USB
3.0 is the latest buzz in technology news. It is touted to be the next
high-speed external interface standard. Many suppliers, have started delivering
adapters to help equip desktop and notebook systems with this new USB 3.0 port.
Some may ask, "What about the eSATA 3.0 standard?" There are different opinions
as to which one of these new standards is superior and will be the eventual
winner.
Below is summary of
the differences between these two standards (as of June, 2010):
|
|
eSATA |
USB 3.0 |
|
Maximum data rate |
6 Gbps |
5 Gbps |
|
Backward compatible to previous standards |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Cabling system |
Use existing eSATA cable |
Requires new type of cable to achieve USB 3.0 throughput,
some ports are backwards compatible with USB 2.0 cabling |
|
BUS power support |
Yes with eSATA/USB hybrid port |
Yes, up to 1A at 5V |
|
Support booting from external storage device |
Yes |
Not available at the present time. |
|
OS support |
All Windows, DOS, Mac, Linux, Solaris and some Unix;
native drivers built in all OS |
Third party driver required and is available for Windows
only from XP and higher at the present time |
|
How to connect SATA storage device |
Direct from SATA to eSATA |
Require SATA to USB 3.0 bridge |
|
Attaching multiple storage device via a single port |
Use port multiplier |
USB 3.0 hub (to be available in mid/late 2010) |
|
Systems with these new ports |
Limited to some high-end motherboard |
Limited to some high-end motherboard |
Currently, in many respects, eSATA 3.0 has more to offer
than USB 3.0. eSATA 3.0 is faster (with a
20%
faster data transfer rate), is compatible with most operating systems in
the market, and supports booting from an external storage device. No
additional cable is needed to connect an eSATA 3.0 storage device. Since
there is no bridge required to connect a SATA device to eSATA 3.0 port,
an eSATA storage device is almost always a less expensive option and
transfers data at higher speeds.
USB 3.0 leverages the existing install base of a wide variety of USB
devices. Practically every computer, most cellular phones, and many
other consumer electronic devices come with a USB port. The BUS power
support is another key advantage for USB 3.0 that offers the convenience
of a plug and play portable storage application. At the present time,
there are not many USB 3.0 storage devices in the market. The first
generation of USB 3.0 enclosures that we evaluated shows some potential
incompatibility and instability between the drive enclosures and
different host adapters.
The lack of support for the USB 3.0 in many
operating systems is a challenge at the moment for the USB 3.0 technology.
Microsoft's release of a native driver in the Windows OS is not expected
until early 2011. Most notebook and desktop systems with a built-in USB 3.0
port will be delivered at the end of 2010 and many industry experts believe
USB 3.0 will become the dominating interface standard beginning in 2011.
We
will embrace both the SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 standards and
produce unique solutions to take advantage of both technologies. Each
technology has its strengths, depending on the intended application. For the
USB 3.0 host adapter, we recommend selecting the adapter with an NEC chip
set if the plan is to implement the USB 3.0 solution at this time. On the
device side, Addonics and other companies will be releasing a simple adapter
that enables any existing eSATA storage to become a USB 3.0 device.
