SUMMARY: What would you say if I were to tell you of a set of rounded ATA cables that will reportedly give you faster data rates? Think I'm crazy? Come join Mike "Darthtanion" Wright as he takes a look at a set of IOSS RD3XP Rounded Cables. They claim to be able to do exactly this and it is time to find out if they can really live up to such a claim!
All right then. After making such a claim like that on the first page, we need to see just what we have here. From the looks of things, it seems very similar to just about any other rounded cable that is available in stores. But there are some differences that we should take a look at.
One of the first things of note is that all of the wiring is coated with an aluminum shielding. Not only does this help in reducing interference with the data signals, but it also makes the overall appearance look cleaner and more professional. I didn’t cut into it to see how thick it was, but it seemed to be rather durable and shouldn’t give any problems in the near future.
Pictured above is the center connector that would be hooked up to your slave drive. Notice that the wires and aluminum shielding have been covered with a fabric layer to give even more durability to the cabling. I have noticed in the past that this can be one of the weakest spots of the rounded cables, but this should help protect it very nicely. It also makes the appearance more appealing to the eye.
Next up is something that I haven’t seen on ATA cables before, a grounding strap. We’ll talk a little more in a bit about why this is important and how it works, but it was a little surprising to see this on the cable when I pulled it out of the box.
As you can see above, the grounding strap is small, thin and won’t inhibit airflow. It also helps with this claim of faster data rates since it grounds out the entire conductive structure of the assembly. Of course, if you are the type who is always playing on the inside of the case, then it can be a bit troublesome to always have to remove the ground to remove the cabling.
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