What Is USB 3.0? Why It's Nicknamed SuperSpeed USB?

Thanks to the speed-craving computer users, the USB interface family is growing after every few years. The USB technology developers are positively responding to the demands of computer users for more speed and functionality to be added to the USB interfaces.

As a result, the USB interface family has grown up to more than half a dozen members, and PC users are eventually getting what they want.

Table Of Contents

What Is USB 3.0?
Features Of USB 3.0
USB 3.0 Compatible Devices
Frequently Asked Questions
Wrap Up

After the demand to replace the USB 2.0 went up in the mid-2000s, the USB developers accepted the challenge and introduced USB 3.0 with improved functionality and a much faster data transfer rate.

Note: If you have read my previous post, you know what USB 2.0 is all about. For all the rocket science about USB 3.0, we are going to continue with this post.

What Is USB 3.0?

Nicknamed SuperSpeed USB, It is one of the highest standard USB interfaces used in PCs and other devices that connect with them. Like all the old and latest USB interfaces, USB 3.0 is used to transfer data from the device to the PC and vice versa.

What makes USB 3.0 different from its ancient counterparts is its capability to transfer data at the jaw-dropping speed measuring in Gbps. USB 3.0 features two-way data communication with separate channels to send and receive the data.

The two-way data communication allows the interface to boost the data transfer speed while making the process efficient. The USB 3.0 features 9 internal connector wires with 4 specifically for backward compatibility.

Features Of USB 3.0

USB 3.0 offers a pack full of advanced features for the older and newer generations of PCs. Unlocking the pack of USB 3.0 features you will get the following.

Unbeatable Data Transfer Speed

Primarily speaking, data transfer speed is everything for USB interfaces. As a matter of fact, it is the driving force behind the development of the latest generation USB technology. There is a reason USB 3.0 is also called SuperSpeed USB by most PC folks.

It can transfer data at the seriously impressive speed of 5Gbps. This is ten times faster than its predecessor and thousands of times faster than the first ever USB interface.

In terms of speed alone, USB 3.0 sets an unbeatable record for all the previous versions of USB interfaces combined.

Legacy Support

A USB interface without Legacy Support is like a PC that can’t run an outdated version of Windows. If your PC owns a USB 3.0 interface, you can use it to connect devices carrying older interfaces such as USB 2.0, USB 1.1, and USB 1.0.

To sum it up for you, Legacy Support or Backwards Compatibility makes it possible for the USB 3.0 interface to operate at the speeds of all the previous versions of USB interfaces.

But here is a quick note to be taken into account. The feature of Legacy Support restricts the devices with older versions of USB interfaces to achieve the speed of a USB 3.0 interface. Long story short, If you connect a USB 2.0 interface with a USB 3.0 interface, the transfer of data will occur at the speed of USB 2.0 and the speed of USB 3.0 will be compromised.

Advanced Power Supply

USB 3.0 powers up a connected device with 5V at 900mA which equals to 4.5W. For low-power devices, that’s a lot of power. But since USB 3.0 is built for heavier devices, the 4.5 W power output sounds to be fine. USB 3.0 acts smartly by only supplying the required amount of power to a device and saves extra power running through the port.

USB 3.0 Compatible Devices

The development of USB 3.0 was aimed at improving the universal standards of USB interfaces and allowing more and more devices to connect to PCs. This has already been made possible as there are many high-function devices that are compatible with USB 3.0.

Examples of these devices include hyperfast solid state drives, hard drive docking stations, and multi-purpose USB flash drives. The list of USB 3.0 device compatibility does not end here. With USB 3.0, you can also power up a USB Hub to connect multiple devices simultaneously. Although, if added more than one device to a USB Hub, you might have to compromise on the data transfer speed a little bit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a USB 3.0 port look like?

To make it as simple as it could be, USB 3.0 is a blue-colored interface. If you take a look at the USB 3.0, it has a medium light blue internal structure that can be visible from a meter away. Due to the blue color, USB 3.0 can easily be spotted even if it is surrounded by one or two black-colored USB 2.0 ports.

Why is my USB 3.0 slow?

If your USB 3.0 interface delivers a slow data transfer rate, there is a possibility the USB driver has been corrupted. To get rid of this issue, you are advised to delete the USB driver and install a fresh copy of it. This supposedly will reset the data transfer speed of your USB interface to its default speed standard.

Wrap Up

Today, USB 3.0 is the most common version of the USB interface installed on PCs. It improves the data transfer ability of a PC and a compatible device to a great extent. When USB 3.0 was first popularized in 2008, it went on to become the best USB interface for almost a decade.

We may have several new versions of USB interfaces today that came at the right time. But for computing devices in the late 2000s, USB 3.0 interface was truly way ahead of its time. The popularization of Super Speed USB was a milestone for the USB developers who came later came up with superior and advanced versions of USBs.

Wrapping up the post here! Did you enjoy the it? if yes, you can share it with your friends! If you have any specific questions about USB interfaces, you can leave me a comment and I will get back to you with answers. Time to sign off!

What Is USB 3.0? Why It’s Nicknamed SuperSpeed USB?