Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

MattSmith · 2010-05-09 14:25:07

Just thought I would ask the community a question before I make any hasty decisions. I have a Lenovo Y510 laptop ... it's coming up on 2 years old and is not as nearly as flash as it used to be, at least compared to the lappys my friends are now purchasing. I have no reason at all to buy a new laptop but I really want to be able to use USB 3.0. The only way I see this happening is with something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … -_-Product

Of course they don't advertise linux support, but I was wondering what IS support for these types of devices like on linux?

Last edited by MattSmith (2010-05-10 11:01:52)

eldragon · 2010-05-09 15:16:16

is usb 3.0 already a standard? if its not yet complete. just wait it a while. you will end up with broken hardware

Skripka · 2010-05-09 15:31:14

The Linux kernel has had USB3 support for nearly a full year now. Hardware is just coming out however, and is relatively uncommon in the wild

http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/06/1 … ort-usb-30

http://www.linux.org/news/2009/06/10/0004.html

Last edited by Skripka (2010-05-09 15:32:27)

eldragon · 2010-05-10 01:16:59

Skripka wrote:

The Linux kernel has had USB3 support for nearly a full year now. Hardware is just coming out however, and is relatively uncommon in the wild
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/06/1 … ort-usb-30
http://www.linux.org/news/2009/06/10/0004.html

the support, as far as i know, is for the drafts.. its not final. anyway, software can always be patched, its not the same with hardware. i do recall some time in the past, some usb pci 2.0 extension cards didnt work correctly.

anyway. i still believe its too soon to be buying usb 3.0 hardware.

Skripka · 2010-05-10 01:43:12

eldragon wrote:

the support, as far as i know, is for the drafts.. its not final. anyway, software can always be patched, its not the same with hardware. i do recall some time in the past, some usb pci 2.0 extension cards didnt work correctly.
anyway. i still believe its too soon to be buying usb 3.0 hardware.

It is early...but if you're buying an integrated system like a laptop that cannot be upgraded, better to jump in now as you cannot easily swap in a PCi card.

MattSmith · 2010-05-10 02:15:31

thanks for all your replies guys, I'll take your advice and wait a while. Have any of you had problems with getting express cards recognized on ur arch systems? That is if you have a laptop running arch (or any other distro for that matter)

Last edited by MattSmith (2010-05-10 02:16:06)

Skripka · 2010-05-10 02:46:15

MattSmith wrote:

thanks for all your replies guys, I'll take your advice and wait a while. Have any of you had problems with getting express cards recognized on ur arch systems? That is if you have a laptop running arch (or any other distro for that matter)

There's a big catch-regardless of compatibility.

USB3.0 is designed for throughput of 5 Gigabit/second on each port. PC ExpressCard 1.x only supports 2.5 Gigabit/second. Even PC ExpressCard 2.0 (recently unveiled if memory serves), and a full PCi rail on an ATX mainboard only support a max of 5Gigabit/second, i.e. only ONE USB3 port at full bandwidth. You see the problem, no?

The lesson here is that USB3.0 as a PC card on a laptop is only worth the trouble if you have a PCExpress 2.0 slot, and even then it only gives you 1 full speed port and nothing more.

Of course, I can't think of ANY peripheral device that can even take advantage of 5 Gigabit/second (or 600+Megabyte/second) of throughput. No peripheral device to my knowledge out there can feed that much data through a bus at that speed today.

Last edited by Skripka (2010-05-10 02:49:23)

ngoonee · 2010-05-10 09:30:28

Someone will do USB3 webcams with 2 Gazillion megapixels

eldragon · 2010-05-10 10:47:37

Skripka wrote:

Of course, I can't think of ANY peripheral device that can even take advantage of 5 Gigabit/second (or 600+Megabyte/second) of throughput. No peripheral device to my knowledge out there can feed that much data through a bus at that speed today.

and 640k ought to be enough for everyone

MattSmith · 2010-05-10 11:03:45

haha! alright thanks heaps again everybody... I'll probably not even buy the expansion card unless I need more ports.

Arch Linux

#1 2010-05-09 14:25:07

Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#2 2010-05-09 15:16:16

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#3 2010-05-09 15:31:14

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#4 2010-05-10 01:16:59

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#5 2010-05-10 01:43:12

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#6 2010-05-10 02:15:31

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#7 2010-05-10 02:46:15

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#8 2010-05-10 09:30:28

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#9 2010-05-10 10:47:37

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

#10 2010-05-10 11:03:45

Re: Usb 3.0 purchase question [solved]

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