Is there a difference between USB cables?

Edgar R. Zakarian · August 25, 2016

Aside from the color white black and blue.

Or can you just add a white USB1 cable between an external USB3 HDD and your computers USB3 input?

What IS the difference in the cables physically?

Glenwing · August 25, 2016

Just now, Edgar R. Zakarian said:

Aside from the color white black and blue.

Is there a difference between USB cables?

Or can you just add a white USB1 cable between an external USB3 HDD and your computers USB3 input?

What IS the difference in the cables physically?

USB 3.0 connectors have 5 additional pins in the back that aren't present on USB 2.0 or below. If a USB 2.0 cable is plugged into a 3.0 port, the port will only operate at 2.0 speeds.

_JohnB330ci · August 25, 2016

Speeds, amount of pins, compatibility with OS's, etc.Different devices are best suited by different types of connectors, the latest USB cable is the Type C

LogicalDrm · August 25, 2016

Between 2 USB2 cables not much. Some have gold plated connectors which are more resistant to wear.

TetraSky · August 25, 2016

I've found that cheaper USB cables, like the kind you can get on ebay for a dollar, tend to not charge devices as fast as a higher quality USB cable.

I've even tested it with a 2A wall charger + energy meter. A cheap usb cable I got on Ebay charged my tablet at 2W. Quality cable that I paid $10 for at Walmart, charged the same tablet at 10W.

So yes, there can be a difference between usb cables depending on the quality of it. Though I'm guessing it's something like the size of the copper wiring inside of the cable that plays a role in this particular issue?

As for transfer speed though, didn't really test that "in-depth", but I didn't feel like it was slower or faster depending on the cable.