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● USB 3.2 Gen 1 utilizes the bi-directional data interface, rather than USB 2.0's half-duplex arrangement. This gives a 10-fold
increase in theoretical bandwidth.
With today's ever increasing demands that are placed on data transfers with high-definition video content, terabyte storage
devices, high megapixel count digital cameras etc., USB 2.0 may not be fast enough. Furthermore, no USB 2.0 connection could
ever come close to the 480Mbps theoretical maximum throughput, making data transfer at around 320 Mbps (40 MB/s) —
the actual real-world maximum. Similarly, USB 3.2 Gen 1 connections will never achieve 4.8Gbps. We will likely see a real-world
maximum rate of 400 MB/s with overheads. At this speed, USB 3.2 Gen 1 is a 10x improvement over USB 2.0.
Applications
USB 3.2 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 Super-Speed USB 3.2 Gen 1 products:
● External Desktop USB 3.2 Gen 1 Hard Drives
● Portable USB 3.2 Gen 1 Hard Drives
● USB 3.2 Gen 1 Drive Docks & Adapters
● USB 3.2 Gen 1 Flash Drives & Readers
● USB 3.2 Gen 1 Solid-state Drives
● USB 3.2 Gen 1 RAIDs
● Optical Media Drives
● Multimedia Devices
● Networking
● USB 3.2 Gen 1 Adapter Cards & Hubs
Compatibility
The good news is that USB 3.2 Gen 1 has been carefully planned from the start to peacefully co-exist with USB 2.0. First of all,
while USB 3.2 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 3.2 Gen 1
cables and only come into contact when connected to a proper Super-Speed USB connection.
Technology and components
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