The Apple MacBook, for instance, offers a USB 3.1 port, but not Thunderbolt 3. Standard USB 3.1 Type-C connectors still support data, video and audio transfers, but are limited to a lower bandwidth, so will perform slower, can’t carry power and aren’t compatible with graphics units, among others.
Best cable for any useYes, this cable costs a bit more, but the transfer speed and flexibility are completely worth it. The cable delivers on all the published specs, the quality isYes, this cable costs a bit more, but the transfer speed and flexibility are completely worth it. The cable delivers on all the published specs, the quality is excellent and the long-term durability is very solid.
I've used this cable for docks, drives, displays and other peripherals with no issues and just solid performance. This lets you take advantage of all that transfer speed your shiny new MacBook Pro was designed to provide.
More (Read full review).Written by Mark I from Carlsbad.16 Jan 201953 of 60 people found this useful. Works with MonitorsMy LG UltraFine monitor started having the green sparkles and I read that it was because the USB-C cable that ships the monitor can be defective. I purchased thMy LG UltraFine monitor started having the green sparkles and I read that it was because the USB-C cable that ships the monitor can be defective.
I purchased this cable on recommendation from an Apple specialist and it fixed the issues I had and display interaction with peripherals also appears to be improved. More (Read full review).Written by Matthew K from Allentown.22 May 201910 of 12 people found this useful. Works for everythingUSB 3.1/2/Extreme M.2 external drive, 950MB/s Write, 980MB/s Read.
1800MB/s plus (don't have the device attached right now, so can't recall exact speed) on extUSB 3.1/2/Extreme M.2 external drive, 950MB/s Write, 980MB/s Read. 1800MB/s plus (don't have the device attached right now, so can't recall exact speed) on external OWC M.2 Thunderbolt 3 device with two m.2 cards installed.
Every monitor works. Cables are a bit stiff, one could ask for some that are longer but they work every time, in every situation. I have heard less about other brands. More (Read full review).Written by Michael B from Abbotsford.24 Jul 20190 of 1 people found this useful. Great thunderbolt 3 cableUsing it to connect a Dell USB-C monitor with downstream USB ports & power delivery and both work perfectly as expected when connecting with this Thunderbolt 3Using it to connect a Dell USB-C monitor with downstream USB ports & power delivery and both work perfectly as expected when connecting with this Thunderbolt 3 cable.
Good length for connecting to a monitor, well made, one of the best options out there for a non-active cable! More (Read full review).Written by Giulio C from Frankston.24 Jul 20190 of 1 people found this useful.
Best Answer:Short answer: It seems this is a passive cable. But I'm not 100% certain. Long answer: After 45Short answer: It seems this is a passive cable. But I'm not 100% certain.
Long answer: After 45 minutes on a call with Apple support, the rep could not get a definitive answer, but we both concluded that this must be a passive cable for these two reasons: 1) The connector on the 0.8m Apple cable is fairly compact. It is much shorter than the connector on my active 2m and 0.5m TB3 cables from OWC. The longer connector hardware on the OWC cable would assumedly accommodate the active circuitry.
OWC's connector hardware (between the USB C connector and the cable itself) is about twice as long as Apple's. Well, you may say Apple may be capable of making a much more compact active transceiver than OWC, so moving along.
2) Per Apple's specs, the Apple 0.8m TB3 cable is capable supporting USB 3.1 Gen 2. According to an apple insider article (link not provided as it prevents me to post this answer with an external link), indicates that only a passive TB3 cable can support USB 3.1 Gen 2. Once the active circuity is involved, the tradeoff is you lose the full 3.1 g2 USB speed. Now what gets confusing is that a passive cable longer than 0.5m may not support the full 40Gb/s TB3 speed. But Apple does claim this cable to support 40Gb/s, so perhaps Apple discovered they achieve 40Gb/s at 0.8m, but to jump to 1m or 2m would result in slower speeds. For most users the distinction may not matter, but to the power user it does.
I have an enclosure that RAIDs four NVMe M2 SSD chips which are extremely fast, so I want the full TB3 40Gb/s spec. As such, I either need to connect via a very short 0.5m passive or an active TB cable of up to 2m.
If you want one cable that can give you both USB 3.1 get two speed but is also rated for the full 40Gb/s TB3 spec, then you ideally use a short passive TB3 cable, but 0.5m is very constraining. More (Read full answer).
Answered by Thomas M from New York. on 6 Dec 2018.