USB extension cable: 3.0 vs. 2.0?

[Jay Freedman]

I'm trying to extend the life of a 5-year-old desktop that's good for most of what I do. One of its drawbacks is that it came with lots of USB 2.0 ports but no support for USB 3.0. Backups to an external drive were taking 4 hours (and the 500 GB drive itself was getting too full, so that was due for replacement).

I recently installed a PCI-E card that provides two USB 3.0 ports on the back of the computer. (It also has an internal header for connecting a cable to a front-panel port, but the front panel doesn't have room for that.) At the same time, I got a USB 3.0 flash drive and a 1 TB USB 3.0 external drive. It all works, but getting at the ports on the back to plug and unplug the drives is very inconvenient.

Now the question: I have a USB extension cable that can run around to the front of the desk, but it was something I got in USB 2.0 days and it isn't marked "SS" (for super speed?) like the 3.0 connectors. Will that cable limit the transfer speed to drives I plug into it? Do I need to get a cable that's specifically for USB 3.0?

[HansV]

For USB 3.0 speed, you will also need to get a USB 3.0 (Super Speed) rated cable. A cable designed for USB 2.0 simply doesn't have the same capacity - among other things, it has fewer wires.

[Jay Freedman]

Thanks, Hans. I suspected as much. Fortunately, the cables are inexpensive.