In article <jt2dapFpdbiU1@mid.individual.net>, Martin-S
<invalid@nomail.com> wrote:

We recently upgraded to new MBPs and now we need to replace quite a few
USB-A cables with USB-C equivalents, mainly for storage devices.

consider a usb-a to usb-c adapter, or a usb-c hub with usb-a ports.

I naively thought that anything with a USB-C connector would at least
support USB version 3 or higher and thus allow for high-speed data
transfer and video but it seems not.

usb-c describes the physical connector.

which protocol the cable supports can vary.

Looking on amazon I found nice sturdy looking cables but the fine print reveals most of them will only do USB 2 speeds of 480 Mbps!

Some will do 20 or 40 Gbps, some will charge your device too, some can
be used to connect your monitor, some are Thunderbolt 4 compatible.

This is a total mess.

very much so.

what's worse is once you buy cables, there's no easy way to know which
cable supports what, outside of labeling each one.

Is there a website where you can just tick what you want your cable to
do and get a list of potential options?

not really.

stick with quality reputable name-brand cables, which might cost a bit
more than what you might find on amazon.

benson leung tested a bunch of cables, some of which damaged his
hardware. anything he endorses should work, as well as avoid anything
he says is bad.

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We recently upgraded to new MBPs and now we need to replace quite a few
USB-A cables with USB-C equivalents, mainly for storage devices.

I naively thought that anything with a USB-C connector would at least
support USB version 3 or higher and thus allow for high-speed data
transfer and video but it seems not.

Looking on amazon I found nice sturdy looking cables but the fine print
reveals most of them will only do USB 2 speeds of 480 Mbps!

Some will do 20 or 40 Gbps, some will charge your device too, some can
be used to connect your monitor, some are Thunderbolt 4 compatible.

This is a total mess.

Is there a website where you can just tick what you want your cable to
do and get a list of potential options?

Any pointers would be much appreciated :)

--
Martin

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Martin-S <invalid@nomail.com> wrote:

We recently upgraded to new MBPs and now we need to replace quite a few
USB-A cables with USB-C equivalents, mainly for storage devices.

I naively thought that anything with a USB-C connector would at least
support USB version 3 or higher and thus allow for high-speed data
transfer and video but it seems not.

USB-C cables are used a lot for charging, and there's no reason to make everyone have a more expensive cable capable of 8K video just for charging their phone.

Looking on amazon I found nice sturdy looking cables but the fine print reveals most of them will only do USB 2 speeds of 480 Mbps!

Some will do 20 or 40 Gbps, some will charge your device too, some can
be used to connect your monitor, some are Thunderbolt 4 compatible.

This is a total mess.

There's a new logo with a number for speed, and another logo for charging power:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/30/23378231/usb-rebranding-2022-logos-gbps-wattage-charging-transfer-speeds-simplification-usb4-superspeed

but no guarantees vendors will use it, especially ones selling on Amazon
whose business model is to trick you into buying something cheaply made that only half does what you want.

Any pointers would be much appreciated :)

Stick to known brands: Apple, Startech, Anker...

Theo

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In article <D1q*EiZ2y@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>, Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

USB-C cables are used a lot for charging, and there's no reason to make everyone have a more expensive cable capable of 8K video just for charging their phone.

except there's no obvious way to tell the difference once it's out of
the packaging (unless a label is attached).

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On 2022-11-09 19:52:44 +0000, nospam said:

In article <jt2dapFpdbiU1@mid.individual.net>, Martin-S
<invalid@nomail.com> wrote:

We recently upgraded to new MBPs and now we need to replace quite a few
USB-A cables with USB-C equivalents, mainly for storage devices.

consider a usb-a to usb-c adapter, or a usb-c hub with usb-a ports.

I have some adapters already but small hubs as you suggest look more
efficient, such as this one: <https://www.belkin.com/usb-c-4-port-mini-hub-usb-type-c/F4U090btBLK.html>

I try to stick to reputable brands. However I was looking for some
short USB-C cables with an angled connector on one end. Somehow it
seems that those are mostly sold by funky Chinese companies.

Thanks for all the pointers.

--
Martin

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 2022-11-10 09:46:33 +0000, Theo said:

USB-C cables are used a lot for charging, and there's no reason to make everyone have a more expensive cable capable of 8K video just for charging their phone.

Good point.

There's a new logo with a number for speed, and another logo for
charging power: https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/30/23378231/usb-rebranding-2022-logos-gbps-wattage-charging-transfer-speeds-simplification-usb4-superspeed

Thanks for this one – there is still room for confusion.

Although according to this, if you buy a thunderbolt cable you can be
pretty sure that's what you get, as it needs to be licensed from Intel.

I have actually just ordered a TB 4 cable in the hopes that since it's
TB, it will do everything a high-speed USB-C cable can do if not faster. <https://www.orico.cc/us/product/detail/7656.html>

--
Martin

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On 12/11/2022 05:03, Martin-S wrote:

On 2022-11-09 19:52:44 +0000, nospam said:

In article <jt2dapFpdbiU1@mid.individual.net>, Martin-S
<invalid@nomail.com> wrote:

We recently upgraded to new MBPs and now we need to replace quite a few
USB-A cables with USB-C equivalents, mainly for storage devices.

consider a usb-a to usb-c adapter, or a usb-c hub with usb-a ports.

I have some adapters already but small hubs as you suggest look more efficient, such as this one: <https://www.belkin.com/usb-c-4-port-mini-hub-usb-type-c/F4U090btBLK.html>

I try to stick to reputable brands. However I was looking for some short USB-C cables with an angled connector on one end. Somehow it seems that
those are mostly sold by funky Chinese companies.

I'd agree about reputable brands. I would not however include Belkin in
that list, IME they just resell cheap crap.

There's apparently only one USB-C hub chipset/board design around, which Caldigit, OWC, Plugable and Anker all seem to use. If you need extra and *uncrippled* USB-C ports, then you essentially need one of these for
about £200. The Caldigit Element throws in 4 legacy USB-A ports (10 Gbs)
as well.

--
Chris

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On 12/11/2022 05:15, Martin-S wrote:

On 2022-11-10 09:46:33 +0000, Theo said:

USB-C cables are used a lot for charging, and there's no reason to make
everyone have a more expensive cable capable of 8K video just for
charging
their phone.

Good point.

There's a new logo with a number for speed, and another logo for
charging power:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/30/23378231/usb-rebranding-2022-logos-gbps-wattage-charging-transfer-speeds-simplification-usb4-superspeed

Thanks for this one – there is still room for confusion.

Although according to this, if you buy a thunderbolt cable you can be
pretty sure that's what you get, as it needs to be licensed from Intel.

I have actually just ordered a TB 4 cable in the hopes that since it's
TB, it will do everything a high-speed USB-C cable can do if not faster. <https://www.orico.cc/us/product/detail/7656.html>

I'd never dared try that, but it looks like you could be right. But it
doesn't resolve the power question.

As the Verge article quotes USB-IF’s president and chief operating
officer Jeff Ravencraft as saying:
“What consumers want to know — and what we learned — is they want to
know two things: What’s the highest data performance level the product
can achieve? And what’s the highest power level I can get or drive from
this product,” he says. “That’s all they want to know.”

To which you have to add what extra can it run over USB, be it
Thunderbolt, PCIe, DisplayPort...

Mess mess mess.

D

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