Intel delays USB 3.0 support until 2011?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Jos

Posts: 3,073   +97
Staff

Those looking forward to the wide rollout of USB 3.0 are in for a major disappointment, if an unnamed industry source talking with EETimes is to be believed. Pointing out that the new interconnect "won't get real traction until it gets integrated in the chip sets," the source claims that Intel won't be offering motherboard integration before 2011, so vendors who want USB 3.0 will have to turn to costly third party controllers.

The information is said to come from a senior technology manager at a "top tier PC maker," who explains that Intel chipset teams are more focused on supporting the current Nehalem platform, as well as transitioning to the 5 GHz PCI Express 2.0 specification. The chip maker may also be showing preference to its own optical cable interface, Light Peak, which can handle transfers up to 10Gbps and will enter mass production early next year.

Intel has declined to comment on these assertions. If true, it doesn't necessarily mean we won’t see any USB 3.0 support next year, but you probably shouldn't expect to see the new interconnect on cheap boards, which in turn means less USB 3.0 compatible peripherals as the market will simply be too limited to be profitable.

Permalink to story.

 
Aren't AMD's new chipsets coming out next year supposed to support it?

If this is true, that'll be a big loss for Intel, I guess.
 
I hope this information is wrong. I have been expecting USB3.0 ever sense 2008. I can't believe how long it is taking, especially considering USB 2.0 is almost a decade old now. Instead, I see next versions of PCI-Express, SATA, and HDMI comming out faster. Meanwhile most people aren't even close to consuming the current bandwidth those technologies already provide.

On the flip side, this could be a great oppurtunity for AMD. It will be hard for Intel to keep claiming the performance and enthusiast crown when AMD motherboards/chipsets provide USB3.0.
 
Wait, this is great news. From everything I've read, Light Peak would be significantly better than USB 3.0. The way I see it, the more Intel avoids USB 3.0, the sooner we're going to see the market use Light Peak to its full potential. It'll quickly stamp out the short-sighted USB protocols. I can't imagine how this is a bad thing (unless you've invested in USB 3.0, and then yeah, this is terrible news).
 
So they are pushing Light Peak. Pretty insulting for them to say they are not holding back USB 3.0 when they are doing something so blatant.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back