Intel rumoured to be adding USB 3 support

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 7 Sep 2010 at 13:45

Rumours suggest Intel is finally set to announce support for USB 3 next week.

The chipmaker is expected to say at its Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco that it will include support for USB 3 in the reference design for motherboards using its Sandy Bridge chipsets, according to a report in DigiTimes.

The move will mean motherboard manufacturers no longer need to add separate controllers to their products, potentially reducing the cost of USB 3 motherboards and encouraging widespread adoption.

The USB 3 specification offers backwards compatibility with USB 2 and speeds of up to 4.8Gbits/sec. It was agreed in 2008, with products arriving at the end of last year, while AMD announced support in March.

Meanwhile, Intel has been talking up its own Light Peak optical connect, which uses light to send data rather than electrical currents.

Offering twice the speeds of USB 3, it is set to arrive next year - with a follow up offering 50Gbits/sec already set to arrive a few years later.