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Applications
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 opens up the laneways and provides more headroom for devices to deliver a better overall experience. Where USB
video was barely tolerable previously (both from a maximum resolution, latency, and video compression perspective), it's easy to imagine
that with 5-10 times the bandwidth available, USB video solutions should work that much better. Single-link DVI requires almost 2Gbps
throughput. Where 480Mbps was limiting, 5Gbps is more than promising. With its promised 4.8Gbps speed, the standard will find its way
into some products that previously weren't USB territory, like external RAID storage systems.
Listed below are some of the available SuperSpeed USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 products:
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External Desktop USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Hard Drives
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Portable USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Hard Drives
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USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Drive Docks & Adapters
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USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Flash Drives & Readers
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USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Solid-state Drives
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USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 RAIDs
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Optical Media Drives
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Multimedia Devices
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Networking
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USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 Adapter Cards & Hubs
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.
Windows 8/10 will be bringing native support for USB 3.1 Gen 1 controllers. This is in contrast to previous versions of Windows, which
continue to require separate drivers for USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 controllers.
Microsoft announced that Windows 7 would have USB 3.1 Gen 1 support, perhaps not on its immediate release, but in a subsequent Service
Pack or update. It is not out of the question to think that following a successful release of USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 support in Windows 7,
SuperSpeed support would trickle down to Vista. Microsoft has confirmed this by stating that most of their partners share the opinion that
Vista should also support USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1.
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
Technology and components
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