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I wanted to stock up on SATA cables - to have as spares, etc. - but when I search newegg I see such a wide range of prices I have to wonder if there's any reason to spend $16.99 on a SATA cable?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200091
It's an angle connector, which can be useful sometimes, and it's 24" long...but $16.99?

Meanwhile I still see choices (on newegg) for SATA, SATA2 and SATA3 cables. Why? I thought they were interchangeable. When I bought my MSI board it came with 2 white SATA 6Gb/s cables, the other 4 SATA cables were black. I asked around at the time and was told the only difference is the color.

Anyway - what cable do you guys buy? Anyone use Okgear? I never heard of them. This is what I want I guess...metal latch, straight-to-straight, 18" should be enough...What do you think?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123287

btw I was in Best Buy last night, they had 1 SATA cable for sale from Dynex - $19.99. Each. In case you're curious here's the product:
http://www.dynexproducts.com/products/cables-cords-adapters/DX-C102131.html

Thanks for any thoughts or recommendations you can share, I appreciate it.

I buy all my SATA (and Ethernet) cables from Monoprice. I've never had a problem with the quality of their cables, and the prices are so low you'll be scratching your head wondering how everyone else can get away with charging so much. Yes, you're reading that right -- 50 cents for SATA cables! For the price of that one cable from Best Buy, you can get a box of 20 from Monoprice, including shipping.

OMG... "scratching my head" is right!

I was ready to pay $5.99 to newegg for this:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10226&cs_id=1022602&p_id=8778&seq=1&format=2

It's Fifty-Nine CENTS at monoprice. ??? Is there like a $9.99 shipping and handling fee or what? lol.

only thing that's a little weird - unless I'm overlooking it - there's no brand? Not that I really care...so long as they work...

In any case thank you very much for this - I never would've trusted these prices (or this site) but if you're happy with them that's good enough for me.

Thanks again JBI!

Monoprice is where I get nearly all of my cables. For the past 7 years or so I've bought SATA, Ethernet, HDMI, DP, DVI, and all sorts of adapters from them. Do not hesitate to buy from them.

canoli wrote:

It's Fifty-Nine CENTS at monoprice. ??? Is there like a $9.99 shipping and handling fee or what? lol.

Well yeah if you're ordering just a couple of cables, the shipping will end up costing you several times the price of the cables. I tend to place larger orders and stock up; last time I ordered from them it was a big pile of Ethernet and audio cables (about $40 worth), and the shipping was around $8.

canoli wrote:

only thing that's a little weird - unless I'm overlooking it - there's no brand? Not that I really care...so long as they work...

I believe they make their own cables (probably in some Chinese sweatshop, and then ship 'em here by the boatload). They come in plastic bags (so you're not paying for fancy packaging either).

canoli wrote:

In any case thank you very much for this - I never would've trusted these prices (or this site) but if you're happy with them that's good enough for me.

I've never had a problem with any of their cables, quality seems to be on par with the name brand stuff. Some of the electronics they sell can be a little dodgy, but it's so stupid cheap that an occasional dud doesn't particularly bother me.

Thank you - this is great - I'm placing an order now.

Wow am I glad I asked. Instead of getting 4 cables for $25 I'm getting 10 cables, different lengths, colors (more choices than newegg) ...and spending less than $20 including shipping.

One thing I forgot to mention -- the latching connectors they use on most of their SATA cables really do latch, and do so quite securely. You can't unplug a cable just by yanking on it, you really do need to depress the latch on the side of the connector. This is both a blessing (goodbye to loose SATA connections forever!), and a curse (it can be somewhat difficult to work the latch if your SATA port cluster is densely packed or the interior of your case is cramped).

that's good to hear actually - I was a little afraid that might be the weak link in the cable. All the cables I ordered have that latch.

I don't mind stripping off parts to get at the SATA port cluster (when it's necessary). I like knowing the cables are locked-in securely...one less thing to think about when something goes wrong.

thanks again!