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USB-C head-to-head comparison

lumafield.com

51–60 of 232 posts

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#51

I wish these were more widely available: https://caberqu.com/home/20-42-c2c-caberqu-746052578813.html... I have one from the kickstarter, and every new USB-C cable gets tested and labeled. Most are USB 2.0. A few will have the power delivery pins. It's such a crapshoot on any shopping site. It should be mandatory that these cables are correctly spec'd and labeled.

Just purchase apple’s $100 cables for everything and you will never wonder! /s

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#52
This is how you do advertising on HN...

The page is a very explicit plug (pun intended?) for their industrial CT products, and it was clearly done for marketing purposes, not because it reveals anything interesting. It is an apples-to-oranges comparison of several cables, basically showing that they're doing what they're supposed to and are constructed as expected. It was even submitted by an account that is clearly tied to the company.

I'm not upset with them - I think it's a better ad than most - but it's a pretty solid case study of how clever "covert" marketing is being done.

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are tons of them on AliExpress! Some can even test resistance, emarkers, etc.

Tons of 4-pin cable testers, no 24-pin testers that I can find.

I have the FNB-58 which says has a 24 pin interface but that might not necessarily mean that it tests all of them! I should probably test it. It's a bit pricy but very well built, and pretty stable as long as you update the firmware or get one with a newer version already installed.

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#55

This is how you do advertising on HN... The page is a very explicit plug (pun intended?) for their industrial CT products, and it was clearly done for marketing purposes, not because it reveals anything interesting. It is an apples-to-oranges comparison of several cables, basically showing that they're doing what they're supposed to and are constructed as expected. It was even submitted by an account that is clearly…

This has been becoming more common, and honestly i’m all for it.

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#56
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah for that you need one of the POWER-Z (or I'm sure there are other brands now) USB-C cable testers on AliExpress. Will even tell you the brand of the chipset in the cable https://kalleboo.com/microblog/posts/109391700632886806.html

I actually have a POWER-Z tester (the KM003C) and it can read the eMarker (yay), but it doesn't actually test the cable pins (boo). So it'll tell me if a cable is capable of charging the laptop at 100W, but it won't tell me if data lines are all fine and if it reports thunderbolt capability. It's pretty much useful for testing charging, but not use for e.g. eGPUs. :/

I have the KT002, and while it doesn't specifically test all the pins, the E-Marker data readout does contain if it declares Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.2 Gen1, etc compatibility[0].

And I have yet to see a cable that bothers to have a E-marker like that that then doesn't actually have the pins connected. I suspect if the e-marker lies then rather than just dropping down to a lower spec the cable will just outright fail

[0] See the bottom 2 lines of

https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files...

https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files...

https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files...

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#57

I wish these were more widely available: https://caberqu.com/home/20-42-c2c-caberqu-746052578813.html... I have one from the kickstarter, and every new USB-C cable gets tested and labeled. Most are USB 2.0. A few will have the power delivery pins. It's such a crapshoot on any shopping site. It should be mandatory that these cables are correctly spec'd and labeled.

> It should be mandatory that these cables are correctly spec’s and labeled

Why doesn’t the USB standards group mandate labeling of some type? Probably not words, but symbols would be good enough.

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could get a 1m Belkin Thunderbolt 4 cable for about $40. Afaik Intel controls/certifies Thunderbolt cables and Apple just has free use of name or something.

So should any Thunderbolt branded cable have similar performance and build quality to the Apple cable, then? Cause I wanted to know the same thing - I came away honestly impressed and thinking maybe I should buy an Apple cable even though I don't own an iPhone. But the real question is whether other vendors have the same quality at a lower price point, because I don't feel the desire to pay the Apple price if they ar…

I cant speak to the build quality of Thunderbolt cables made by manufacturers other than belkin or the one Apple sells - both of which have been great. The belkin cable feels a slightly more rigid. As far as Thunderbolt branded cables you can expect to get the speeds and power delivery that’s advertised, just pick the cable that’s right for you. The one I mentioned earlier is certified for up to 40Gbps and 100W power delivery.

Re: USB-C head-to-head comparison

#60
post #29

> Why does this cable have all 24 pins when only half of them are connected? The extra pins could help the plug sit more securely in its socket. Another guess: the same factory makes Thunderbolt cables, and it’s cheaper to maintain just one design, even though that means wasted material and effort. The highest volume manufacturers may be fully integrated. Usually how it works, especially for these relatively low volu…

are they really hand-soldered? They look so small! Isn't there a machine that is cheaper for high volume soldering of those small connections?
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