OK: take this FWIW:
It’s been my experience that better data cables are worth the extra cost, up to the point where some sleaze tries to sell you solid silver USB cables “for audio” for $125.
I do know that “real” CAT 6 ethernet cables are more reliable than the generic (and some not so generic) brands merely marked as CAT 6. (No: there is no regulator body. Yes, there is a spec for CAT 6, but that doesn’t mean a cable stamped as such meets it.)
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/is-your-cat6-a-dog.htm
And AFAIK, it’s ditto for USB cables as well.
You can pretty much be sure that the USB 3 cable that came with your Acme RocketSpeed Doohickey Drive was sourced from the Chinese factory with the lowest bid.
However, and strictly anecdotally, when I replaced some critical USB 3 cables with the Lindy ones, things just seemed to be more reliable. Since doing that, I’ve not had any hubs suddenly drop offline, or drives magically dismount in the middle of a backup.
Does that mean that the Lindy is a better cable, or that my old cable was faulty, and any new one would have worked?
¿Quien sabe?
Lindy makes “enterprise” products, here in the USA. A typical cable costs $12, not $2.
Is it worth it? Maybe not to you, but I’m now a repeat customer, so it obviously is to me.
hth
Tracy
www.valleau.gallery