I usually canibalis my older power cables where I can as well. Every one of my power supplies I have owned (except one of two) have been Corsair, each one has been fully modular as well which has been a plus.

Definitely a good place to start, you just need to be careful when doing this. Not all cables are made the same between brands or even within the same brand. I have not fried anything yet.

Doctor power by thermaltake is a good cable tester especially if not sure.