Which one? - SATA I vs. SATA II vs. SATA III

What cables do you guys prefer and is there a real difference between SATA I, II and III?

Here on MonoPrice there are 3 different types, SATA I w/out locking cables and SATA II and III with locking cables. Is there any performance boost from using one over the other? I know there is a "rating" for each type, but does that really matter when most write speeds don't even come close to the speed rating on these cables. Beside, I've heard it's all a marketing ploy anyways to get people to buy more expensive cables.

I've seen this discussed in multiple threads, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer for this. It seems that SATA I would be fine for unRAID, so should I worry about getting SATA II or higher cables?

For my own personal interests, has anyone used the locking SATA cables on the NORCO SS-500? One of the reviewers on Newegg said their locking cables did not fit, can anybody confirm this?

Hopefully you guys can help me figure this all out, and if anybody down the road has the same question, they can find this thread helpful to them.

Everything I've ever read says its just a marketing ploy because cables are cables its all in the hardware.

However with that said I have 6 locking Sata3 Cables in my machine.

Everything I've ever read says its just a marketing ploy because cables are cables its all in the hardware.

Er, cables ARE hardware.  But I know where you're coming from - there is a lot of miss-use of specification jargon in the marketing of stuff like cables.  But sometimes, there are also valid reasons, and differences.

I cannot comment on the Monoprice items, but higher bandwidth data does require more rigorously constructed cables.  For example, in a cheap cable the characteristic impedance of the cable may change as it bends causing signal degradation in terms of timing skews, reflections, and the like.  Better cables will be more consistent from one to another and will remain within spec when bent (within limits).  They may also have better shielding - outside to in as well as inside to out.

^^ What he said. Yeah, Yeah its hardware as well LOL.

Case in point HDMI cables are HDMI cables no matter what brand, but when you pickup a thin tiny cable opposed to a thick cable there is something to be said.

A monster cable being $80 vs a $6 cable gets confusing because its automatically assumed that the Monster cable is better since its a "MONSTER" cable and all the hype says it is. You start looking at the specs and realize they are built nearly the same and visually there doesn't appear to be a difference in quality on screen or in the cable build.

I always try and read what things are certified and normally it helps sway my decision. The Sata3 cables didn't appear to be much more at all unless your counting penny's and I was personally looking for a locking mechinism. In this case the OP is asking if the locking type would work so it might sway his decision one way or another. I know Rahajal has experience with the drive cage he is asking about and I'm hoping he or somebody else would pipe in about that.

I haven't tried locking SATA cables with the Norco SS-500 yet, but I can try it when I get home tonight.  Shoot me a PM if I forget.

^^ What he said. Yeah, Yeah its hardware as well LOL.

 

Case in point HDMI cables are HDMI cables no matter what brand, but when you pickup a thin tiny cable opposed to a thick cable there is something to be said.

 

A monster cable being $80 vs a $6 cable gets confusing because its automatically assumed that the Monster cable is better since its a "MONSTER" cable and all the hype says it is. You start looking at the specs and realize they are built nearly the same and visually there doesn't appear to be a difference in quality on screen or in the cable build.

 

I always try and read what things are certified and normally it helps sway my decision. The Sata3 cables didn't appear to be much more at all unless your counting penny's and I was personally looking for a locking mechinism. In this case the OP is asking if the locking type would work so it might sway his decision one way or another. I know Rahajal has experience with the drive cage he is asking about and I'm hoping he or somebody else would pipe in about that.

You've both made good points, I see where you are coming from kizer and the same to you, S80_UK. I'm also hoping someone can let me know what cables they are using with the Norco SS-500.

The whole SATA I vs. SATA II/III thing doesn't seem to be a big deal, maybe more importantly is the quality of the cable (ex: thickness, shielding, connectors, etc...). I'd prefer locking connectors if I can confirm they fit the Norco drive cage, but I currently do not have any locking cables and I'd hate to buy them if they aren't going to fit properly. Cost wise, the SATA II/III aren't any more expensive than SATA I on MonoPrice, and I'd prefer cables that do not degrade the signal, so the extra money is worth it to me.

Kizer, if you don't mind me asking, did you get your cables from MonoPrice, or somewhere else?

Thanks everyone, and if there is more that can be added, please do so. I want this thread to be helpful to anyone with the same type of questions regarding SATA cables.

I haven't tried locking SATA cables with the Norco SS-500 yet, but I can try it when I get home tonight.  Shoot me a PM if I forget.

Thanks Raj! I'll PM you either tonight or tomorrow, to give you time to check it out.

Yes I've bought many cables from MonoPrice and haven't seen any real issues. Normally 2 or 3 day turn around from ordering to delivery too.

The info I've read said that the SATA2 spec added the lock to the cable. I haven't looking into SATA3 cables, but if I'm running SATA2 ports I would not bother with higher priced SATA3 cables no matter if they are different or not.

Peter

One extra thing.  The quality matters more (sometimes much more) if it is a longer cable.  So short (6 inches) cables can be rubbish but can still work.  For longer cables (say 18 - 24 inches) it can start to make a real difference.  Think about the fact that the length of the cable starts to become similar to the wavelength of signal pulses at gigabit data rates and it becomes easier to see how signal reflections and so on can really screw things up.  Signals in cables such as SATA typically propagate at maybe half the speed of light (say 2 nano-seconds per foot) so at any one time a cable may literally have more than one bit of data dispersed along its length.  Weird stuff if you're not used to thinking about that kind of thing.

The locking SATA cables I have do fit into the back of the Norco SS-500.  HOWEVER, they don't seat terribly well, I'm not sure I trust them.  Also, they don't actually lock to the port at all, so there isn't much point in using them.  I didn't actually bother to boot the server up to make sure the cables communicate properly because I didn't want to hook the other end up (this server is complete, ready to be shipped soon).  I'm getting a few more Norco SS-500s in the mail in a few days for another client build, so I'll do some more involved testing at that point.

The locking SATA cables I have do fit into the back of the Norco SS-500.  HOWEVER, they don't seat terribly well, I'm not sure I trust them.  Also, they don't actually lock to the port at all, so there isn't much point in using them.  I didn't actually bother to boot the server up to make sure the cables communicate properly because I didn't want to hook the other end up (this server is complete, ready to be shipped soon).  I'm getting a few more Norco SS-500s in the mail in a few days for another client build, so I'll do some more involved testing at that point.

Thanks Raj! I just sent you a PM, you can ignore that.

I'll just go with the non-locking SATA I cables since there doesn't seem to be much difference between the different "versions". I think I'll order some MonoPrice cables and test the speed. Hopefully they hold up on me and don't cause any bottlenecks or slowdowns similar to the ones S80_UK was discussing.

Thanks everyone for your input. Once again, if anyone has any thoughts on the topic, please chime in.

You won't get bottlenecks from a bad cable. It just won't work or it will only work intermittently.

Peter

Correct.  I never mentioned any slow-down of the data, just that poorer cables could affect the reliability of the data.

I just wanted to follow-up and say that I purchased these SATA cables from MonoPrice and they have worked great. I don't have the speed numbers in front of me (that's something I can get later when I'm off of work), but I'm completely satisfied with them in my server.

So, if anyone needs new non-locking SATA cables, I can recommend these because I use them in my server and they work well. (So after posting this, can I get commission from MonoPrice for pushing their products?)

I doubt it. I think MonoPrice would owe us all a fortune.