USB3.com
USB 3.0 Information - USB 3.0 Products - USB 3.0 Specifications - USB 3.0 News
Welcome to USB3.com your source for all usb 3.0 upgrade cards and Cables at Ultra Low Prices
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USB 3.0 Information - USB 3.0 Products - USB 3.0 Specifications - USB 3.0 News
Welcome to USB3.com your source for all usb 3.0 upgrade cards and Cables at Ultra Low Prices
USB 2.0 has been the standard connection for all external devices and peripherals almost since its release in 2000. However as a result of the rapid increase in casual usage of large data files for music, movies, and backups, demand for larger hard drives has increased tremendously since USB 2.0's initial release. For some of todays multi-Terabyte hard drives, moving lots of data over USB 2.0 can take a considerable amount of time. Many users have switched to relying on other types of data interfaces, such as Firewire 800, eSATA or Gigibit Ethernet NAS devices to transfer large amounts of data in a short time.
Superspeed USB 3.0 was specifically designed to address the speed problem by adding a 4th transfer mode on top of the existing 3. This allows USB 3.0 enabled devices and computers to take full advantage of SuperSpeed, but also connect without issue to older USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices. The new transfer mode increases the maximum USB transfer rate from 480Mb/s to 5,000Mb/s (5Gb). This translates into a nominal transfer rate of around 600MB/s, and still maintains compatibility with older devices and systems.
USB 3.0 accomplishes its massive speed increase with the addition of 5 more wires (2 pairs, 1 each for TX and RX, and an additional ground). The creative part is how the USB Organization fit these extra 5 wires into the existing USB 2.0 connectors. USB 2.0 and 3.0 "A" connectors are interchangable, the extra 5 pins near the front being the only major change. A USB 2.0 "B" cable will fit into a USB 3.0 "B" receptical, but the reverse is not true. A USB 3.0 "B" cable cannot be plugged into a USB 2.0 port. See the diagrams below for more details.
| High-Speed USB 2.0 A plug pinout | SuperSpeed standard A plug pinout | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| High-Speed USB 2.0 B plug pinout | SuperSpeed standard B plug pinout | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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