Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Benson again with a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable review. Today I am reviewing IOGEAR's "Smart USB-C to USB-C [USB-IF Certified] 10Gbps (3.3 Feet/1 Meter) Cable with E-Marker, G2LU3CCM01E" This cable is a USB 3.1 Gen2 Full-Featured Type-C cable, meaning that it not only supports charging capabilities and basic USB 2.0 data, it also supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 SuperSpeed for much faster data transfer with supported devices (10gbps), and also allows for the extra wires to be repurposed for Alternate Modes such as VESA DisplayPort. This cable should have 10 more wires than a standard USB 2.0 Type-C to Type-C cable to support the extra functionality. In addition, IOGEAR claims this cable supports 100W operation, so I will check to see if it supports 5A. *Advanced Cable Tester Results* I am using Total Phase's Advanced Cable Tester, which does USB testing in four critical areas: * e-marker verification - checks that the integrated identifier chip in the cable has appropriate values * continuity - checks that every pin on the cable is connected where it's supposed to, not connected to where it's not * DC Resistance - checks to see if this cable is within spec for IR Drop (Section 4.4.1 of the Type-C spec) for charging performance * Signal integrity - checks the USB 2.0 and 3.1 data lines can perform at 480mbps and 5/10 gpbs respectively. Here is the vital info summary from IOGEAR's cable from the Advanced Cable Tester on default settings from the "SS Gen 2 - 5A with SI" Test Profile: Emarker fields - * Product ID: 0x0005 * XID: 0x1173 * Vendor ID: 0x2095 * Current Rating: 5A * Speed: USB 3.1 Gen 1 and Gen 2 Continuity - All Pass for USB 3.1 cable. This cable has the extra 10 wires for a full-featured cable. DC Resistance @ 5A - Vbus : 71.92mΩ -> 360mV Gnd : 27.32mΩ -> 137mV These are comfortably within the limits of 500mV for Vbus and 250mV for Gnd. This cable will not cause excessively slow charging, even when used with 100W power supplies. Signal Integrity - This cable passes 10ghz and 5ghz "eye" diagram tests on the SuperSpeed pins, and 518mhz on the USB 2.0 high speed pins, using the ACT's default settings for USB 3.1 Gen 2. *USB-IF Certification* IOGEAR claims this cable is USB-IF certified, so let's search the official USB PDF of certified cables. Searching for the part number "G2LU3CCM01E" yields a result, a cable from "IOGEAR, Inc." with a description of "USB‐C to USB‐C 10Gbp 5A 1M Cable" The official USB pdf also lists that cable's XID, which is 0004467. Converting to hexadecimal, this is 0x1173, which matches the value I read from the cable's e-marker using the Advanced Cable Tester, therefore I have high confidence this is the same cable that USB-IF certified. Because this cable is USB-IF certified, it is allowed to use the official logos on both the cable and the box. In this case, the cable is clearly adorned on both overmolds with the SuperSpeed 10 Gbps trident logo, and the box uses the red and blue SuperSpeed+ logo. The logo is especially important because it allows for the user to quickly identify the data capability of the cable at a glance. *Functional Tests* My test setup today include a Lenovo Chromebook 13 (2017 Lenovo Thinkpad 13" 1366x768 Chromebook, Integrated Intel HD Graphics 510, Celeron 3855U Dual-core 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC, 802.11ac, Bluetooth, USB-C, HD Webcam, Chrome OS) and a Chromium OS USB-PD Sniffer (codename Twinkie). Please check it out by searching google for "Chromium USB-PD Sniffer". This product is also available on Amazon here : Plugable USB 3.1 Type-C (USB-C) Power Delivery Sniffer Since this cable claims capable of 5A operation, I have to use a different laptop to do a functional test of high current capability. In this test, I am using Apple's MacBook Pro 15" with TouchBar Late 2016 (Apple MacBook Pro MLH32LL/A 15.4-inch Laptop with Touch Bar (2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 256GB Retina Display), Space Gray), and its included 87W charger. Using twinkie as an interposer on the MacBook side: > tw vbus VBUS = 20276 mV ; 4111 mA The MacBook Pro is taking advantage of the higher than 3A capability of the cable, drawing 4.11A here, for 81W of power. For a USB 3.1 SuperSpeed data test, I've hooked up my Chromebook to a SuperSpeed Type-C external drive enclosure :ORICO Aluminum Tool Free Type C USB 3.0 to SATA III External Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5 inch HDD/SSD [ Optimized For SSD, Support UASP ] Silver (2598C3) I confirmed when attached to my Lenovo Chromebook via the IOGEAR cable that it enumerates at SuperSpeed, and works for large file transfer. Finally, I have tested this cable and my Chromebook on a Type-C monitor capable of DP alternate mode: LG Electronics 4K UHD 27UD88-W 27" Screen LED-Lit Monitor. Using this cable, I am able to charge the Chromebook at 57W, while displaying 4K 60hz video, and accessing the monitor's USB hub. For other more subjective judgements of this cable : IOGEAR's cable is sturdy and tough, although a little bit thick and stiff. The connectors on both ends are deep-draw extruded Type-C plugs, which put them on par with higher end cables from Apple and Google. In conclusion, IOGEAR's Smart USB-C to USB-C [USB-IF Certified] 10Gbps cable G2LU3CCM01E is an excellent USB-IF certified cable that shows the promise of Type-C use cases to come. Using this single cable, I was able to fast charge my laptop while simultaneously displaying 4k60 video to and accessing a USB hub on an external display. It should work great for up to 10gbps SuperSpeed+ applications and for up to 100W charging.