New ASUS board - bit concerned that every forum i've read slags off Asus
SATA cables as "crap"
Thanks
I'm tempted to regard anything ASUS as "crap" and Intel's current lot as pretty
good, but DON'T get into one of those insane cable fights that lead some folks
to paying $80 for a 3-foot wire to connect their VCR to their stereo because of
advertising that ignores tha laws of physics.
The Laws of Cables:
1-Look for something that looks like the connectors are firmly and properly
attached - there's not much to a SATA cable, just make sure the end pieces look
right and that it's going to be long enough without any tugging to do the job.
2-Even the best cables are made these days by, effectively sweatshop labor, If
you can find them for not that much more, look for cables made in the 'States,
but you probably won't find them.
3-Look for known brands. APC, in general makes/has made for them very good
cabling. Belkin started out near the bottom, I suspect making their way with a
name that sure looked a lot like long-time cable-maker Belden (reliable, but I
don't know if either APC or Belden or PC Power&Cooling are doing SATA cables),
but Belkin has moved up in the world and most of their stuff is good.
4-If you have a "crap" brand cable that works fine, ignore what "everyone" says.
Have fun.
5-Even the best cables can die for no apparent reason - bad press-on or solder
joint, bad stock cable, who knows.
6-The ABSOLUTE best way to insure every kind of connector will work is to clean
it and apply a drop of Stabilant to it
www.stabilant.com Stabilant, a liquid
semiconductor has been used to hold computers together since the 1960s - problem
is that the guy who invented it really has invented the connector equivalent of
the "300-MPG carburator" and people who haven't used the stuff don't believe it
can work. He is also very environmentally conscious and despises advertising. So
the best place is to get it straight from Toronto in the smallest quantities
possible because a small bottle will last you a lifetime of tearing down and
rebuilding systems! Second best way is to find it in auto repair shops - since
it seals out moisture and keeps all kinds of signals pure, it gets used on
everything.
I've used it to eliminate dozens of "flaky" computer problems, saving myself
thousands on memory I'd otherwise had given up as "unstable" and kept the
battery charger on a razor working for a year while the power contacts were made
of nothing but copper oxide and stabilant.
BUY IT! USE IT!
Trucker Al
