Alternate Mode; Usb Power Delivery; Advantages Of Displayport Over Usb Type-C - Dell Vostro 3881 Service Manual

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Compatibility

The good news is that USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 has been carefully planned from the start to peacefully co-exist with USB 2.0.

First of all, while USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 specifies new physical connections and thus new cables to take advantage of the

higher speed capability of the new protocol, the connector itself remains the same rectangular shape with the four USB 2.0

contacts in the exact same location as before. Five new connections to carry receive and transmitted data independently are

present on USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 cables and only come into contact when connected to a proper SuperSpeed USB connection.

USB Type-C

USB Type-C is a new, tiny physical connector. The connector itself can support various exciting new USB standards like USB 3.1

and USB power delivery (USB PD).

Alternate Mode

USB Type-C is a new connector standard that is very small. It is about a third the size of an old USB Type-A plug. This is

a single connector standard that every device should be able to use. USB Type-C ports can support a variety of different

protocols using "alternate modes," which allows you to have adapters that can output HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, or other types

of connections from that single USB port

The USB PD specification is also closely intertwined with USB Type-C. Currently, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile

devices often use a USB connection to charge. A USB 2.0 connection provides up to 2.5 watts of power — that'll charge your

phone, but that's about it. A laptop might require up to 60 watts, for example. The USB Power Delivery specification ups this

power delivery to 100 watts. It's bi-directional, so a device can either send or receive power. And this power can be transferred

at the same time the device is transmitting data across the connection.

This could spell the end of all those proprietary laptop charging cables, with everything charging via a standard USB connection.

You could charge your laptop from one of those portable battery packs you charge your smartphones and other portable devices

from today. You could plug your laptop into an external display connected to a power cable, and that external display would

charge your laptop as you used it as an external display — all via the one little USB Type-C connection. To use this, the device

and the cable have to support USB Power Delivery. Just having a USB Type-C connection doesn't necessarily mean they do.

USB Type-C and USB 3.1

USB 3.1 is a new USB standard. USB 3's theoretical bandwidth is 5 Gbps same as of USB 3.1 Gen 1, while USB 3.1 Gen 2's

bandwidth is 10 Gbps. That's double the bandwidth, as fast as a first-generation Thunderbolt connector. USB Type-C isn't the

same thing as USB 3.1. USB Type-C is just a connector shape, and the underlying technology could just be USB 2 or USB 3.0.

In fact, Nokia's N1 Android tablet uses a USB Type-C connector, but underneath it's all USB 2.0 — not even USB 3.0. However,

these technologies are closely related.

● Full DisplayPort audio/video (A/V) performance (up to 4K at 60Hz)

● Reversible plug orientation and cable direction

● Backwards compatibility to VGA, DVI with adaptors

● SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.1) data

● Supports HDMI 2.0a and is backwards compatible with previous versions

Technology and components

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