The top cable pictured above is the original Cobra Cable which is red, black and silver. The bottom two are Cobra UV cables that light up when they come in contact with a UV or "black light". Personally, I love the look of the original Cobra Cable. However, if you have a UV light mod, you definitely want to take advantage of the UV coating of the Cobra UV cables.

     So what makes the Cobra Cable so special other than their kick ass looks? First of all, each cable is wrapped in nylon mesh for extra durability. The cables are rounded for maximum air flow inside your case and they have been tested to meet ATA133/100/66/33 compliance for high speed data transfer. Best of all, each cable is shielded with aluminum foil and braided with silver mesh. They even have a grounding strap for maximum shielding.

     Once installed, the cables make a great addition to your custom computer. Even the UV cables look awesome! The picture below shows all three cables installed. As you can clearly see, the original Cobra Cable does not react to UV light, but I still prefer the looks of it over the UV cables. That is unless you are into UV light mods.

     As far as testing goes, it is extremely difficult to verify if one brand of cable actually transfers data faster or better than another. Many times, the only way to tell if a cable is good or not is if it simply works, or it doesn't work. Most of the time, as long as a cable meets ATA166/133/100/66 specs, it will work flawlessly. The only thing that really separates rounded cables you see on the market today is QUALITY. When buying cheap cables, you get exactly what you paid for; a cheap generic knock-off of the real thing. Although it may work the first time, the instant you pull on the cable to remove it, you end up breaking wires or the wires will come loose and cause strange data errors corrupting your hard drive. When choosing a cable, you should approach it just like every other piece of hardware you purchased - choose the best. Or if you are on a budget, choose the best product for the money. Just be a wise and educated consumer and you can't go wrong.

Conclusion

     Simply put, the Antec Cobra series cables are the highest quality rounded cables I've seen. I've reviewed some awesome cables before, but these babies put everything else to shame. I would like to point out one thing, and that is I've seen similar cables marketed under different names. Unfortunately, I can not verify that all the cables I've seen are made by the same manufacturer or if they even meet the high standards of Antec. Regardless, be leery of generic knockoff or look-alike cables and always buy from a reputable reseller or manufacture such as Antec who insures that they sell only the highest quality products.

     The Antec Cobra Cables sell for about $14.95 for the IDE and $9.95 for the floppy version. Both the original Cobra Cables and the UV version are priced the same. You can purchase the same cables you saw here directly from Antec.