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I have been comparing prices on USB A/B cables for a new printer. I was wondering, do things like the gold plated connectors matter? Is an expensive cable going to be faster/produce higher quality printing/otherwise better than an inexpensive one?
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Gold plating - All connectors should be gold plated. Have you ever looked at the connectors inside the PC? Gold. Why? Gold is very stable and will not corrode/oxidize like copper. If gold does oxidize, it's oxide is a conductor, unlike copper oxide which is an insulator.
As long as the cables meet the USB standards, they will work at their designated speed.
One thing to note. Speed ratings are in lab conditions, generally transferring one file. Multiple files will take longer. Example: I tested a USB-1 and a USB-2 cable a while back. I transferred XP SP-2 (266 Meg) from my internal HD to an external HD (USB-2) using both cables. Both drives Maxtor 7,200 RPM, 80 Gig. The USB-2 cable finished faster than the USB-1 cable. I don't remember the exact times, but the USB-2 was faster. I then did the same thing with a ton of .jpg picture files, about 200 Meg. Overall speed dropped dramatically because multiple files were transferred rather than one file (which the vendors don't mention when they are trying to tout their transfer speed). The USB-2 was faster again.
HTH,
Wayne
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