Confused about usb c cable option to connect mac studio to non apple monitor

[bodhisattva1123]

Hey everyone, so I have a mac studio with 3 dell u3223qe 4k monitors. The provided usb c cables that come with it are like 2 inches long lol. It's not long enough to reach the outside monitor from the mac studio. So when I'm looking for a usb c to usb c longer cable they all have power ratings.

So my question is, the port on the back of the dells is a 90watt charging port. Does it matter how many watt usbc cable I buy if I'm connecting it to a mac studio and not charging anything? Or will this damage my mac or monitors in some way? Thanks

 

[Tagbert]

The cables that come with the Studio are probably Thunderbolt and support the highest speed transfer. That is also why they are shorter.

Some cables on only support power delivery (PD) and only have USB 2.0 speeds.

You’ll want cables rated for USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 4 for your monitors. Any cable should be able to handle that power level.

 

[bodhisattva1123]

No

The cables that come with the Studio are probably Thunderbolt and support the highest speed transfer. That is also why they are shorter.

Some cables on only support power delivery (PD) and only have USB 2.0 speeds.

You’ll want cables rated for USB 3.2 Gen 2 or USB 4 for your monitors. Any cable should be able to handle that power level.

No I'm referring to the cable that comes with the monitor. usb c to usb c. I'm trying to find out if its ok to get an aftermarket one with say 100 watt since the port on the monitor is rated for 90 watts. I'm assuming it would be find but just wanted someone with more knowledge in that area than me to confirm for me.

 

[joevt]

If you're not using the display to charge a laptop, then it shouldn't matter what cable you get, as long as it supports 10 Gbps USB data which should be sufficient for max DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth.
USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 cables should also be compatible. And the Apple Thunderbolt 3 Pro cable. Apple has a 3 meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro. All these options are more expensive than a USB-C only cable because USB4 and Thunderbolt 3/4 are up to 20 Gbps per lane instead of just 10 Gbps.

 

[bodhisattva1123]

If you're not using the display to charge a laptop, then it shouldn't matter what cable you get, as long as it supports 10 Gbps USB data which should be sufficient for max DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth.
USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 cables should also be compatible. And the Apple Thunderbolt 3 Pro cable. Apple has a 3 meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro. All these options are more expensive than a USB-C only cable because USB4 and Thunderbolt 3/4 are up to 20 Gbps per lane instead of just 10 Gbps.

Im using usb c port on the monitor to thunderbolt 4 on the mac studio not the display port. Does that matter at all?

 

[lcubed]

not in this case

 

[joevt]

Im using usb c port on the monitor to thunderbolt 4 on the mac studio not the display port. Does that matter at all?

Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 ports support USB and DisplayPort over USB-C which means they can use normal USB-C cables.
Remember that charging doesn't happen unless the display and computer and cable agree - power delivery uses a complicated negotiation protocol to make sure things don't melt. You can connect two computers with a USB-C cable without risk of damage (if the USB-C ports follow the spec) - you would do this for USB target disk mode or Thunderbolt IP.