Problem with USB 3 extension cable
Problem with USB 3 extension cable
I've been employing 1.5m long USB 3.0 extension cables for over a decade, mainly with thumb drives and they perform well. My SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 drive delivers roughly the same performance when connected directly to the motherboard's front and rear ports, around 250/100 MB/s for both read and write operations.
However, using the extension cable with a 2.5-inch SATA SSD and a SATA-to-USB adapter has caused instability. Read speeds are decent at 350-400 MB/s, but writing is either very slow (<20 MB/s) or doesn't happen at all. The adapter functions properly when plugged directly into the computer's ports.
It seems the cable standards are stricter for the SATA connection, possibly due to power delivery requirements. I've tested both old and new cables. The tests were consistent across two different computers:
1. Phenom II x4 970 on MSI 970A-G43
2. Ryzen 5 8600G on MSI B650M-P
Could a shorter cable (around 1.5-2 feet) improve performance? I only found options in 30cm or 1.5m lengths.
If taking out the cable improves the read/write speeds, it indicates the cable should be removed. You might want to consider a better quality cable for this;
Thank you for your message.
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