take advantage of SATA III.

 

[Phusius]

Agreed. SATA II can do up to 3 gigabits a second, or ~375 megabytes a second. You're seeing transfer speeds of about half that (peak) so you're well within the limit of what SATA II can do. You'd need a modern SSD to take advantage of SATA III.

Yeah, I have my Samsung using a SATA3 cable, and it gets about 410 on read, so cool deal, glad this worked out

 

[erixx]

If the connectors are the same for sata 2 and 3, how are the cables different?

Edit: oh wait! http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139183

 

[Phusius]

topic can be closed Ion answered it perfectly. sata3 on my ssd, sata2 on any hdd /cheers

 

[Batou1986]

For the record unless the cables are poorly made there is no difference in sata 2/3

 

[chinmi]

For the record unless the cables are poorly made there is no difference in sata 2/3

i buy a usual red $1,- sata cable, i bet that's sata 2 right ?? what's the 'fair' price for a sata 3 cable ??

 

[lyndonguitar]

i buy a usual red $1,- sata cable, i bet that's sata 2 right ?? what's the 'fair' price for a sata 3 cable ??

I think te red cable can do SATA 3 fine, as I am using one, all those expensive "SATA 3" cables are just marketing B.S.

 

[PLAfiller]

I watched the Linus Tech Tips extensive testing for the difference betwen SATA2 and 3 cables and the conclusion after all teh tests was, that there is no difference between the cables labelled as SAtA 2 or 3. So yeah, a red one will do perfectly fine I think.

 

[newtekie1]

The cable standard did not changed between SATA2 and SATA3, so the cables are identical. In fact I don't believe the cable has changed since SATA1.

 

[TRWOV]

I think the only thing that changed is the latch. Older SATA cables don't have them.

 

[newtekie1]

I think the only thing that changed is the latch. Older SATA cables don't have them.

I think the latch is optional, a lot of newer cables don't have them. Even cabled labeled "SATA3". I don't think the latch even even part of the standard, just something additional some manufacturers added because people were complaining SATA cables came out too easily.

 

[TheOne]

Latches on SATA cables were around years before SATAIII was released, but as a standard, I think newtekie is right, most manufacturers just decide to use cables with latches, I know Gigabyte has always preferred them even back before SATAIII.

 

[cadaveca]

I think the latch is optional, a lot of newer cables don't have them. Even cabled labeled "SATA3". I don't think the latch even even part of the standard, just something additional some manufacturers added because people were complaining SATA cables came out too easily.

Latch IS part of the standard. I'd love to see an unlatched SATA 6Gb/s cable...



...so I can avoid them

 

[TheOne]

Latch IS part of the standard. I'd love to see an unlatched SATA 6Gb/s cable...



...so I can avoid them

Most SATAIII cables have latches, but you can find SATAIII cables without latches, Newegg sales them, I don't think the industry standard for SATA cables has changed, I could be wrong, but if you mean that it is just common then yea.

As for the point of this thread.

http://www.sata-io.org/documents/SATA-Revision-3.0-FAQ-FINAL.pdf

9: Does SATA 6Gb/s require different connectors and cables to support the higher
transfer speed?
A9: 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.

Q14: Were there any attenuation or jitter issues that had to be addressed with the jump to
6Gb/s?
A14: Ensuring signal integrity was the primary challenge in doubling the SATA transfer speed
for a second time while using the same cables and connectors that were originally defined for
the first generation 1.5Gb/s version.

http://www.sata-io.org/

 

[newtekie1]

Latch IS part of the standard.

No it isn't, at least not as a requirement.

I'd love to see an unlatched SATA 6Gb/s cable...


...so I can avoid them

StarTech Model SATA6RA1 6" [152.4 mm] SATA to Righ...

 

[cadaveca]

No it isn't, at least not as a requirement.




StarTech Model SATA6RA1 6" [152.4 mm] SATA to Righ...

That's not a SATA 6 Gb/s cable. A SATA 6 Gb/s cables says "SATA 6 Gb/s" on it(also as a requirement), not just SATA like those do.


Latches are required, and that's why the connectors on motherboards have the ability to use the latches in the first place.


However, I never said that regular SATA cables would cause any performance issues.. that depends on cable quality and length.

SATA6RA1 = SATA, 6-inch, Right Angle 1-side.


With all the motherboards I've reviewed, I've seen 'em all(I mean SATA 6 Gb/s cables).

Most SATAIII cables have latches, but you can find SATAIII cables without latches, Newegg sales them, I don't think the industry standard for SATA cables has changed, I could be wrong, but if you mean that it is just common then yea.

As for the point of this thread.

http://www.sata-io.org/documents/SATA-Revision-3.0-FAQ-FINAL.pdf

http://www.sata-io.org/

Yeah, pointedly, it says any cable can work fine.

 

[newtekie1]

That's not a SATA 6 Gb/s cable. A SATA 6 Gb/s cables says "SATA 6 Gb/s" on it, not just SATA like those do.


Latches are required, and that's why the connectors on motherboards have the ability to use the latches in the first place.


However, I never said that regular SATA cables would cause any issues.. that depends on cable quality and length.

SATA6RA1 = SATA, 6-inch, Right Angle 1-side.

Read the specs. Type: SATA III

You're nuts if you think all SATA 6 cables have to say SATA 6 on them.

As TheOne pointed out, even SATA-IO says the cables didn't change since SATA 1.5, that includes the latch being required.

 

[cadaveca]

Read the specs. Type: SATA III

You're nuts if you think all SATA 6 cables have to say SATA 6 on them.

:shadedshu

http://www.sata-io.org/developers/naming_guidelines.asp


Explains how WRONG that newegg listing is. There is no such thing as "SATA III"

Do not use the terms "SATA II" or "SATA III," which are incorrect and have no meaning.

EDIT:

As TheOne pointed out, even SATA-IO says the cables didn't change since SATA 1.5, that includes the latch being required.

NO, it says :

"can be used to connect"

can be used...CAN..not that nothing has changed..

 

[Jetster]

The cables are the same. If your just running a platter drive there is no difference

Did Phusius get banned?

 

[95Viper]

From my understanding (reading the "Serial ATA Revision 3.1 Specification") for a single lane cable; they can be:

A. cables can be what ever color they want.
B. "ClickConnect" is optional. (what everyone calls latches)
C. connector labeling is optional.
D.The cables/connectors meets the electrical characteristics requirements of the spec.

However, I am sure there may be vendors/manufacturers out there that turn out cables with SATA 6 Gb/s stamped all over them and they may not meet the spec of the Serial ATA International Organization.

This has nothing to do with the Serial ATA International Organization, but it's my view of cables... Cables should be stamp with the specs of the cable itself from the cable manufacturer (Except for the few who have specialized cable, but it should still be on the packaging or available).

So, you may want to check the specs of cables from the manufacturers you plan on getting them from to see if they fall into the proper specs.

And, I use the latch-less connectors in some areas that are hard to access quickly; or, if I have a need for tight spaces (I have found that an angled connector with no latch takes up less height than a latch one).

EDIT:

Did Phusius get banned?

Says "Banned"... I would hazard a guess... that he is.