Transcript generated from the video audio for accessibility.

[0:00] cheap and cheerful so I've tested almost 40 USB-C cables to find the best performing cable

[0:06] for the least amount of money will go through all the good ones plus a few dodgy ones so

[0:10] you can avoid scams and I'll be chopping up an expensive cable and a cheap cable and

[0:15] checking it out on a digital microscope to see the difference plus I'll be taking a quick

[0:19] look at this neat little gadget that lets you power almost anything by USB-C.

[0:24] It's all the facts none of the facts coming right up.

[0:33] Alrighty this video is not sponsored 99% of these cables I paid for myself with very few

[0:39] exceptions I'll put on screen now. So an expensive episode for me I hope you find it useful and

[0:44] please if you do buy any of these cables use the affiliate links in the pinned comment below to

[0:49] me recoup some of the costs and pay for the next episode. First up let's set a baseline by testing

[0:55] the undisputed best of the best. Several of you asked why I didn't test it last time well here it is

[1:00] the anchor prime Thunderbolt 5 USB 4 Gen 4 which is a $45 beast promising 80 to 120GB of

[1:08] second data and 240W power but like all cables those bleeding edge specs are theoretical for most people.

[1:15] To my knowledge there are no laptops that charge at 240W yet even the latest MacBook Pro only

[1:21] does 96W despite what some dumb AI might say. As for data there are a few Thunderbolt 5 laptops out

[1:28] there which will do 80 to 120GB a second but for 99% of people watching myself included 40GB or

[1:35] Thunderbolt 4 is the most you can expect so that's what I'll be testing. So anchor prime Thunderbolt

[1:40] 4 comes in a nice looking box poingly cable out it's a braided nylon but it is also the softest

[1:48] and most flexible braided nylon I've ever had in terms of Thunderbolt 5 cable they've done a

[1:53] really really good job this is really flexible for this type of cable. EMarketCheck confirms 80

[2:00] GB 240W Thunderbolt 5 so today I'll be testing on the power Z as well as the new K2 USB

[2:07] tester which is heaps cheaper so we can see how it performs. Testing charging speed on the Atorch

[2:13] and it does 140W even 150W with ease moving onto data transfer and we've got 3850W and 3050W

[2:22] very fast so I'll be rating each cable on flexibility and quality as well with a final score using

[2:29] the ABC grade system. Now this is easily an A plus premium data cable but it is not cheap $45

[2:36] US on Amazon $60 Aussie on Alex press but if you just want the best cable the link for this is below

[2:43] you can't go wrong if you'd like to get something around 80 to 90% there for about half the price

[2:49] let's keep looking. Hold the phone hours before this episode with GeetaGo live this arrived in the

[2:55] mail. This is an LTT TrueSpec cable made by Linus Tech Tips so apologies this is a bit rushed if

[3:02] you're not familiar yeah LTT TrueSpec by Linus Tech Tips they've tried to make a cable that

[3:07] meets required specifications. Interestingly I didn't see a USB IF specification mentioned

[3:14] but this is a beast. This is twice as thick as any other cable I'll be testing out of 40 cables it's

[3:20] like a 120 volt 240 volt extension cord though it's wrapped in silicon quite flexible for a high-speed

[3:28] cable checking the eMarket and the power z it comes up as expected the USB 4 Gen 3 though the eMarket

[3:34] chip was curiously lacking any detail. I kind of expected to see LTT or something there but it was

[3:40] unnamed which is a bit of a missed opportunity 150 watts on a torch no problems. Data performance

[3:46] was the real standard though so 3700 megabytes a second right and 3050 read equal highest out of

[3:53] 40 cables testing on my m4 Mac so the big question is is it worth the price 46 US dollars which is

[3:59] equal to the anchor prime Thunderbolt 5 to be honest does present as a higher quality cable the

[4:05] anchor prime all the quality on this is on the inside though and when you watch me later in this

[4:09] video cut couple cables and look at them under a microscope you'll see why that's important there's

[4:14] a lot going on inside here an easy A plus for the true spec let's move on okay so there are a few

[4:21] anchor prime Thunderbolt 5 clones we'll look at the two best ones that I found this one is the

[4:26] cheapest decent one at $15 US and $20 Ozzy so this one's you gored branded but there's a few brands

[4:34] I linked below this one's made with TPU so it is very flexible note the original isn't TPU

[4:41] eMarket confirms Thunderbolt 5 80 120 gig 240 watts moving on to the A torch and it takes 100

[4:48] and 150 watts like a champ onto the data very high 3800 right and 3000 read now that is a really

[4:56] good score so yeah this is the best cheap copy of the anchor prime okay and this one here is the

[5:02] best quality low cost clones of the anchor prime Thunderbolt 5 in my opinion it's a lot more similar

[5:08] to the original with a very fine and soft braided cable it's the GE GEYI branded TPU 5 cable from

[5:16] the first review a bit more money than the other one at $27 US so not cheap but you can immediately

[5:22] feel the difference in quality uses a very soft nylon like the original checking out the eMarker

[5:28] looking good on both a torch tells us 150 watts so the 240 watts should be fine moment of truth is

[5:35] the data test and 3700 by 3000 so not bad at all the other one got a tiny bit higher but this is

[5:42] still my favorite just because of the overall quality and similarity to the original moving along

[5:47] this is the cable creation usb for gen 4 80 gig to 120 gig 240 watts so yeah immediately right

[5:55] away this feels high quality it's a thick TPU but it's not sticky you like the other ones feels more

[6:01] like a rubber or something it's got a very average score on amazon because this guy's given it one

[6:07] star saying it'll only do 350 megabytes a second don't know whether that's right checking the eMarker

[6:12] it says it is an 80 gig cable with a named chip non-ageneric pulls 150 watts easily we check the

[6:19] data on this and 3600 so no idea what that guy was on about this is a definite 80 gig cable probably

[6:26] plugged it into a harbour or a slow port is laptop or something like that because this is a good cable

[6:31] especially for 18 bucks yeah link below definitely a nice one give that an a okay so next up the

[6:38] Vultamax 240 watt magnetic with USB-C lightning and micro connectors the only cable today that was

[6:45] sent in by the manufacturer so eMarkers on both show no response but we're hitting 150 watts

[6:50] on the a torch no problems so power checks out for data they say it's a 20 gig cable but whatever

[6:56] the case for a magnetic quick connect doing thunderbolt speeds it is still pretty impressive USB port

[7:02] here tux away you can just pull it out and then you've got the usb-c on the other side but the big

[7:08] question is it worth the money even more than the anchor I think this pack is about $58 US now that

[7:14] includes a lightning or an iPhone a micro USB and the type c connector on got on my phone so you

[7:20] could say it does replace quite a few cables some are going to love it and many do apparently but if

[7:25] you like me and you often use your phone when it's charging then it's probably not for you I'll give

[7:30] a quick demonstration so if it is hold the cable here and I move my phone does disconnect relatively

[7:36] easily despite having pretty significant holding power but if you just plonk your phone down to

[7:41] charge like this and walk away there is a whole bunch of convenience there so I can imagine why a lot

[7:47] of people do like it if you do want to get one of these get the silicon one there's a braided one

[7:51] which is a lot more stiffer but the silicon one's going to be much better in terms of that issue

[7:55] overall I'll give this one a B plus okay let's look at one which changed me from a U green fan

[8:01] to an anchor fan the prime 88 E2 this is a 240 watt cable with usb-2 so it's charge cable still not

[8:09] cheap at $30 US but damn this cable is sweet as it's not even like a USB cable it's like a fine

[8:18] cord that you use to tie your curtains or your tapestries it's super light it's really soft and

[8:26] crazy crazy flexible look at that instantly you notice when you pick it up checking the E marker it's

[8:32] good anchor branded into the a torch and of course we get 150 watts okay data is as expected 65

[8:39] right 35 re now they're saying it's got a hundred year durability rating 2699 on Amazon Prime

[8:46] $30 otherwise for Aussies $50 three-foot version like this USB I've certified A plus easy

[8:52] actually nicer than silicon never thought I'd say that it is just so flexible and soft

[8:57] and just wrap it around your finger like that moving on okay back on track now with premium data cables

[9:02] and this is U green's answer to the anchor prime Thunderbolt 5 this is the U green L706 okay so nice

[9:10] looking cable 27 bucks US or 33 Aussie in on the K2 and E marker checks out 80 gig by 240 watts

[9:17] with a Johnson Corporation chip 8-torch power test zero issues getting up to 150 watts

[9:24] testing data and after a few attempts we're getting 3600 right by 3000 read which is good but it

[9:31] is noticeably stiffer than the anchor like to see it won't bend any more than that it does remind

[9:37] me of a cheap Alex press cable but at $27 or $30 or whatever it is it is not cheap I'll have to

[9:43] downgrade it to a B plus now this is a much smarter buy the L705 U green cable it'll do 240 watts

[9:51] and 40 gig it's a second it's also a lot less money at $15.50 US on Amazon or 25 bucks Aussie

[9:58] it's also noticeably more flexible so let's give it a try and E marker checks out 241's 40 gigs

[10:05] testing power and we're getting the 150 watts no problems onto data and 3770 right so a little

[10:12] bit faster than the previous one for 99% of people this is the one to get it's cheaper it's more flexible

[10:19] great cable great price I'll give this an A okay this is another cheapy generic USB 5

[10:26] something called it USB 5 it's a USB 4 Gen 4 AB gig 240 watts claimed less than seven bucks E

[10:32] marker checks out unbranded been really impressed with this K2 by the way it's kept up with all the

[10:38] cables that I've done in this review I think from about 35 cables was maybe only two that it didn't

[10:42] read so for 30 bucks or something compared to 100 yeah I quite like the K2 one of the power and

[10:49] 150 watts does check out so data tests after five shots 3400 read and 3000 right so tiny bit

[10:57] slower than the fastest one here so I'll give this one a B plus and as usual you got people who haven't

[11:02] tested it giving it five stars people who have tested it but tested it incorrectly giving it one

[11:07] star another guy reviewing a work pro quarter drill I'm posting photos of carpet giving it five stars

[11:13] don't trust the reviews good or bad okay we'll do the cheapest cable I found next but first

[11:18] a lot of people have said I need to cut the cables to really compare the quality I don't really follow

[11:24] the logic since these aren't copper DC cables where the thicker the better the wires on this is going

[11:30] to be a microscopic thankfully banggood have hooked me up with this super cheap digital microscope

[11:35] now again nobody has paid me to say any of this I just hold a special place in my art for banggood

[11:40] it's the store that really got me started with cheap electronics and RC gear way back in the 2000s

[11:46] as for the microscope this is a cheapy 30 us bucks 40 Aussie that we a coupon below with a link

[11:52] to get the best price let's try it out so I reckon we'll do that you green 80 gig cable we just

[11:56] checked out before that's about 28 dollars us versus the really cheap six dollar USB 5 cable that I

[12:05] reckon pretty damn good and this is going to be really interesting 27 dollars versus six dollars

[12:10] this seems terrible but it's four sides all right so there's one here's the cheapy

[12:17] two all right so take it guess now which one do you think is which we'll take a close look on

[12:22] the microscope we can see a whole bunch of different strands and we've got the shielding around

[12:28] the outside looks like we've also got shielding internally all kinds of different stuff going on

[12:33] so you got some thick that must be the power cables yeah so you got your two black and your two red

[12:38] medium sized ones on the outside and then really tiny ones in the middle so that's cable A now

[12:43] let's look at cable B does actually look quite different so this one you can certainly more clearly

[12:49] see the shielding on the outside and then you've got the red cable in the middle which must be your

[12:55] positive where's the negative let's see a match for that unless it's hidden down in the corner there

[13:01] and then the really small ones are just kind of hidden random places spread out a lot more I would

[13:07] say these ones they seem to have a lot more shielding around those medium sized must be the data lines

[13:14] can see the positive power cable can't see the negative and what is all that white stuff going

[13:18] back to the first one I guess this one also has quite a bit of shielding around those middle ones

[13:23] it just looks like a different material so it got secondary shielding so very interesting I'll

[13:28] get some really nice screenshots and I'll put that up on the screen and take a guess at which one

[13:33] you think is the expensive one and which one you think is the cheap one and I can tell you now

[13:38] this one is the cheap one that is the six dollar cable right there this is the U green it does look

[13:44] a lot more organized you definitely see the the the ear thing looks a lot clearer on this one go

[13:50] back to the other one yeah you can see a lot less ear thing on this one but much bigger power I would

[13:55] say this does seem to have secondary shielding around those medium sized cables though this one

[14:02] have that yeah not sure maybe as for the microscope look no brainer to have something like this on

[14:08] your bench especially if you're solder yeah I like it especially for the money the only complaint I've

[14:12] got about this thing is on the official photos that must all have provided banggood it shows a

[14:17] metal pole here so they need to update that but yeah other than that this is definitely going to

[14:22] come in handy this is the DM7 they've got the DM12 which has HDMI out for a monitor now that

[14:28] would be really cool but yeah banggood have a tool sale on now coupon on link below for the best

[14:33] prices on the DM7 anything you buy there supports the channel so appreciate your support let's move on

[14:38] okay so this is the cheapest fast data cable I've ever tested from last episode thunderbolt 4 40

[14:45] gigabits a second 240 watts currently going for about four dollars and 40 cents now there are a lot

[14:50] of sellers itself for more than that but I've linked the one below let's retest it now so a market

[14:55] checks out of course 150 watts good onto the data and we've got 3600 right and 3000 read so

[15:02] really just as fast as the best 80 gig cables for most people now of course this is a very stiff cable

[15:09] but yeah for four dollars 50 this is the best deal going around easy B plus okay next is a warning

[15:14] there's this darker cable the darker version of the same going around the claims to be 80 gig it

[15:20] looks very similar when I received had absolutely no markings which doesn't bowed well and the

[15:25] generic bag plug it in to check the eMarker and it tells no lies this is only a 20 gig cable

[15:33] checking the power and it does meet the maximum rating I can pull off 150 watts

[15:37] data transfer does confirm 20 gigabits speed but get the last one it's a genuine 40 gig

[15:43] and it's got proper printing on it so you'll know what it is all right on to the charge cables and

[15:48] we'll start with my favorite charge cable from aohi my wife and I've been using this one for

[15:53] months now without issue but yeah six months let's double confirm it's marketed as 140 watts

[15:59] our eMarker says 240 watt are those so that's interesting it does the 150 watts on the a torch

[16:04] easily USB 2 data speeds now apart from the fact that it's silicon and ducky yellow best part about

[16:10] this thing is it's easy to buy and it's a really good brand so aohi makes the charger that you've

[16:16] noticed I've been using for all these tests I really like this cable a plus recommended so I'm

[16:22] putting this right after the aohi since you might be tempted there's a few clones of the aohi

[16:27] going around this is a so called 100 watts silicon charge cable $3.50 extremely cheap plugging it in

[16:35] and the connection is very stiff like it just it really wants to snap in there which is unusual

[16:44] so no eMarker on this one on either the k2 or the power z which does not burn well 60 watts is okay

[16:51] go to 70 and no it's a dirty scam it even says 100 watts on the cable but it is only a 60 watt

[16:58] cable $3.50 down the drain no for a 60 watt cable silicon $3.50 is still a bargain I just wish they

[17:05] wouldn't lie on the listings okay this one is another aohi clone they usually show it yellow in the

[17:11] advertisements I picked up the white one it is a brand at least a week home 100 watts so not 150

[17:18] 240 like the aohi really nice quality though so $7 US comes in a really nice box quality is

[17:27] really good no eMarker confirmed 100 watts not bad slow data of course it's USB 2 I'll give

[17:33] this one a B plus the aohi is only $3 more though so if the aohi didn't exist I would probably

[17:39] pick up one of these okay so last time people asked me to test some long cables and also some

[17:44] bassius so here you go this is a 3 meter 240 watt bassius tungsten gold charge cable I've seen as

[17:52] low as $8 on aliexpress us for the 3 meter cable other stores sell it for 20 bucks though so use

[17:59] the link below some people trying to rip you off eMarker checks out so does the 150 watt charge

[18:04] data as USB 2 now this is quite a stiff cable so I'd not buy it for the 1 to 2 meter versions I'd buy

[18:13] this if I needed a long high powered charge cable yeah $8 definitely a bargain link in the description

[18:20] all right anchor 82 e2 240 watt charge cable yeah look immediately noticeable as energy grab

[18:26] this cable really lights really flexible even this $13 one nice silicon tie eMarker looks good

[18:33] power 150 watts is good data as USB 2 is expected 13 US dollars for a 6 footer I think this probably

[18:40] more a 3 footer are 20 Aussie for the 3 footer which is this one yeah it's just immediately obvious

[18:46] when you start checking out all the cables the anchor ones are just just a bit better than the rest

[18:51] I was going to say this one gets an a but it's probably more like an a plus now I feel it again

[18:55] it's very similar to that anchor prime maybe not quite there but yeah this one gets an a okay the

[19:01] head haggie what's it called haggie haggie haggie haggie whatever it is I bought this 15 centimeter

[19:08] version one to save money and it is super super really flexible soft fabric a lot like that

[19:15] um anchor charge cable I really liked it's got a wedge shape and they call it a wedge model of some

[19:21] reason I know if you need to force some certain USB cables in I don't know why you'd have that

[19:26] 240 watt USB 2 data eMarker checks out on both power test also 140 150 watts and yeah just so

[19:35] flexible for 8 bucks I've already ordered another a plus I like this recommended okay so here is all

[19:42] the data I've collected including a bunch of cables I'm not showing in the video I'll go through my

[19:47] top five in a minute but first I wanted to preview this V flex now this isn't sponsored no

[19:53] affiliate links or anything like that these guys contacted me and sent me this for feedback and this

[19:58] is genuinely cool so I figured you guys would want to see it basically using this little widget

[20:04] you can program your USB C cables to output any voltage you want and power anything you need by

[20:10] USB C so let's say you've got this old radio and you can't find the adapter for it all you've got

[20:16] to do is grab your little V flex and I'm just going to plug it into my phone and we'll go into the app

[20:22] all we need to do is select how many volts we want to do up to 46 volts I'll keep this one at five

[20:28] volts since that's what the radio wants and then you just save so then we'll just find a plug that

[20:33] fits our radio they give you a whole selection including ones for hobbyists where you can connect

[20:39] it straight up to your projects and I'll just plug that into there plug it into the back of my radio

[20:45] and my power bank and that's it so I also used it to revive this old 1990 Teo Tico Ferrari and a few

[20:54] other cars and I was able to get this thing going again so you're really called little product

[20:59] wherewolf.us if you want to check one out okay so move on to my top five first the premium

[21:04] data cables now obviously anchor prime TV 5 best overall A plus however it is expensive the

[21:12] GE JEEYI is the next best 27 bucks followed by the more affordable generic five with the lightening

[21:22] make sure you buy in the links below there's a lot that look very similar but they're different

[21:26] and of course I recommend the LTT TrueSpec just to put that in there really quickly before anybody

[21:30] complains beyond that quality wise 1799 the cable creation that is a really nice cable I really

[21:39] like that one I'm going to be doing more of these for sure they've got a whole range the Ugreen

[21:44] 705 40 gig version excellent very cheap special mention to the ultra cheapes and the one that I

[21:52] dismembered here USB 5.01 which is this one 80 gig and a 40 gig version $7 US and $7 Australian

[22:01] really nice cables particularly if you don't mind a stiffy onto the charge cables and again the

[22:06] anchor prime charge cable the A88 240 watts charge cable A plus each the best but again not cheap

[22:14] about 30 bucks US in place of that easily the aiyochi 140 watts silky cable for 10 bucks also

[22:21] looks look that's my favorite charge cable $10 US really nice cable Ugreen L13 so the L513

[22:29] also 10 bucks really good the haggie haggie baggy this 240 watts also really nice and yeah

[22:37] addictively flexible great charge cable $8 and the anchor A82 E2 this one surprisingly cheap

[22:45] all results for all cables nearly 40 are at cheerful.cheap I hope you found this useful please use a

[22:51] link below pinned top comment tell me pay for all the cables that I bought for this episode

[22:57] as always be cool be kind and I'll see you next time