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USB 3.0 Specifications released

Andrew Lyle   on 18 November 2008 - 00:26, updated 18 November 2008 - 01:38 · 56 comments & 14059 views

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The new standard for USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB, has released the specifications for its next major upgrade. USB 3.0 is meant to surpass its current predecessor USB 2.0, which supports up to 480 Mbps data transfer. The USB 3.0 will support speeds up to 4.8 Gbps, roughly 10 times faster than USB 2.0.

The new standard is expected to be more power-efficient over its predecessor. Your old devices will not be garbage just yet, since USB 3.0 will be fully backwards compatible with your old devices, supporting USB 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0.

The switch over from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 on your hardware will hopefully take place late in 2009, where media devices will be the first to see the upgrade in things such as, external hard drives, flash drives, digital cameras, and personal media players.

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(5 replies) #1 Sacha on 18 Nov 2008 - 01:46
Haha, we need a new logo. The Hi-Speed USB just doesn't cut it anymore.
Hopefully manufacturers speed up delivery of this.
#1.1 Beastage on 18 Nov 2008 - 02:03
Sacha said,
Haha, we need a new logo. The Hi-Speed USB just doesn't cut it anymore.
Hopefully manufacturers speed up delivery of this.


They should go for a simple USB 3 logo... or USB III
#1.2 kingco on 18 Nov 2008 - 02:20
USB III is even more ugly! You don't want 1,000+ complaints on Neowin do you?
#1.3 LordJTC on 18 Nov 2008 - 02:59
I thought they were going to call it "SuperSpeed USB" which is an even more awful name...
#1.4 ShadowLight on 18 Nov 2008 - 12:08
US3 is good to go for me ...
#1.5 Majesticmerc on 18 Nov 2008 - 14:52
ShadowLight said,
US3 is good to go for me ...


Universal Serial Three?
(2 replies) #2 Digitalfox on 18 Nov 2008 - 02:22
Finally..

Now I'll wait more 8 or 9 months and buy a Notebook with USB 3.0, Sata 3.0, using DDR 3 and I hope by that time Core I7 ( Intel Nehalem microarchitecture ) is already available in notebooks..

Also if everything goes well Windows 7 will be available by that time, so already bring Windows 7 and no problems with notebook not supporting 100% of all the drivers needed for Windows 7 to run on it perfectly..

Nice notebook I'm going to have, well if they don't mess up the dates...
#2.1 Sacha on 18 Nov 2008 - 12:12
Just when you're about to buy that notebook.. they announce Windows 8, Bluetooth 3.0 is almost ready, some new awesome Fusion processor that combines videocards and processors is about to be releases making all other computers look like simple calculators.
#2.2 Digitalfox on 18 Nov 2008 - 13:49
Sacha said,
Just when you're about to buy that notebook.. they announce Windows 8, Bluetooth 3.0 is almost ready, some new awesome Fusion processor that combines videocards and processors is about to be releases making all other computers look like simple calculators.


Point taken, but USB 3.0 + DDR3 and Core I7 should make some years of being on the same plate from a computer generation point..

I hope you understand what I mean..
#3 Owenw on 18 Nov 2008 - 02:27
I figure they'll release it a few months before Windows 7, so it's compatible.
(11 replies) #4 skynetXrules on 18 Nov 2008 - 02:44
i find it funny that it is faster then sata by a lot
#4.1 Brandon on 18 Nov 2008 - 02:55
skynetXrules said,
i find it funny that it is faster then sata by a lot

agreed.

I'd rather see WiFi USB. Imagine wireless iPod sync
#4.2 Marshalus on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:02
Brandon said,
agreed.

I'd rather see WiFi USB. Imagine wireless iPod sync


I think the spec is fast enough to be basically faster then the access speeds of most hard drives to be future proof for quite a while.
#4.3 sabrex on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:10
Brandon said,
agreed.

I'd rather see WiFi USB. Imagine wireless iPod sync


That's not the same technology. USB is Serial, Bluetooth is wireless. Bluetooth 2.1 currently has 2.1 Mbps (pure coincidence that the version number matches the speed). Bluetooth 3.0 is supposed to bump that up to 480 Mbps, which opens the door to wireless external drives & high-speed synching with cameras, digital portable players, mobile phones, etc.
#4.4 SirEvan on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:29
i can see hackers having fun with your wireless data. Forget wardriving for wifi, they'll be wardriving for your data
#4.5 kimatg on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:33
Brandon said,
Imagine wireless iPod sync


Zune wireless sync anyone?
#4.6 skynetXrules on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:45
sabrex said,
Brandon said,
agreed.

I'd rather see WiFi USB. Imagine wireless iPod sync


That's not the same technology. USB is Serial, Bluetooth is wireless. Bluetooth 2.1 currently has 2.1 Mbps (pure coincidence that the version number matches the speed). Bluetooth 3.0 is supposed to bump that up to 480 Mbps, which opens the door to wireless external drives & high-speed synching with cameras, digital portable players, mobile phones, etc.


omg

the new spec 200x faster ! ???
#4.7 MightyJordan on 18 Nov 2008 - 07:49
kimatg said,
Zune wireless sync anyone?

+1!
#4.8 offroadaaron on 18 Nov 2008 - 08:39
Brandon said,
agreed.

I'd rather see WiFi USB. Imagine wireless iPod sync


I disagree it might not be as fast as SATA the just because it says 4.8 Gbps, when transferring files it might be slower than SATA. Look up USB vs firewire for reference.
#4.9 Silverskull on 18 Nov 2008 - 11:28
MightyJordan said,
+1!

+1 as well. We already have that over here!
#4.10 Sacha on 18 Nov 2008 - 12:14
You can actually wirelessly sync your iPhone and iPod with AmaroK already. Yeah that's right, a third party music player that isn't designed for Apple can do something iTunes can't?
#4.11 Shadrack on 19 Nov 2008 - 06:05
kimatg said,
Zune wireless sync anyone?


Zune wireless FTW. My Zune syncs automatically to my computer while it is on the charger in my car. Awesome.
(2 replies) #5 ThaCrip on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:15
i swear... i hate when people do this... they should have gave us something fast like USB 3.0 a good 3-4years ago.

or was it one of those things it was 'to expensive to mass produce for a pc' type thing at the time?

cause when they make USB 3.0 they need to make it plenty fast ... quite faster than anything that we would need within the next 5-ish years... i.e. basically make it semi-future proof if possible ... so i figure they should try making something that can pump out a sustained 100MB/s.... cause it's unlikely that would be 'slow' anytime in the next 5 (maybe even 10 years) ... and even if im wrong i doubt it would be slow slow like USB 1 is considered.
#5.1 skynetXrules on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:57
ThaCrip said,
i swear... i hate when people do this... they should have gave us something fast like USB 3.0 a good 3-4years ago.

or was it one of those things it was 'to expensive to mass produce for a pc' type thing at the time?

cause when they make USB 3.0 they need to make it plenty fast ... quite faster than anything that we would need within the next 5-ish years... i.e. basically make it semi-future proof if possible ... so i figure they should try making something that can pump out a sustained 100MB/s.... cause it's unlikely that would be 'slow' anytime in the next 5 (maybe even 10 years) ... and even if im wrong i doubt it would be slow slow like USB 1 is considered.


usb 1.1 12 Mbit ~1.5 MB

while Usb 2 480 Mbit ~60MB


now usb 3.0 4800 Mbit/4.8Gbit ~600MB !

USB 1.1 ===> usb 2 40x faster

usb 2 ====> usb 3 10x faster

so they already give us something that last us a while

btw we dont use usb 2 at it fullest yet (the best usb flash ~33mb read ~22 write ?)

i believe usb 3.0 would make it better for external new harddrives
#5.2 Sacha on 18 Nov 2008 - 12:17
We do actually use USB 2.0 to its fullest. The reason why they cap at about 33MB/s read is actually because the practical limit of USB 2.0 is about 30MB/s. The 60MB/s limit is just theoretical and has probably never been achieved anywhere.

There's a reason why people use eSata for their hard drives and performance drives. USB 2.0 isn't fast enough.
#6 vetSHoTTa35 on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:43
Sweet then we fall back and think, that's faster than my HDD can write or read. About 300MB/s - hmm i wonder when will we see normal (non RAID) drives do that?
(1 reply) #7 endtype on 18 Nov 2008 - 03:54
great....so then will they have to make new iPod cables...or a new iPod entirely
#7.1 Kushan on 18 Nov 2008 - 05:09
Backwards compatible? Did we even make a stab at reading the article? No? Ok then.
#8 roadgeek9 on 18 Nov 2008 - 04:00
Very, very cool.

4.8 Gbps!
(2 replies) #9 Kushan on 18 Nov 2008 - 05:09
It's worth noting that the seemingly ridiculous speed will probably be shared among several devices, so it makes sense to have a lot.
#9.1 Vezineth on 18 Nov 2008 - 05:54
That is the first thoughtful comment on the thread.
#9.2 Krome on 18 Nov 2008 - 06:15
Vezineth said,
That is the first thoughtful comment on the thread.

lol don't be too mean
#10 redfox2200 on 18 Nov 2008 - 07:54
(3 replies) #11 The Tjalian on 18 Nov 2008 - 08:34
Bloody hell, 4.8GB? That's mad.

Anyway, I'll wait until a USB 3.0 enabled External Hard Drive comes out, and then I'll buy one (alongside a USB 3.0 card, obviously).
#11.1 XerXis on 18 Nov 2008 - 09:43
The Tjalian said,
Bloody hell, 4.8GB? That's mad.

Anyway, I'll wait until a USB 3.0 enabled External Hard Drive comes out, and then I'll buy one (alongside a USB 3.0 card, obviously).


most (all?) harddrives don't even reach usb2 speed
#11.2 Sacha on 18 Nov 2008 - 12:18
Not true. USB 2.0's practical speed limit is about 30MB/s. There's a reason performance drives come with eSata as well as USB.
#11.3 +Smigit on 19 Nov 2008 - 15:12
XerXis said,
The Tjalian said,
Bloody hell, 4.8GB? That's mad.

Anyway, I'll wait until a USB 3.0 enabled External Hard Drive comes out, and then I'll buy one (alongside a USB 3.0 card, obviously).


most (all?) harddrives don't even reach usb2 speed
I think your thinking of Sata specs. They certainly can meet USB's.
(3 replies) #12 on 01 Jan 1970 - 00:00
#12.1 lomas on 18 Nov 2008 - 11:19
Why do you need USB 3.0 for a mouse?
#12.2 nhozemphtekh on 18 Nov 2008 - 12:48
lomas said,
Why do you need USB 3.0 for a mouse?


u fail
#12.3 Atlonite on 18 Nov 2008 - 14:24
yeah dude my ms laser mouse 6000 is usb 2.0 but still only runs at usb1.1 speeds
#13 doherty on 18 Nov 2008 - 13:48
Wait, 4 gigs? Holy shi- That's like, no loading screen
(2 replies) #14 Skyfrog on 18 Nov 2008 - 13:49
Is it still going to have the ridiculously thick cables?
#14.1 Atlonite on 18 Nov 2008 - 14:26
no duh its going to be fiber optic
#14.2 sphbecker on 18 Nov 2008 - 19:15
Atlonite said,
no duh its going to be fiber optic

I hope you are joking because that isn't true.
(3 replies) #15 sentio on 18 Nov 2008 - 14:40
Curious.. can anyone provide a link to research done to increase the firewire spec to something nearly as impressive?
#15.1 sphbecker on 18 Nov 2008 - 19:19
Lookup Firewire S3200, it should be avalible soon and has speeds up to 3.2Mbps
#15.2 Atlonite on 19 Nov 2008 - 04:11
FAIL it's only one tenth the speed
#15.3 Atlonite on 19 Nov 2008 - 04:17
(2 replies) #16 Skulltrail on 18 Nov 2008 - 17:33
Wow. Can't wait. Curious, how will this work? Will we be able to just update current USB ports to the 3.0 firmware or do we have to purchase a new computer with USB 3.0 already implemented?
#16.1 sphbecker on 18 Nov 2008 - 19:10
You will have to buy a new interface in the form of a PCI Express card...assuming your PCI Express bus can keep up with it.
#16.2 Skullpture on 18 Nov 2008 - 23:31
sphbecker said,
You will have to buy a new interface in the form of a PCI Express card...assuming your PCI Express bus can keep up with it.

That's lame. I'll get a new computer regardless so no worries.
(1 reply) #17 gtxvortex on 19 Nov 2008 - 14:21
Cough**** The USB 3.0 will support speeds up to 4.8 Gbps, roughly 10 times faster than USB 2.0 Thats what Neowin tells us

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has now announced the final specification for the USB 3.0 interface, which will also be known as SuperSpeed USB and offer transfer rates up to 600MB/s, more than ten times faster than USB 2.0.
#17.1 +Smigit on 19 Nov 2008 - 15:17
gtxvortex said,
Cough**** The USB 3.0 will support speeds up to 4.8 Gbps, roughly 10 times faster than USB 2.0 Thats what Neowin tells us

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has now announced the final specification for the USB 3.0 interface, which will also be known as SuperSpeed USB and offer transfer rates up to 600MB/s, more than ten times faster than USB 2.0.
Eh? You lost me. You realise the lower case b refers to bits, of which there are 8 per a byte (upper case B)

4800 (4.8Gb)/8 = 600 (600MB)

They, Neowin and the Promoter Group, are both listing the same speed using different units of measure.
#18 gtxvortex on 20 Nov 2008 - 06:50
My apologies. *blush*
#19 dcop123 on 02 Nov 2009 - 06:03
The first USB 3 controller chips were sampled by NEC May 2009 and products using the 3.0 specification are expected to arrive beginning in Q3 2009 and 2010. USB 3.0 connectors are generally backwards compatible, but include new wiring and full duplex operation. There is some incompatibility with older connectors.

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