LaCie is well known for its external hard drive storage solutions for everything from desktop hard drives to RAID solutions and network storage. The company also provides a number of accessories, including its line of LaCie Flat Cable FireWire 800 and 400 cables. LaCie has constructed a quality FireWire cable that you can use for both storage and video-editing purposes. Moreover, this cable is priced affordably, and lands in sixth place on our list.

Because of LaCie’s experience with external hard drives that feature multiple I/O ports (input and output), the company knows how to construct a connector cable properly, whether it’s FireWire, USB or eSATA. LaCie builds its flat cables to allow proper signal throughput and overall cable durability.

Its FireWire 800 cable features a 9-pin connector that hits data-transfer speeds of 800Mbps (megabits per second). It is also called a 9-pin beta cable (FireWire 800 to 800). Since FireWire 800 is twice as fast as FireWire 400, many new computers take advantage of FireWire 800 ports.

The LaCie FireWire 800 cable's flat design is unique and makes it easy to wrap up the cable while it’s connected to your hard drive or disc burner, or for travel. Even a six-foot cable can cause clutter on your desk while it connects your drive to your computer. Otherwise, the technology is unchanged and provides the same signal throughput.

The variety of cable colors is a great way to organize different types of cables. If you’re like many users, you may have different types of cables attached to your computer, and those cables probably look alike, save for the connectors.

The different colors are a good way to know which cables are which. LaCie also provides a few adhesive labels to mark which cables connect which devices. This is especially useful if you use multiple FireWire 800 and 400 cables.

As mentioned above, the LaCie Flat Cable FireWire 800’s unique design makes it easy to wrap the cable up for travel or to help de-clutter your workspace. The cables are also highly durable, with reinforced covers and a gunmetal finish on their connectors.

LaCie only offers its Flat Cable FireWire 800 in one length, which is just less than four feet. This is an average length, although similar FireWire cables are generally closer to, or at, six feet in length. Most users won’t need anything longer than four to six feet, although there are always exceptions, such as a small desk space, which may require you to place your FireWire device (external hard drive, disc burner or camera) farther away from your computer on another surface.

LaCie offers different types of FireWire cables, including FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and FireWire 400 to FireWire 800. The latter option is great if you have an older external FireWire hard drive that connects only by FireWire 400 and your computer or another external hard drive only connects via FireWire 800. The FireWire 400 cable has a 6-pin connector, which means it has a larger connector. The FireWire 800 to 400 cable is also known as a bilingual cable. We wish LaCie offered more FireWire cable options, however.

LaCie provides plenty of support options for its Flat Cable FireWire line, including a data sheet, an interactive troubleshooting section on its website, a FAQs and Knowledge Base page, and ways to contact LaCie directly by email or phone. While LaCie publishes its phone number and email online, it’s buried on the company's website; however, you can set up an account you can use to create a support ticket if you need additional help from a customer-support specialist.