Back in the bad old days of IDE (and SCSI for show-offs TBH), we had to accommodate cables a bit like roller-towels made of stiff plastic. Even if you could attach two drives they were a pain. Then there were versions with the individual wires bundled into tubes. Better but still awkward. Then there was SATA (and SAS if you're into that). Much better. These days, most home builds probably have an NVME drive straight on the motherboard, and if there's a cable at all, it's probably just one for a big HDD.
I've got eight HDDs and an old style case, so even the skinny SATA cables are a bit of a pain.
I read online that SATA cables are available in a wide variety of lengths and styles. This is true in a way, but not necessarily in a way that I find ideal. Ideally, I would like five lightweight SATA cables, with clips, with right-angle connector at one end, 20cm long. Then I'd like three more, matching if possible, straight, 30cm. The "three more" are easy. I've got plenty already. The five lightweight, right-angle, 20cm ones are more of an issue.
I assumed this would be simple when I started searching, but not only are shorter cables pretty rare, they also tend to be more expensive. Similarly, lightweight (i.e. narrow, flexible, round cable rather than flat, stiff, plastic) is rare. Doesn't help that Seagate appears to have circulated some misleading advice that SATA cables under 30cm are prone to interference, crosstalk, and timing issues. This is the case for SAS cables but not SATA.
Anybody know of a good supplier?
Edit: just ordered a big handful of super-cheap 20cm cables on AliExpress for very little. Will they work? Who knows?
Edit (part 2): Well, they won't work yet. I thought I'd ordered, but apparently it didn't go through because AliExpress had no shipping address and their add new address form is one of those "joke" ones where the "confirm" button can't be pressed for some reason.
Edit (part 3): Switching to Firefox got my address registered, but also told me that the cables aren't available to ship to the UK. And of course, no 20cm cables are available.He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar
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