Current Uses for USB 3.0

What are some of the current and near future (1-2 years) uses for USB 3.0?

I am thinking that I would greatly benefit from having a USB 3.0 port on my next laptop, but then I think, besides buying a USB 3.0 external hard drive, what other uses would I get out of it?

 

It depends on the progress of other technology. If you use, or plan to use, a HD video camera, it's probably worth investing in in terms of future-proofing; since transfers would go far faster. But that depends on whether the cameras will support the new technology, and how long you plan to use the laptop for.

Another thing to note is that USB 3 can provide more power to accessories. It's not unusual to have a laptop cooler that runs better on mains power, or a device that charges faster while its plugged in to the house. USB3 can bypass these somewhat.

However, in the end, it'll eventually become the next industry standard, as 2 did to 1. In terms of future-proofing, it's a worthy addition to a laptop, but as it stands, its current uses are fairly limited.

 

The only other thing I can think of near-term that would require USB 3.0 bandwidth would possibly be video cameras and other video transfers.

 

You can do a lot more with 5Gbps than you could with 480Mbps. HD video, external drives that are just as fast as internal ones without needing eSATA, networking (maybe...the fastest ethernet standard that consumers typically use is 1Gbps). There is even some speculation that this is going to mean the end of firewire so audio equipment might find a home with USB 3.0. Heck, you might even be able to make an external GPU for notebooks using USB 3.0.

I'm sure that given time someone will think of a few more uses for it.

 

I didn't realize this but it's good to know!

 

If Intel has its way, USB 3 may never take off (read: Light Peak).

 

USB 3.0 is starting to crop up especially in external drives now. Light peak will be a few more years before we see it in any afordable and practical form I think. it is still in dev. and testing but it looks like a nice next step

 

Would you pay more for a laptop if it has USB 3.0 if you plan on keeping that laptop for approximately 5 years and may only use the USB 3.0 in combination with a USB 3.0 external hard drive?

 

In fact, I wouldn't consider buying a laptop without at least one superspeed port.

In addition, the ubiquity of the current USB 2.0 will virtually guarantee that USB 3.0 will continue the linage. Although light peak will no doubt have a place as a special applications when it does arrives.

 

I would pay NOTHING more for USB 3 in a current machine but would look for it as a standard feature in a machine in 12-18 months.

'early adoptors' always pay more than they should for a new features.

 

Flash drives that will operate 3x faster
External video drivers for running additional monitors
Gigabit wireless (it's coming...)
2.25x the power to the port, which will run coolers MUCH better than the pathetic fan speeds of today.
Docking stations? That really do it all through one connection
Lower overhead on the CPU - frees that up to do other things for you

That's just a few

 

At optimal speeds UPS 3.0 could supplant the need for any other current port. Imagine a world where on port did it all.

 

It is also a more efficient protocol with less CPU overhead than in the past. That means lower latency, and lower CPU overhead (not that this is a big, big thing, but every bit helps)

Not everyone will recall that when USB 2 came out people said "why bother" and in a year it was all over. Your mouse never needed USB 2 but these things have a way of becoming a ubiquitous standard fairly quickly.

Lightpeak will be good, but will require a larger degree of infrastructure change (the connectors for Lightpeak on the device end are not very cost effective yet) and thus is quite a number of years away.

USB changes about once in every 10 years, so expect the USB 3 standard to be around a while.

 

this video shows esata outperforming usb 3.0 on small file copies and being almost the same speed in large file copies

YouTube - USB 3.0 Speed Test vs USB 2.0 eSATA Internal connection (NCIX Tech Tips #71)

 

Would you pay more for a laptop if it has USB 3.0 if you plan on keeping that laptop for approximately 5 years and may only use the USB 3.0 in combination with a USB 3.0 external hard drive?

 

ESATA outperforms only on physical drives where the two would be pretty close in speed. However USB 3 takes less CPU overhead than does ESATA. And you can get power via USB making it a one plug solution, something that never took off with ESATA. And moreover, even if you use a ESATA/USB 2 combo, USB 3 will deliver more power, enabling 7200 rpm 2.5" drives to be run externally from a single plug.

Moreover I can then use that one cable to plug in my external hardrive, my hub to my lesser devices or run the same cable over to my USB 3 printer (in the future). Do you think I want an assortment of two different kinds of cables USB 3 and ESATA just to run two standards when one will do just fine?

 

Nobody is considering USB 3.0 vs. eSATA 6Gb/s. For enthusiasts eSATA is here to stay, IMO. But most of the consumer level ext. drives will function on USB 3.0 probably. Personally, I think USB 3.0 will enable cheap high-bandwidth applications such as HD Webcams, and faster ways to sync/charge portable media devices. Also, seeing as how everything is gaining more and more internal storage for cheaper and cheaper, it would make sense to build this functionality into iPods, iPhones, and just about every other mobile device you can think of. When people have more storage to capture their memories, they don't want to have to wait a couple of hours to pull a couple of GB's of HD video off their iPhone 6.... USB 3.0 is the new cheap high-bandwidth connection that in about a year or two, you'll see just as common as USB 2 is now.

Intel may not want USB 3 to succeed, but there's no stopping it. LightPeak is still at least 2 years away from commercial viability, eSATA doesn't have a consumer friendly face, and FireWire died like 2 years ago. Firewire was ahead of it's time, but it's day has come and gone. Intel needs to just suck it up, or AMD will exploit them for it. AMD is a sleeping giant, IMO. It only needs to make sure certain things happen going into this USB 3 issue, and pre-emptively build support into their platform along with SATA 6Gbps. I've seen this past week what their desktop Phenom II x6 processors are capable of and it's at a price point everybody can get into. Bring that same enthusiasm to the mobile platform and.... WIN.

 

What is it with the posts on this thread about HD Cams? USB 2.0 can handle 25MB/s at least ... a true bluray movie is not more than say 9MB/s, although perhaps a bit more on the vigorous scenes.
Unless the USB 3 camcorder sends uncompressed data to the computer, USB 2 will do full HD no problem.

 

eSATA can only be used on machines with eSATA ports. A USB 3.0 device is backwards compatible with previous USB ports, which can be found on just about every computer.

eSATA requires a separate power connection. Low-power USB devices can get power over the USB connection. This means that you only need 1 cable for 2.5" external USB drives.

eSATA is not universally hot-swappable. It is dependent on the manufacturer of the eSATA controller to determine whether they support this. All USB specs support hot-swappability.

eSATA has a maximum cable length of 6 feet. USB spec allows much longer cable runs.

It's not always about transfer speeds.

 

I always run my 7200 RPM 2.5" off one USB 2.0 plug with no problems at all.

Undoubtedly, USB 3.0 is a more versatile format than eSATA, and offers some technical benefits as well. However, if I were given a laptop right now with USB 2.0 slots and an eSATA slot, I would definitely not miss USB 3.0.

 

Some drives will work, others will not. Depends on how much power the drive needs and how much power the USB port can actually provide.

 

I have used a few 7,200 RPM drives with no real issue on USB 2.0, the problem lies in the fact the interface is too slow.

 

Thinkpads come with a powered USB port, so it's no issue.

 

One thing to note though, that in order to maintain the high transfer rates a cable less then 3 meters is required. This isn't in the spec (yet) that I know of but various websites indicate as such, so networking is not really an option, except for maybe between several PC's very close together.

 

i guess i will get my Lappy this coming month without the usb 3.0 then.

 

Intel seems to be catching the hang of things...

 

a little late but better now than never... but since these are rumors still , i'd be cautious..

 

look like Intel doesn't plan to release any usb 3.0 based chipset anytime soon

Ugh - Intel Reportedly Waiting Until 2012 to Install USB 3.0 | Maximum PC

 

I want light peak. USB 3 isn't that good.

 

lol look at light peak.. that tech's going to take 10 years to be feasible.. u need so much stuff unlike USB3.0 which needs 1 port... and not to mention , the bandwidth is barely 50% better...

 

Maybe 2 years tops, but nowhere near 10. It's already in the prototyping stage for manufacturers. I expect a few elite items will ship next fall with lightpeak interconnects.

 

You've never even seen Lightpeak, and already you assume it will be better than USB 3.0 because of paper specs.

On paper, Firewire 800 was superior to USB 2.0... but we all can clearly see how that turned out.

 

USB 3 is probably a year or 2 from the main stream, lightpeak is atleast 5 years away, if it doesn't get swallowed by something else along the way.

 

It's just Intel's very successful marketing.

 

Beyond the nerds wanting Light Peak, what is the incentive of notebook manufacturers to put what would look to me like an expensive technology into their devices?

If I was a notebook manufacturer I would be dropping firewire and esata in a hurry and putting all my faith in USB 3.0.

 

In comparing esata to usb3, remember that both formats are bottlenecked by the hdd's max transfer speed, unlike usb2.

 

100% agree.

Lightpeak will be expensive when it comes out.

USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices. There are literally millions of products out there already that will be compatible with USB 3.0. This was a major flaw with esata and firewire, despite having superior paper specs.

USB does not require external power. Many Usb devices can operate entirely off of the power of the USB port. This is a huge flaw with esata, despite having a better paper spec.

The bandwidth of USB 3.0 is greater than the transfer rates required to max out even an SSD. There is zero practical benefit to the higher bandwidth of LightPeak for peripheral devices.

 

Absolutely correct, kent. USB 3.0 is so practical it is like marrying the girl next door who is a great cook and mother over the model chic you met in the club. The only decision left for the manufacturers is if to have 1 usb 3.0 and the rest 2.0 or all 3.0.

I need a new notebook and 3.0 is priority #1 on the list. Sandy Bridge is #2 but I am worried I will be pushing my purchase too far down the road.

 

This forum has gone from comparing cars to computers, to now comparing girls to them.

As I understand it, lightpeak is compatible with USB, so you can still plug in your USB devices to it. However I guess that would currently be only USB 2/1.1 support though.

 

Nobody has mentioned that lightpeak, as an optical medium cannot carry electricity. You'll need a second usb cable to power your external ssd, not to mention your usb powered George foreman grill.

 

but unlike usb, lightpeak won't suffer from EMI and will be able to cover longer distances without degradation.

 

Intel mentioned at IDF that Lightpeak doesn't carry electricity.

 

Also no one has mentioned that the USB 3 spec has the option of going optical. Probably just be done when it's more practical.

Lightpeak is like Larrabee, nice concept, but probably will never leave the lab in its current incarnation. And the next incarnation will take years to reach fruition.

 

Nobody has mentioned that because "Intel is working on bundling the optical fiber with copper wire so Light Peak can be used to power devices"

Intel's Light Peak to cut the cables - ZDNet

Let me start by saying that I am not a lightpeak fanboy (or any other interconnect for that matter) but whats with all the hate and "interconnect" fanboyism? I think we all want to have faster/simpler interconnects.

I believe USB3.0 and lightpeak will most likely overlap. USB3 is already in market and available. Lightpeak will start showing up in a year or so in higher end devices and I would be shocked if iPhone 6 (available in 2012) doesn't have lightpeak as an option given Apple's support of the format. These 5/10 year lightpeak feasability claims are FUD. USB 3.0 will replace USB 2.0 over the next 2 years and will become ubiquitous. In the same period, lightpeak will launch as a high-end option and will slowly grow from there. In other words they will co-exist. We don't have to choose one or the other we will have both