SATA I cables and SATA II

[HatchetMan]

Are they really different?? Do you really need one specifically marked SATA II to get 3 gb/s? I have been getting conflicting answers all day. Thanks.

[DB83]

Sure they are different.

SATA cables are red. SATAII cables are yellow

Yet under the skin they work exactly the same way and are inter-changeable.

A newer cable may have a small clip on it to assist keeping it in the socket. But if you are careful........

[edDV]

Are they really different?? Do you really need one specifically marked SATA II to get 3 gb/s? I have been getting conflicting answers all day. Thanks.

Internal SATA cables work for either. For eSATA external cables I don't know. You won't get 3Gb/s for continuous transfers, only for short bursts from the disk memory buffer. Expect continous transfers (e.g. file copy) to max around 560Mb/s (70MB/s) for a normal drive and below 960Mb/s (120MB/s) for a Raptor which are both well within the SATA 150 spec.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

[MrScarecrow]

All my cables are RED..On SATA II

[waheed]

IMO, It doesn't matter which cable you use. SATA I or SATA II, they will both do the job. Colour does not differentiate cables. You can get, red, blue, black, grey, and all sorts.

as edDV mentioned, you will not achieve anywhere near the 3 GB/s speeds. The speeds stated are only burst speeds and not actual speeds.

[redwudz]

I can't really find any differences in cables between eSATA and SATA except for the connectors. The eSATA cable length specification is 2 meters, compared to 1 meter for SATA. This can be attributed to higher signal voltages for eSATA, but this would only be with eSATA PCI(e) slot controllers, not motherboard SATA connections. The cable color of either interface is irrelevant. There are 'slim' SATA cables that are more flexible, but likely use smaller signal conductors.

If you use SATA connectors, the clips are a good addition. I have had the internal SATA cable fall out of the connectors on their own when the PC was moved, especially if they are unplugged often. The SATA connector itself is poorly designed, IMO. It can break off the drive connector if stressed at a angle. Angle versions of the SATA power and SATA signal connectors may be a better choice.

eSATA is similar to a USB connector and much more sturdy. I use a eSATA PCI slot bracket from the motherboard SATA connectors. This allows the use of eSATA connectors, but would restrict the cable length to 1 meter. Not really a problem, but if you needed a 2 meter cable, then a eSATA PCI(e) slot controller would be the better choice.

A good info page on SATA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA