What do SATA cable labels mean?

[jeromecheungtl]

I have several SATA cables from several old computers.
May anyone please
(1) teach me how to read those labels and
(2) suggest the order of quality(from the best to the worst)?

http://i.imgur.com/6s1Qkbm.jpg

 

[synphul]

They all appear to be the same 80c, 30v, vw-1 cables. The only difference seems to be the yellow bizlink and red lian feng (3rd and 4th cables from the left) are 26awg while the others to the right of those are slightly more narrow and marked 30awg. That's the gauge of the wire, as the number gets higher the wire gets smaller, so 30awg or 30 gauge is smaller wire size than 26awg or 26 gauge. That's why the yellow and red cables are slightly thicker.

Generally speaking though all should perform similarly. Pick the color you like or if you think you'll be better off with less resistance go with one of the thicker lower gauge cables. Not really much difference though, there are supposedly 'sata2' and 'sata3' cables but tests have been done and no difference found. The controller and device dictate the transfer speed, so long as the cable isn't damaged.

Thicker wire isn't always better, consider the routing of the cable. If it has to make tight bends a thinner cable might be better. More capable of making sharper turns and bend/curve easier. That could also mean less strain on the device port it's plugged into. Thicker, stiffer wires could try to straighten themselves out with a little more force and place more pressure at the drive or motherboard.

Cable comparisons.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/SATA-cables-Is-there-a-difference-97/

http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1882-sata-cable-test-all-the-same