PC User Clinic<title> » USB http://pcuserclinic.com Keep your PC useful Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:05:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Firewire vs USB http://pcuserclinic.com/what-is/firewire-vs-usb/ http://pcuserclinic.com/what-is/firewire-vs-usb/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:00:56 +0000 Steve http://pcuserclinic.com/?p=223
  • The Future of USB – It’s 3.0
    • ]]>     To the end user, Firewire (also known as an IEEE 1394 interface) and USB appear to perform the same function.  Firewire and USB share a number of characteristics but differ in some important ways. They are both a method of transferring data between devices and PCs, whereas firewire has the additional capability of connecting 2 or more devices together without the intervention of a PC.  This capability is known as “Peer-to-Peer.”  Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) uses a “Master-Slave” architecture in which the computer dictates the data flow.  This adds additional system overhead resulting in slower data rates.

    The key difference between Firewire and USB is that Firewire is intended for devices that are data intensive, i.e. camcorders, DVD players and digital audio equipment.  The new USB specification known as SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) can have data transfer rates of up to 4800 Mbit/s whereas the latest Firewire 800 can transfer data up to 800 Mbit/s.

    Over in my article “The Future of USB – It’s 3.0.”  I detail the differences between the three versions of USB.  For Firewire, there are specs for Firewire 1600 (1.6 Gbits/s) and Firewire 3200 (3.2 Gbits/s), but there has been few details regarding new hardware to support these specs.

    /doc

    Related posts:

    1. The Future of USB – It’s 3.0

    ]]>     http://pcuserclinic.com/what-is/firewire-vs-usb/feed/ 0     The Future of USB – It’s 3.0 http://pcuserclinic.com/whats-new/the-future-of-usb-its-3-0/ http://pcuserclinic.com/whats-new/the-future-of-usb-its-3-0/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:37:27 +0000 Steve http://pcuserclinic.com/?p=173
  • Firewire vs USB
    • ]]>     There’s a new USB coming and it’s 10 times faster. 

    USB (Universal Serial Bus) has been around since 1996.  The original specification was 1.0 and it allowed for data transmission speeds of up to 12 Mbits/second.  This new technology played a big part in eliminating Parallel and Serial devices from your PC.  USB 2.0 was introduced in 2006 and it allowed for transmission speeds up to 480 Mbits/s which, even today, was enough to accomodate most data transfer needs.  But with the ever increasing amounts of data that we need to move around, we needed a boost. 

    USB 3.0, nicknamed “SuperSpeed USB,” promises up to 4,800 Mbits/s (4.8 Gbits/s) transfer speed.  Additionally, it will be able to provide 80% more power for connected devices and will offer power management features where either the PC or the device can initiate a powersaving mode.

    The physical changes that define USB 3.0 are the addition of 4 more wires which serve as 2 additional send/recieve pairs operating as the SuperSpeed channel. USB 1.0 and 2.0 only had 4 wires.  These 2 new pairs will work in conjunction with the original send/receive pair which allows for backwards compatibility.  Devices with the new USB 3.0 specifications should be hitting the shelves in time for Christmas 2009.

    /doc

    Related posts:

    1. Firewire vs USB

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