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Comment by brotchie | Hacker News Reader

At this point I'd probably pay ~$100 / year for a subscription service that annually sends me 4-5 cables of the "max rating." I don't want to waste my life keeping on top of the every-changing spec, but would 100% just turn-over my cables once a year to ensure highest performance.

Perhaps change their color every year (red -> green -> blue -> purple) to keep track of which are the latest cables.

I have dozens of almost identical black USB-C cables :|

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Just get certified Thunderbolt 4 and be done with it then. Cheaper is TB3. If you stick with the legit ones you're done and it will basically support everything.

That's my solution: I just buy Caldigit TB4 cables and I know they will do everything required.

There's also the Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer which exposes what's actually happening across your various connections including USB-C. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to support video passthrough over USB-C, so it isn't perfect.

Certified Thunderbolt cables with a length over 4 feet don't really exist, though. If you need a cable longer than that which can handle 100w+ and video/data, you're going to have a much harder time finding something decent.

Here's a 6 ft cable for $176: https://www.cablestogo.com/usb-and-pc/usb-c-cables-adapters-...

In the end, the technology just doesn't exist to send 100w and full data speed over the usb-c interface longer than that reliably (and economically enough for the market) so it just isn't an option to go longer. You'll have to find a different solution (optical plus separate power) or do a cross-your-fingers method with a non-certified cable that may or may not work under different circumstances.

I don't really need 40gbps Thunderbolt, but a 10ft cable that can do 100w, usb3 10/20gbps, and alt modes would be perfect for me. I have sadly not been able to find a cable that does these things reliably. Thunderbolt is just a way to certify these lesser features plus a PCIe alt mode.

Alongside this amazing subscription service, I would love a service that provides a list of tech brands that never do any kind of false advertising, so that I know I can buy from them with confidence. Recently had a bad experience with a spate of SSD external enclosures that all were under-spec, and worked with Ex-Fat but not APFS+ (which requires 100% USB spec compliance to work properly). Ended up finding a brand called "Cable Matters" which was a bit more expensive but was up to spec and well worth the extra cost.

Thanks for that! Always hard to find the right tools, with a recommendation it is much easier. (Sometimes, you don't know if it's just you? Or there really are quality differences.)

Exactly what I was thinking yesterday. Why not continue with different colors on the USB plugs, as they sort of did with blue for usb c or was it USB 3? Or. Ah. Can't keep up.3.1? (Some motherboards tried, but there weren't cables in same color.)

You mean USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 aka USB 3.1 Gen 1 aka USB 3.0 aka Super Speed USB?

Or do you mean Thunderbolt 3 which supports USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 aka USB 3.1 Gen 2 which was called SuperSpeed+ USB but is now SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps?

Or the newest USB4 Gen 4, USB4 Gen 3×2, USB4 Gen 3×1, USB4 Gen 2×2 and USB4 Gen 2×1 which supports Thunderbolt 3?

Maybe they could start with the upcoming Thunderbolt 5 which follows the USB4 2.0 spec, not to be confused with USB4 Gen 2(x1/x2).

I'm not sure we have enough colors to enumerate the different type of USBs. Going by the naming schemes it seems like there's already not enough numbers. /s

Most of those are market noise because of manufacturers wanting to sell things which aren't under conformance.

Thunderbolt 4 and 5 are external conformance marks, because the USB-IF can't be motivated to stop the abuse their own members are causing.

For USB-C to C cabling, there is only bandwidth and power capacity. The operational modes supported by the devices you are connecting with that cable is out of your control (except purchasing replacement hardware).

> Most of those are market noise because of manufacturers wanting to sell things which aren't under conformance.

No, most of them are from the USB consortium who gave a new name to all the old standards with each new standard.

All USB 3 devices are compatible with USB 3.2. They roll up the requirements for everything in there in addition to compatibility across modes. The 3.2 spec does not say you should "now call it USB 3.2 Gen 2x2".

The only actual name changes I can think of

- SuperSpeed+ became Superspeed 10 Gpbs.

- The branding improved around USB4 to combine power and bandwidth capabilities into a combination of name and graphical mark for cable labelling and the like

All the "Gen" bullshit was explicitly considered to be an internal designation. You can blame tech journalism for bringing that out into the world, because the USB IF never promoted that as a marketing term.

Oh man I think this is a great idea too. Would be a great way to support some independent maker. Somebody like a level1techs.

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