Cables

FireWire and Thunderbolt are standards for connecting multimedia and external storage devices to PCs, laptops and Apple devices. Originating in 1986 and 2011 respectively, both standards have evolved into various revisions, adding support for progressively higher transfer rates.

Make sure to check which versions of FireWire or Thunderbolt your devices support so you can choose a compatible cable.

USB cables transfer data such as text, images, AV signals and power from one device to another. They may either have the same connectors at each end or convert between different types of port. Originating in 1996, since then USB has evolved into various revisions, adding support for progressively higher transfer rates.

These USB 1.1 and 2.0 cables support throughput at up to 12Mbps or 480Mbps respectively using either the large Type-A connector and/or one of the smaller connectors, so make sure you choose a compatible cable.

USB cables transfer data such as text, images, AV signals and power from one device to another. They may either have the same connectors at each end or convert between different types of port. Originating in 1996, since then USB has evolved into various revisions, adding support for progressively higher transfer rates.

These USB 3.0 cables support throughput at up to 5Gbps using either the large Type-A connector and/or one of the smaller connectors, so make sure you choose a compatible cable.