USB 3.1 set to reach desktops

The emerging USB 3.1 standard is set to reach desktops as hardware companies release motherboards with ports that can transfer data twice as fast as the previous USB technology.

MSI on Wednesday announced a 970A SLI Krait motherboard that will support the AMD processors and the USB 3.1 protocol. Motherboards with USB 3.1 ports have also been released by Gigabyte, ASRock and Asus, but those boards support Intel chips.

Source

A Guy
 
I've seen that. USB 3.0 isn't being fully implemented on many USB devices and now they are going to 3.1.

In the recording world there are no 3.0 interface devices yet. All are USB 2.0.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    i7 6700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
    Memory
    16 Gb G Skill TridentZ DDR4 3400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel (i7 CPU)
    Sound Card
    RealTek Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" Dell SE2717HR
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    500GB Samsung 850 SSD, 3TB for backups
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 750 G2
    Case
    BeQuiet Silent Base 600
    Cooling
    Deepcool Captain 120EX
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Cable - 100MB Downlink
    Browser
    Edge/Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft
    Other Info
    Sonar Platinum 64 bit recording studio software with MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface unit.
My desktop has USB 3.0 and 2.0 sockets, but it doesn't seem to make any difference which I use for any of my devices - including an external HDD that Speccy tells me is a USB 3.0 device. Everything operates the same, including the speed at which I can transfer files to/from my HDD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i5-4590
    Motherboard
    MSI h97 PC Mate
    Memory
    Kingston Valu Ram 2 x 8 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon r7 265
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 22" flat display
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 250 gb 840 evo SSD,
    WD Blue 1 TB HD,
    Fantom 2 TB ext HD
    PSU
    Corsair 600 W
    Case
    Antec 1
    Cooling
    stock CPU cooler, 4 x case fans, GPU fan and P/S fan
    Keyboard
    HP ps/2 keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Trackman Marble
    Internet Speed
    50 mb/s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Norton Security Suite
Same here. I saw where they are going to have a USB 3.1 b & c.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS 9100
    CPU
    intel i7 920 @ 2.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    24 Gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5670
    Sound Card
    Internal
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Flat Screen HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 850 250 GB SSD
    2 Seagate internal 1TB
    WD external 3TB USB 3
    WD external 2TB USB 3
    PSU
    550-W
    Case
    Mid
    Cooling
    Fans
    Keyboard
    US USB
    Mouse
    USB
    Internet Speed
    3.84 Mbps Download .44 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
    Other Info
    Liteon DVD wrighter
    Liteon BD drive
    Monoprice Tablet
I've seen that. USB 3.0 isn't being fully implemented on many USB devices and now they are going to 3.1.

In the recording world there are no 3.0 interface devices yet. All are USB 2.0.

In terms of data transfer the difference for most devices is not that big, but some cool features of my motherboard only work with 3.0 ports, like USB fast charging and flash drive turbo mode.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10.0.10122
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    My Build - Vorttex Ultimate
    CPU
    Core i7 @ 4500 MHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-Plus
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 @ 1822 MHz (OC)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon R9 280X 3GB @ 1180 / 6800 MHz
    Sound Card
    7.1 HDA
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD LG 22" + CRT LG 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1760 x 1320 / 1280 x 960
    Hard Drives
    1 x 240 GB SSD (System)
    3 x 500 GB HDD (Data/Media)
    1 x 2000 GB e-HDD (Backup)
    PSU
    ThermalTake 1000W PSU
    Case
    Corsair Carbide R300
    Cooling
    Corsair H60 (Push-Pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    60 Mbps (Down) 5 Mbps (Up)
    Browser
    IE, FF, Chrome
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security 2015
    Other Info
    Some wired stuff
My desktop has USB 3.0 and 2.0 sockets, but it doesn't seem to make any difference which I use for any of my devices - including an external HDD that Speccy tells me is a USB 3.0 device. Everything operates the same, including the speed at which I can transfer files to/from my HDD.

You should start a thread in the appropriate forum. USB 3.0 is quite abit faster than USB 2.0 for the most part USB 3. External hard drives will run at just about the same speed as if they were internally connected SATA. However you can't make a SATA hard drive transfer data any quicker than it does. With USB 3.0 the limiting factor is the actual speed of the Hard drive. This doesn't work out for SSD however unfortunately.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro MC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus G75VW / Z97 Pro
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3610QM / I7-4790K
    Motherboard
    Z97 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Hyundai HTM315156CFR8C-PB PC3-12800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (GF114M)
    Sound Card
    VIA 6.0.10.1600
    Screen Resolution
    1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB
    Internet Speed
    30 down 3 up
    Browser
    Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    NIS and Malwarebytes
The implementation of USB3 seems to widely differ depending on the mobo manufacturer. I have seen significant transfer speed differences on different PCs. I was always using the same SSD attached to USB3 with the same enclosure and made images with the same program. All those PCs had internal SSDs too.

On one system I have USB3 and eSata. eSata is actually faster than USB3 although the specs of eSata are only 3Gb/sec versus at least 5Gb/sec for USB3. eSata was appr. 50% faster than USB3.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
You should start a thread in the appropriate forum. USB 3.0 is quite abit faster than USB 2.0 for the most part USB 3. External hard drives will run at just about the same speed as if they were internally connected SATA. However you can't make a SATA hard drive transfer data any quicker than it does. With USB 3.0 the limiting factor is the actual speed of the Hard drive. This doesn't work out for SSD however unfortunately.

I don't use that hard drive a lot, mainly storage for stuff I am not using and to store my Windows System Image Backup. It is unplugged most of the time because of a shortage of outlets near my desktop and because it has an oversized plug (voltage converter on plug or something) and has to be plugged into bottom of power strip, or right into the wall. In order to plug in that HDD, I unplug my computer speakers - which also have an oversized plug.

So in short, as long as it works, the actual transfer speeds don't matter too much to me. I just wanted to comment that, at least in my case, 2.0 seems to be as good as any of the higher standards. If there is some utility I could be used to check for issues, I would be interested. Down the road I may end up purchasing something where the extra speed makes a difference.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i5-4590
    Motherboard
    MSI h97 PC Mate
    Memory
    Kingston Valu Ram 2 x 8 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon r7 265
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 22" flat display
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 250 gb 840 evo SSD,
    WD Blue 1 TB HD,
    Fantom 2 TB ext HD
    PSU
    Corsair 600 W
    Case
    Antec 1
    Cooling
    stock CPU cooler, 4 x case fans, GPU fan and P/S fan
    Keyboard
    HP ps/2 keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Trackman Marble
    Internet Speed
    50 mb/s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Norton Security Suite
i had 1TB of files in a folder on a USB 2 external Seagate drive that i transferred to a new USB 3 drive to make a backup on a laptop that only had USB 2 and this took approx 10 hours but i did it overnight and didnt watch it the whole time.

later i had purchased a newer USB 3 laptop and was making another backup but wasnt thinking about speed or USB 3 since i hadnt really seen the speed in person and so i used the original Seagate USB 2 external on the USB 3 equipped laptop to a USB 3 Seagate external of the same make/model and it still took approx 10 hours.

when i had to yet make another backup i then bought the same external again but this time i used USB 3 drives for the transfer and it took approx 3 hours.

so it was approx 3 times faster when i had USB 3 on laptop and both drives were USB 3.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Surface 8.1
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Surface 3
    CPU
    i5
    Memory
    8GB
    Internet Speed
    20.0
    Browser
    Chrome
If you buy the "next from cheapest" USB3 HW you will see a big difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0.

Here is a test of my Sandisk Extreme 32Gbyte USB3.0 USB-stick

Sandisk-usb3_zps8306696f.jpg

Try to get this speed with USB2.0 :)

BUT!!! As Windows 7 changed to Windows 8(.1) some older USB3 HW dropped in speed. My former USB3.0 hub was an example of that. Windows 8(.1) and Windows 10 are using a slighly different protocol to USB3 than Windows 7. Maybe this is teasing some of you with desktop PC?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64bit Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3570K @4,4Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z77A GD65
    Memory
    16Gbyte DDR3 1866Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX770 lightning
    Sound Card
    Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2411
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840EVO 240Gbyte, Samsung 830 256Gbyte SSD, Seagate 4TB , Western Digital black edition 1,5Tbyte
    PSU
    Zalman ZM850 HP
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 500R
    Cooling
    air
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    60/60mbit fiber
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    BitDefender total security
My desktop has USB 3.0 and 2.0 sockets, but it doesn't seem to make any difference which I use for any of my devices - including an external HDD that Speccy tells me is a USB 3.0 device. Everything operates the same, including the speed at which I can transfer files to/from my HDD.

I know this is a bit late but FYI for those experiencing "slow" USB 3.0 speeds - make sure you are using the correct USB cables. Though both USB 2 & 3 cables can be used on 3.0 devices, you'll need the USB 3.0 cable to get those 3.0 speeds. One of the easiest ways to recognized/identify a USB 3.0 cable is the look at the end that goes into the USB 3.0 slot and you should see a blue plastic divider....

USB 3.0 cable.jpg

The cable itself doesn't have to be blue, just that divider inside the metal housing as shown above. If the divider is black, chances are it's a USB 2.0 cable. A lot of people think that just because the cable fits and works in a 3.0 device it'll run at 3.0 speeds, but no, you need a 3.0 cable to get 3.0 speeds (or close to it). BTW the same applies to USB ports. If the ports have a black divider instead of blue, it's a USB 2.0 port.

Peace :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built by me
    CPU
    Haswell i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5 (BIOS F9)
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 32 gig (1866MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9-280 Vapor X
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster ZXR
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242W - 24 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 512gig 850 Pro SSD (OS), Samsung 256gig 840 Pro SSD (photo editing), Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HD
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 1000 G2
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Closed Loop Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    High Speed
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security
    Other Info
    RAM Speed: 1866MHZ @ 9-10-10-27-2T, 1.5v
That was a useful clarification.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Thanks Wolfgang. Don't think many understand that you need a USB 3 cable to get USB 3 speeds.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built by me
    CPU
    Haswell i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5 (BIOS F9)
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 32 gig (1866MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9-280 Vapor X
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster ZXR
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242W - 24 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 512gig 850 Pro SSD (OS), Samsung 256gig 840 Pro SSD (photo editing), Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HD
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 1000 G2
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Closed Loop Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    High Speed
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security
    Other Info
    RAM Speed: 1866MHZ @ 9-10-10-27-2T, 1.5v
To my knowledge, none of the USB cables I own have blue coloring at the tips. For my HDD, I am probably using the USB cable that came with it, which might be a USB 2.0 cable. I don't know why the maker would bundle a 2.0 cable with a 3.0 drive, but I only have Speccy's word for it that my HDD is a 3.0 drive. I have gone to the Fantom Drive website to attempt to find my drive model, and I have found no info there- probably my model has been discontinued (it is at least 3 years old).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i5-4590
    Motherboard
    MSI h97 PC Mate
    Memory
    Kingston Valu Ram 2 x 8 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon r7 265
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 22" flat display
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 250 gb 840 evo SSD,
    WD Blue 1 TB HD,
    Fantom 2 TB ext HD
    PSU
    Corsair 600 W
    Case
    Antec 1
    Cooling
    stock CPU cooler, 4 x case fans, GPU fan and P/S fan
    Keyboard
    HP ps/2 keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Trackman Marble
    Internet Speed
    50 mb/s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Norton Security Suite
If it's not blue, it's USB2. That even rhymes, LOL
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Home x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    INTEL Core i5-750
    Motherboard
    ASUS P7P55D
    Memory
    KINGSTON HyperX Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1866Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX750
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27MP33HQ 32" IPS LED
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Evo 120 GB, 2 x SEAGATE 500GB Barracuda® 7200.12, SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
    PSU
    ANTEC TruePower New TP-550, 80 PLUS®, 550W
    Case
    ANTEC Three Hundred Illusion
    Cooling
    COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus, 3 x 120mm 1 x 140mm Case
    Internet Speed
    20 + Mbps
    Browser
    Vivaldi
    Antivirus
    Avast

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built by me
    CPU
    Haswell i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5 (BIOS F9)
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 32 gig (1866MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9-280 Vapor X
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster ZXR
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242W - 24 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 512gig 850 Pro SSD (OS), Samsung 256gig 840 Pro SSD (photo editing), Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HD
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 1000 G2
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Closed Loop Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    High Speed
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security
    Other Info
    RAM Speed: 1866MHZ @ 9-10-10-27-2T, 1.5v
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