SATA Cables

[SE14man]

Hi guys.

I had no idea up until today that you could get different types of Data SATA cables.

For example have a look here:

http://msy.com.au/default.jsp?category=106

See those 2 red ones?

What is it they mean by A-Power data SATA cable and the other red cable being just data?

Would one cable be used to power a C: master (my main) hard drive?
Then the other which is data for just the slave hard drive which will store backups?

Also do they have to go in a certain socket on the MOBO?

I had no idea about this up until now and thought this might be the reason my old hard drive died.

Thanks guys.

[NoBuddy]

My guess is, that the only difference are the brands.
(a-power.com)

[jman98]

A-Power is definitely a brand name.

They are just normal SATA cables so most of your questions are not really right. Well, yes, they have to go in a SATA connection on the motherboard, so technically speaking they do have to go in a certain socket. They are probably only rated for SATA 1.0 and if that's not meaningful to you then you really need to read the Wikipedia article on SATA before you buy anything.

[steptoe]

I use those red ones, but also have some yellow ones .... not that I can tell the difference in speed terms

But, the ones with locking clips make for a more secure connection

[fritzi93]

All the SATA cables I found at Newegg after a quick look are SATA 2 or 3, if it's specified at all. (Can you buy cables rated as only SATA 1 currently?). I shouldn't think 2 or 3 makes much (any?) difference except for connecting SSDs. And of course if your mobo is not fairly recent, it may only have SATA 2 anyway.

It seems I got one of those red SATA cables with every optical drive or mobo in the last, oh, 6-7 years. So I have a few. I bought some yellow SATA 3 cables with clips (dunno what brand) when I got my SSDs.

The locking clips are worth having. I've had drives go unresponsive due to an insecure connection. Powering down and opening the case to fix it is a real pain in the butt.

[MOVIEGEEK]

SATA III cables are backwards compatible and SATA II cables will work with SATA III drives:

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/SATA-3Gb-s-vs-6Gb-s-Cable-Performance-Revisited-183/

[Noahtuck]

I use those red ones, but also have some yellow ones .... not that I can tell the difference in speed terms

But, the ones with locking clips make for a more secure connection

I have Red ones, Blue ones, Black ones, Yellow ones, Green ones, Purple ones, Orange ones.....

Ooooo..... look at all the purty culors
LOL!!

Not in the same system mind you, but I do have a lot of different colored ones.

But yeah, I do prefer the ones that have the locking tab on them as they snap in and stay nice and tight, which is nice in my main rig as I have so many damn cables running to and fro I don't have to worry when I put my hand inside to move something, change something, etc. that one may come loose.