USB 3.0 Specification and details released.

Almost eight years after the introduction of the now ubiquitous USB 2.0 High Speed standard, it is time to up the ante. Intel has showcased USB 3.0 details recently.

The release comes after a cold war between AMD/Nvidia and Intel regarding the disagreements between the two concerning sharing of USB 3.0 specifications. AMD at one point had threatened to develop its own USB 3.0 standard. However, things seem to have settled down after the following statement from AMD: "USB 3.0 is an answer to the future bandwidth need of the PC platform. AMD believes strongly in open industry standards, and therefore is supporting a common xHCI specification."

Let’s delve into the juicy details now. The most important improvement over the previous version is the increased transfer speeds and support for dual data lanes. What this means is that not only can you transfer files at 4.8 Gbit/s (600MB/s), you can do it both ways, i.e, both read and write at the same time. Although that may not sound like much, this was not possible earlier. This is achieved by the introduction of two lanes each--one for receiving and the other pair for transmitting data. Intel claims about the speed include an example, which says that you would be able to transfer a 27 GB HD movie to your device (USB 3.0 compatible of course) in about 70 seconds. This would have taken about 15 minutes with “high speed” USB 2.0! To take advantage of the speeds, new drivers for mass storage devices would have to be developed and yes, hard drive data speeds would be limited owing to their RPM and corresponding read/write speed limitations.

Note that is that these transfer speeds would be achieved only with USB 3.0 compliant devices – which brings us to another facet of USB 3.0. It would be completely backward compatible with earlier USB devices. The only physical differences being the thicker cable and slightly different connectors.

Apart from being more energy efficient than the current standard, they will also be able to carry more power – which will translate in to quicker recharge time for your future mobile phone! Expect a slew of devices by early 2010. This is because the final specs will be out only by Q4 this year and post that, there is the task of designing USB 3.0 controllers. Worth the wait? You bet!


Source: Maximum PC