480Mbps theoretical maximum throughput, making data transfer at around 320 Mbps (40 MB/s) — the actual real-world maximum.
Similarly, USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 connections will never achieve 4.8Gbps. We will likely see a real-world maximum rate of 400MB/s with
overheads. At this speed, USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 is a 10x improvement over USB 2.0.
Applications
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 opens up the laneways and provides more headroom for devices to deliver a better overall experience. Where USB
video was barely tolerable previously (both from a maximum resolution, latency, and video compression perspective), it's easy to imagine
that with 5-10 times the bandwidth available, USB video solutions should work that much better. Single-link DVI requires almost 2Gbps
throughput. Where 480Mbps was limiting, 5Gbps is more than promising. With its promised 4.8Gbps speed, the standard will find its way
into some products that previously weren't USB territory, like external RAID storage systems.
Listed below are some of the available SuperSpeed USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 products:
•
External Desktop USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Hard Drives
•
Portable USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Hard Drives
•
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Drive Docks & Adapters
•
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Flash Drives & Readers
•
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Solid-state Drives
•
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 RAIDs
•
Optical Media Drives
•
Multimedia Devices
•
Networking
•
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Adapter Cards & Hubs
Compatibility
The good news is that USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 has been carefully planned from the start to peacefully co-exist with USB 2.0. First of all,
while USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 specifies new physical connections and thus new cables to take advantage of the higher speed capability of
the new protocol, the connector itself remains the same rectangular shape with the four USB 2.0 contacts in the exact same location as
before. Five new connections to carry receive and transmitted data independently are present on USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 cables and only
come into contact when connected to a proper SuperSpeed USB connection.
USB Type-C
USB Type-C is a new, tiny physical connector. The connector itself can support various exciting new USB standards like USB 3.1 and USB
power delivery (USB PD).
Alternate Mode
USB Type-C is a new connector standard that is very small. It is about a third the size of an old USB Type-A plug. This is a single
connector standard that every device should be able to use. USB Type-C ports can support a variety of different protocols using
“alternate modes,” which allows you to have adapters that can output HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, or other types of connections from that
single USB port
USB Power Delivery
The USB PD specification is also closely intertwined with USB Type-C. Currently, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices often
use a USB connection to charge. A USB 2.0 connection provides up to 2.5 watts of power — that'll charge your phone, but that's about
it. A laptop might require up to 60 watts, for example. The USB Power Delivery specification ups this power delivery to 100 watts. It's bi-
directional, so a device can either send or receive power. And this power can be transferred at the same time the device is transmitting
data across the connection.
This could spell the end of all those proprietary laptop charging cables, with everything charging via a standard USB connection. You could
charge your laptop from one of those portable battery packs you charge your smartphones and other portable devices from today. You
could plug your laptop into an external display connected to a power cable, and that external display would charge your laptop as you used
it as an external display — all via the one little USB Type-C connection. To use this, the device and the cable have to support USB Power
Delivery. Just having a USB Type-C connection doesn't necessarily mean they do.
10
Technology and components
