I have a bunch of legit USB 3 cables (name branded cables, or else cables that came with name-branded external drives), but some work at only 5 Gbps while others work fine at 10 Gbps. So, I've resorted to using my label printer to label them accordingly.
My USB 4 cables also have no information listed on the cable, but work fine at 40 Gbps speeds. For example a while back I bought a cable advertised as USB-IF certified 40 Gbps USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4 cable. It turns out it is certified for USB 4 40 Gbps, but not Thunderbolt 4, although it seemed to work fine for my Thunderbolt 4 hub. It has no USB 4 and no 40 Gbps markings on it either. Other than the company logo, it's just blank. What's the actual difference between passive USB 4 40 Gbps with 100 Watt charging vs. passive Thunderbolt 4? USB 4 has a minimum power requirement of 7.5 Watts vs. the 15 Watts for Thunderbolt 4, but I don't think I've ever seen a USB 4 data cable that supports less than 100 Watts power. However, the 7.5 W is for powering a peripheral whereas the 100 W is for charging, so is it possible for a 100 W cable not to support a 15 W peripheral? Or is a USB 4 40 Gbps 100 Watt passive cable essentially a Thunderbolt 4 cable without the certification, or can there be something else missing from good 40 Gbps USB 4 cables that would make them not Thunderbolt 4? (Note that I am not talking about 20 Gbps USB 4 cables.) There are differences in external display support, but is that due to specific chips in them, or is just due to the bandwidth available?
For my last purchase though, I just bought a certified Thunderbolt 4 cable to avoid all the confusion, as it was only a few bucks more on sale than the certified USB 4 cable. However, much of the time the certified Thunderbolt 4 cables are more expensive. I also wonder how good the non-certified Thunderbolt 5 cables out there are.
My USB 4 cables also have no information listed on the cable, but work fine at 40 Gbps speeds. For example a while back I bought a cable advertised as USB-IF certified 40 Gbps USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4 cable. It turns out it is certified for USB 4 40 Gbps, but not Thunderbolt 4, although it seemed to work fine for my Thunderbolt 4 hub. It has no USB 4 and no 40 Gbps markings on it either. Other than the company logo, it's just blank. What's the actual difference between passive USB 4 40 Gbps with 100 Watt charging vs. passive Thunderbolt 4? USB 4 has a minimum power requirement of 7.5 Watts vs. the 15 Watts for Thunderbolt 4, but I don't think I've ever seen a USB 4 data cable that supports less than 100 Watts power. However, the 7.5 W is for powering a peripheral whereas the 100 W is for charging, so is it possible for a 100 W cable not to support a 15 W peripheral? Or is a USB 4 40 Gbps 100 Watt passive cable essentially a Thunderbolt 4 cable without the certification, or can there be something else missing from good 40 Gbps USB 4 cables that would make them not Thunderbolt 4? (Note that I am not talking about 20 Gbps USB 4 cables.) There are differences in external display support, but is that due to specific chips in them, or is just due to the bandwidth available?
For my last purchase though, I just bought a certified Thunderbolt 4 cable to avoid all the confusion, as it was only a few bucks more on sale than the certified USB 4 cable. However, much of the time the certified Thunderbolt 4 cables are more expensive. I also wonder how good the non-certified Thunderbolt 5 cables out there are.
