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10x faster USB 3.0, coming soon to a gadget near you
We've been hearing about it for years, and now it's finally happening: There's a new version of USB on the way, and it's going to be ten times faster than its predecessor. Launching next Monday is USB 3.0, and the good news is that it's backward-compatible with our old friend, USB 2.0. You can see the two new plugs above, with the one on top the standard USB 3.0 plug that will fit in current USB sockets, and the smaller one pictured underneath destined for portable devices such as cell phones and music players.
You can plug these cables into old USB devices, but of course, you won't get that blazing speed unless that device's innards have the new USB 3.0 hardware inside. Expect computers and other geegaws to be equipped with this speedy new system before too long. Besides that faster speed, the new protocol will feature better power management, and optical cabling inside, too. Neat.
How much faster will this new system, called "SuperSpeed," go? If you were transferring a 25GB HD movie from one place to another with USB 1.0, it takes 9.3 hours. With USB 2.0, just under 14 minutes. With USB 3.0? 70 seconds. Quite an improvement.
Everything USB, via Newlaunches
By CoolProducts at 3:01 PM ON 11/14/08
Definitely an improvement, though not as huge of an improvement from 1-2. Still great though!
By Shadd Up at 3:56 PM ON 11/14/08
Nice meaningless comment to spam your crappy site.
Good work.
By murc at 12:37 AM ON 11/17/08
I'm planning on building a computer in a couple months...I may hold off a bit longer now, cause I want it to have USB 3.0 in it...since I build one like every 5 years....I dont want to -put it together, and have it be missing something as vital as this will be.
By Andrew at 2:53 AM ON 11/26/08
definitely a great improvement and i'm looking forward to being able to transfer my shit faster now... love it.
By solitaryheart at 5:27 AM ON 11/26/08
you will be able to buy a pci card that has usb 3.0....it will be ok
By Rich at 11:50 AM ON 11/28/08
Think you mean PCIe... and although the spec is complete, don't expect to see products till the end of next year, early 2010 at the earliest.
P.S. Although you will get greatly improved speeds, you will never move 25GB in 70 seconds (just like it will never take you 14min to do it with USB2).
By Dean at 7:34 AM ON 12/02/08
Shadd: His comment had more use than yours. He made a valid point, there is an option on the forum to include a URL so he used it, Why is that a problem?
I can't wait for this to hit laptops, I think I will hold off on an upgrade until they appear with 3.0 built in.
Are the cables going to cost the earth like HDMI ones do, though?
By Addy at 10:50 AM ON 12/02/08
To elaborate on Rich's post, we can't hit those speeds yet not because of the USB connection, but because of device r/w speeds. Also, USB 3.0 is spec'd to go 5GB/s, which theoretically allows transferring that 25GB in 5 seconds.
By ewanm89 at 11:49 AM ON 12/02/08
Using eSATA already, only thing running over USB now is keyboard and mouse, USB was not designed for starage devices it was designed for ow powered general purposes devices like input devices.
By newbie at 12:13 PM ON 12/02/08
Aren't all things processed slowed down by the lowest common denominator. Ie the Hub? So unless I can plug this thing into a PCI card slot it's not going to have a transfer rate faster than 32 Mbps on my laptop?
By Aericron at 1:28 PM ON 12/02/08
right.... 11/14/08 article claiming to have this out by the monday after.. that'd be 15 days ago now.... I'm quite sure I'd have seen an ad for it somewhere other than the internet. Fake.
By deano at 3:43 PM ON 12/02/08
When?
By Avidan The Sane at 11:00 PM ON 12/02/08
Awesome. murc, ditto
By allthebestofthenet.com at 12:41 AM ON 12/03/08
Its about time! That is going to be AWESOME.
By jimos at 7:39 PM ON 12/03/08
25GB in 70 secs ?
365MB/sec : who knows a hard drive reaching that point ? :)))))
By Pyotr at 3:34 PM ON 12/08/08
Of course, then we'd need a hard drive that goes that fast. Even with SSDs it will be quite some time before the full potential of USB3 is reached.
By kris at 4:10 PM ON 12/08/08
What in the hell is a "geegaws"?
By darkno1 at 11:49 PM ON 12/08/08
I'd just like to point out that the comment about usb 2.0 being designed to transfer 5GB/s so that file would go in 5 seconds is way off. It was specified to run 5 Gb/s (gigabits per second) not gigabytes ... there's 8 bits in every byte so that 25 gigabyte file would actually take a lot longer. Also there is over head to consider like moving that data from the usb bus through the processor out the ide or sata or esata controller then actually hitting the cache on your hard drive then being written. Add all that up and those of us who actually have used USB2.0 to transfer large amounts of data will tell ya 14 minutes ... yeah right! I still prefer firewire 800...
By SARANG DRAVID at 7:46 AM ON 12/09/08
Hmmm ! I must admit its a very gud thought.. :)
By EZ Computers at 5:20 PM ON 12/14/08
I must say, i am rather looking forward to usb 3.0 flash drives :)
By kris at 1:26 AM ON 12/20/08
No, seriously, what in the hell is a "geegaws"? Anyone?
By Sayne at 9:42 PM ON 12/26/08
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/geegaw
Technically "a geegaws" would be ungramatical, as geegaws is plural. The technical definition may not quite fit what the author was describing, but I think he just couldn't think of the word 'thingamajig' at the time.
By Dustin at 1:27 PM ON 01/04/09
I'm guessing it will take a while for these to catch on because of cost. They use fiber connections in addition to all the old USB 2 connections and I bet they wont be cheap.
By Dulip Perera at 8:31 AM ON 01/10/09
We know it already sir...................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Hue Mann at 4:20 PM ON 03/07/09
Frame of reference. In a more perfect world, posters using phrases such as, 'Launching next Monday' would include a calendar date to afford those 'stumbling upon' it months/years later a point of reference in the article.
As it is with this one, the reader may only assume, 'next Monday' to be at some point about, 11/14/08. When the first comment posting occurred.
As for the actual practical use date of this new technology, four months out and still waiting.
By John at 2:38 AM ON 03/21/09
Geegaw: Doohickey; Whatchamacallit; Thingamajig; Bauble; Doodad; etc
By benjamin1254 at 10:24 AM ON 03/28/09
it is now 09 and well... i have yet to see a unit that supports or even thinks it is such. I will be waiting but i think this media will fail like firewire has done. It was a nice idea but failed due to its lack of use. It is a nice idea but to see it do well means people will "want" to use it.
By ravi at 10:28 AM ON 09/24/09
Using eSATA already, only thing running over USB now is keyboard and mouse, USB was not designed for starage devices it was designed for ow powered general purposes devices like input devices.
By djDeathx at 1:36 AM ON 11/04/09
Yea like benjamin1254 says, "it's a nice idea"... and that's all I can take from him. FYI firewire got run over by USB. USB 3 is not a brand new concept, but rather an upgrade. We've already experienced USB1, and loved USB2, you're saying that people will refuse USB3? I wouldn't want to smoke your kind of crack.... it sux!
..but here we are, it's Nov 2009 and the article was posted on Nov 2008 with the "promise" that "next monday USB3 would be launched"..... so much for that
By Nick at 8:52 PM ON 02/09/10
its 2010 and nobosy even knows about a new usb yet
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