USB 3.0: Super…Super Speed?
It appears that USB 3.0 may become even better only months after its release. The company NEC has recently announced that they have found a way to speed up USB 3.0’s transfer speeds and lift the theoretical maximum bandwidth.
This comes as quite a shock because no less than two months ago, USB 3.0 products began hitting the market. It is also surprising, with this announcement from NEC, that the ongoing battle between USB and Light Peak seems to have turned the tides in favor of USB 3.0. Up until now, USB 3.0 has had a maximum speed of 5Gbps where as Intel’s Light Peak technology topped out at 10Gbps.
This has led some to question which technology the majority of the industry will adopt. On one hand with USB 3.0, you get backwards compatibility; which doesn’t make all the billions of USB devices obsolete. With Light Peak technology, on the other hand, you get 2x the speed as USB 3.0 but since it’s brand new, all your old devices will not be compatible.
However, with NEC’s new announcement, the new theoretical maximum for their USB 3.0 is 16GBps! Currently NEC is not giving up their trade secret on how they obtained these shocking numbers, but what they have done is demonstrate a new chipset that is capable of overcoming one of the leading causes for the 5GBps barrier. By going around this barrier, NEC has once again proven that they are one of the biggest names in the USB industry.
So what does this new speed actually mean? Well for starters it should be noted that only NEC has this technology and it’s still in its infancy. Second, if this new standard of 16Gbs gets adopted by the USB industry, it would mean that not only would the insanely fast USB transfer speeds increase, but it would also mean that Intel now has a really big threat to their Light Peak technology.
However don’t expect Intel to go down without a fight. Their Light Peak technology is in its infancy as well and we here at PremiumUSB believe that the war between USB 3.0 and Light Peak will continue.
Related Articles:
Comments
Funny, the USB is a dieing tech, perhaps NEC indeed been able to squeeze little more juice from thier pathetic copper lines, but understand this:
the 10gb/s light peak is only our generation 1 introduction speed, in 2-3 years you will see 25-100Gb/s of light peaks, and copper lines(USB) don’t stand a chance, it time to let go NEC, it is the optical generation now, u all might just go home, and created DVD discs or something
This looks to be incorrect, NECs tech has not been demonstrated, nor does it seem intended for use as a mode of USB for consumer devices (see the update below which is posted on many sites including engadget.com). It is a Chip to Chip serial interface with limitations on distance so it may not even work at distances over 6 inches!
Here is some Light Peak information:
LightPeak simplifies the consumer experience as all they need to worry about is- how long is the LightPeak cable I need to connect my xxxxx to my xxxxx.
LightPeak reportedly runs at 10Gbs/sec full duplex *now (with theoretical 100Gbs/sec potential).
LightPeak is also stated to be protocol independent which essentially means, it could be made to support USB 3.0, along with other existing or future standards as well. This will depend mostly on it’s ability to convey current.
LightPeak can supposedly carry maximum signal across 300+ feet with a single thinner cable while USB signal strength max’s out at about 16 feet per cable run.
//
Update: TheLostSwede commented to point us to an English version of the press release that, in Japanese form, seems to have led to the Electronista story we used as a source. Apparently something previously got lost in translation as the release actually talks about a wholly new inter-chip serial interface offering 16Gbps speeds, not an extension to USB 3.0. This could provide the system internals to shovel bits to whatever new external interface reigns supreme.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/18/nec-manages-16gbps-over-usb-3-0-tries-to-put-a-dimmer-on-light/
//
Well, I suppose I understand why you deleted my reply. I figured the factual components to my reply with regard to LightPeak would be interesting, including the fact that the facts within your post were updated across the internet, such as NEC’s tech is interchip, not suitable (as presented) for consumer device connections, eg USB3.0. But, again, the name of your blog being “premiumusb” I suppose I understand why it was deleted. For a second I thought information over agenda, I was mistaken.
Hi Nick, I’m sorry you thought your comment had been deleted. We have chosen to go the route of approving all comments vs. having spam getting on our articles. It’s Monday and we’re back in the office checking our weekend comments. We appreciate your thoughts on the issue and we don’t frown upon conflicting views. These technologies are all set to break into speed barriers that were once thought impossible. We love to see these technologies advance and help to speed up our technological world! I personally believe that USB will stay for awhile to come as it has already been established, but like the floppy disk, its time will come to be eliminated as an inferior technology. We here at Premium USB can’t wait to see the true power behind USB 3.0 and other technologies of the future!
the speed will faster than now,i think if the usb 4.0 have coming,the speed will faster