Page 2: Specification, Marketing Summary, About USB3
Specification
Marketing Summary
About USB3
Since this is the first flash drive with USB3 we are reviewing, we'll be going a bit into what makes USB3 different than the older versions. Remember the plug for USB/USB2? It has four conductors on every connector. It has been that way since the first USB devices came out. USB2 carried a theoretical bandwidth of 480Mbit/s which works out to 60MB/s, but it never turned out that high since the protocol overhead comes into play as well as other factors. USB2 supports half-duplex connections. Only the host controller or the device can talk at once, but not at the same time. The host controller determined the direction of data flow.
USB3 is more than just a speed upgrade. It contains new signaling pins. It has an additional 4 used pins (plus a shielded pin for grounding) and uses differential signaling (think of SCSI) to get improved performance. Unlike Serial ATA, USB2 was a dead end for speed. With USB3, the physical connections are the same, but since there are electrical differences, a USB2 extension cable won't extend a USB3 device at USB3 speeds. USB3 has a theoretical bandwidth of 4800Mbit/s which is ten times faster than the older version. In addition, USB3 ups the power for high draining devices to 900mA. Most charging cables and adapters use more than that already (from a power source). If you have an A-B cable for USB3, it will not fit into a USB2 B port. This is pretty much the only physical change with USB3. Host cables (A) will fit fine, regardless of the type.
USB3 is dubbed SuperSpeed. SuperSpeed allows a device to talk to the host controller directly without broadcasting to other devices. This is like Firewire and should help bulk transfer rates. USB3 was probably based on PCIe version 2 since they share many of the encoding and protocol practices. USB3 has a host interface known as xHCI (Extensible Host Controller Interface).
- Capacities – 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
- Requirements – system with USB 3.0 port
- Fast – data transfer rates for USB 3.0 to 80MB/sec. read and 60MB/sec. write; USB 2.0 = 30MB/sec. read and 30MB/sec. write
- Backwards compatible*** – with USB 2.0.
- Dimensions – 2.90" x 0.87" x 0.63" (73.70mm x 22.20mm x 16.10mm)
- Operating Temperature – 32° to 140°F (0° to 60°C)
- Storage Temperature – -4° to 185°F (-20° to 85°C)
- Simple – just plug into a USB port
- Practical – durable casing with a solid lanyard loop
- Guaranteed – five-year warranty
- Newegg Link, Amazon Link
Marketing Summary
Quote
The DTU30 is the perfect solution for easily storing and quickly transferring all your documents, high resolution photos, HD video, and more. It’s exceptionally fast and easy to let you keep data with you wherever you go.
USB 3.0 offers the same ease-of-use and plug and play capabilities as previous generations of USB technologies but with a performance increase and better power management. This USB 3.0 drive is backwards compatible with USB 2.0***.
DTU30 is backed by 24.7 tech support, a five-year warranty and legendary Kingston® reliability.
http://www.kingston.com/flash/dtU30.asp
About USB3
Since this is the first flash drive with USB3 we are reviewing, we'll be going a bit into what makes USB3 different than the older versions. Remember the plug for USB/USB2? It has four conductors on every connector. It has been that way since the first USB devices came out. USB2 carried a theoretical bandwidth of 480Mbit/s which works out to 60MB/s, but it never turned out that high since the protocol overhead comes into play as well as other factors. USB2 supports half-duplex connections. Only the host controller or the device can talk at once, but not at the same time. The host controller determined the direction of data flow.
USB3 is more than just a speed upgrade. It contains new signaling pins. It has an additional 4 used pins (plus a shielded pin for grounding) and uses differential signaling (think of SCSI) to get improved performance. Unlike Serial ATA, USB2 was a dead end for speed. With USB3, the physical connections are the same, but since there are electrical differences, a USB2 extension cable won't extend a USB3 device at USB3 speeds. USB3 has a theoretical bandwidth of 4800Mbit/s which is ten times faster than the older version. In addition, USB3 ups the power for high draining devices to 900mA. Most charging cables and adapters use more than that already (from a power source). If you have an A-B cable for USB3, it will not fit into a USB2 B port. This is pretty much the only physical change with USB3. Host cables (A) will fit fine, regardless of the type.
USB3 is dubbed SuperSpeed. SuperSpeed allows a device to talk to the host controller directly without broadcasting to other devices. This is like Firewire and should help bulk transfer rates. USB3 was probably based on PCIe version 2 since they share many of the encoding and protocol practices. USB3 has a host interface known as xHCI (Extensible Host Controller Interface).