I have a Lenovo Thinkpad W530 laptop with two USB 3 ports I'll call A and B. When using my AC-powered Vantec USB 3 3.5' External HDD, I would get USB 3 speeds when plugged into A, but B would get only USB 2 speeds (and I would get Windows 7's ""this device can perform faster if you use USB 3"" nag). But to complicate matters, my port-powered Innnateck portable USB 3 2.5' drive enclosure would operate at USB 3 speeds when connected to either A or B. Oh great, one of those oddball (likely) hardware issues. (I guess the glass half-full view is that the Innateck worked at Super Speed in both A And B, so at least B wasn't a complete loss as far as USB 3 functionality.)Long story short, I tried a number of solutions and nothing worked. So I decided to try a different (and somewhat shorter) cable, and settled on the AmazonBasics based on some of the reviews and the specs. I got the 3-foot, which is about 9 inches shorter than the Vantec OEM cable (which I believe they had already replaced as part of an RMA of the whole Vantec assembly). I wasn't holding out much hope that switching to this cable would solve the problem, but it did! With the AmazonBasics cable the Vantec is giving me USB 3 Super Speed with port B, too. Great! Hope the solution ""sticks.""BTW, other than length and the AmazonBasics' gold-plated connectors, the two cables looked pretty much the same to me. But on closer inspection I see the AmazonBasics seems somewhat sturdier and thicker the Vantec OEM cable.