Hi,
I have started accumulating a number of USB 3.0 products (hubs, docks, enclosures, drives, etc.), including, most recently, one of Plugable’s lay-flat docks.
My “routine” when I get a new USB 3.0 device recently has been to run a series of tests, involving some large file transfers, and testing with HDTach (I know that there are newer tools than HDTach, but I just like it, and having used it for a number of years, I can correlate/compare results easier for myself).
Besides the read speeds (burst and average) and access time, HDTach produces a graph of the read speed over time, and one thing that I’ve noticed is that sometimes I see drastically different results in that graph when I use different USB 3.0 cables (either from the target device direct to the PC, or from the target device to a hub, or between a hub and the PC).
Given that you all appear to have quite a lot of experience with USB 3.0 (it’s fairly new for me, as I only got my 1st PC/laptop that has USB 3.0 ports late last year :)), I’m wondering if you’ve noted the impact (or non-impact) of cabling and cable length, with USB 3.0?
For example, as a manufacturer/vendor of USB 3.0 devices, do you consider cabling (length, gauge, etc.) when you prepare your products for the market?
I guess what I’m really wondering is if a customer, like myself, uses an after-market USB 3.0 cable: (1) Is that potentially going to affect the performance of the product and (2) does Plugable support that type of thing?
Thanks,
Jim