What is USB 3.0?
While there are many uses for a USB port, USB 3.0 is the next generation of technology for the connection which will allow higher interface speeds. While this technology is still not ready for the general public, it is expected to be ready by 2010. USB 3.0 is called “SuperSpeed USB” by some because of its speed improvements over both USB 2.0 and 1.1.
Universal Serial Bus or USB has been extremely popular for computer peripheral interfaces since it was introduced back in 1996. While the initial release was good for basic devices like keyboards and mice, it lacked speed for higher speed devices such as external storage. The USB 2.0 was generated to improve data rates and this has been the standard for many years now. As data sizes and rates keep increasing, the USB 2.0 specification is now started to feel slow especially for storage compared to the eSATA interface. After much work, the new USB 3.0 specifications are finalized and the first products are making their way to market. It has been given the new name of SuperSpeed USB by the USB Implementors Forum to differentiate itself from the previous Hi-Speed name of USB 2.0. With the technology now becoming available, how will this new specification impact users? This article looks at some of the new features added to the latest version of the per
I think most of us are familiar with USB and USB 2.0 connected devices. The next advancement in Universal Serial Bus technology we are now seeing come to market is the USB 3.0 specification being billed as “SuperSpeed USB.” USB 3.0 connections have twice as many wires as a USB 2.0 connection, but the plug into your motherboard or USB 3.0 card will be backwards compatible with USB 2.0. You CAN plug a USB 2.0 device into a USB 3.0 port and have it work. You can also plug a USB 3.0 device into a USB 2.0 connection as well. Below is a screen shot of Windows 7 letting you know that you are not going as fast as you could! So we will see new USB 3.0 cables that look the same on the connection end, but a tad bit different on the device end as shown below. This will keep folks from trying to use USB 2.0 cables and plugging them into USB 3.0 devices. How Fast is USB 3.0? First and foremost, we are not even able to show you here today how fast USB 3.0 can be with a real-world device. The fact of
