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What type of USB C cable for connecting to monitor

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Sanpete

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Nov 17, 2016
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That cable won't work. You need one that's at the USB 3.0 or higher standard, or one that says it will handle 4K at 60Hz. And one that's rated to provide 60 W, assuming you have a 13". I don't know what your options are for both driving the monitor and charging your MBP that way. Most people use a hub that allows both from one port. From the hub you can connect to your monitor with one cable and pass power through with another.
 
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andy9l

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Aug 31, 2009
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I'd be interested in finding out what cable works. I've heard good things about the Belkin cables, but haven't tried them myself.

I too use the 27UD88 but with a 12" MacBook and a longer USB-C cable might be useful in the future. The one that comes with the monitor works great but must only be 1m.

The single cable for power, audio, video and data is so, so convenient - I would hate to rely on a hub.
 
Brookzy

Brookzy

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May 30, 2010
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As @Sanpete said, to drive a 4K display such as LG's 27UD88 or UltraFine 4K over USB-C you need at least a spec-compliant* USB 3 Gen 1 cable (also known as a "USB 3.0" or "5 Gbps" cable)**. Today, these come in up to 2 metre lengths.

Depending on where you live, availability of long versions of such cables varies. Americans can buy the 2 metre Targus ACC928USX, which is available on Amazon and elsewhere.

I cannot find a seller for this cable in Europe, but there is still a solution: long, 20 Gbps*** Thunderbolt 3 cables are usually fully backwards-compatible with USB 3 Gen 1 (not all are - check with the supplier if in doubt). One option is the Plugable 2 metre 20 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cable (TBT3-20G2M).

*Spec-compliant not just for general safety, but also to ensure DisplayPort support.
**Some people - even an Apple support document! - seem to think 4K requires a USB 3 Gen 2/3.1/10 Gbps cable. This is not the case.
***40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cables longer than 0.5 metres are not backwards-compatible with USB-C displays. You must find a 20 Gbps one.
 
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Sanpete

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Brookzy said:
As @Sanpete said, to drive a 4K display such as LG's 27UD88 or UltraFine 4K over USB-C you need at least a spec-compliant* USB 3 Gen 1 cable (also known as a "USB 3.0" or "5 Gbps" cable)**. Today, these come in up to 2 metre lengths.

Depending on where you live, availability of long versions of such cables varies. Americans can buy the 2 metre Targus ACC928USX, which is available on Amazon and elsewhere.

I cannot find a seller for this cable in Europe, but there is still a solution: long, 20 Gbps*** Thunderbolt 3 cables are usually fully backwards-compatible with USB 3 Gen 1 (not all are - check with the supplier if in doubt). One option is the Plugable 2 metre 20 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cable (TBT3-20G2M).

*Spec-cpmpliant not just for general safety, but also to ensure DisplayPort support.
**Some people - even an Apple support document! - seem to think 4K requires a USB 3 Gen 2/3.1/10 Gbps cable. This is not the case.
***40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cables longer than 0.5 metres are not backwards-compatible with USB-C displays. You must find a 20 Gbps one.
Click to expand...
Do you know what the power delivery specs are for those? The Targus page is vague about that.
 
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andy9l

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Aug 31, 2009
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USB is a complete mess right now for consumers.

With the reports of people damaging their devices simply from poor quality cables, something needs to be done. Only a tiny minority frequent on tech forums to understand all the nuances @Brookzy has outlined.
 
croco_dile

croco_dile

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Original poster
Jun 3, 2016
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Thanks all for the input guys.

I also feel the USB C standard is in a mess! I work in IT and it's confusing to me let alone the general public. When you read the various specs of the cable, there is no consistency or standard. The description for Targus ACC928USX (http://www.targus.com/us/2-meter-usb-c-to-usb-c-cable-acc928usx) doesn't really tell me much.

The Targus ACC928USX seems to be out of stock every where, even Amazon is quoting 2-4 weeks shipping.
 
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Brookzy

Brookzy

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croco_dile said:
Thanks all for the input guys.

I also feel the USB C standard is in a mess! I work in IT and it's confusing to me let alone the general public. When you read the various specs of the cable, there is no consistency or standard. The description for Targus ACC928USX (http://www.targus.com/us/2-meter-usb-c-to-usb-c-cable-acc928usx) doesn't really tell me much.

The Targus ACC928USX seems to be out of stock every where, even Amazon is quoting 2-4 weeks shipping.
Click to expand...
The Targus cable is a 60W 5 Gbps cable at 2 metres. There isn't much more to it spec-wise. It's been independently verified as safe.

The Plugable cable I mentioned is also available on the US Amazon, so that is an option if you can't get the Targus.
 
croco_dile

croco_dile

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 3, 2016
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