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USB stands out as one of the most successful technologies in the computing industry, serving not only as a storage medium but also facilitating tasks like creating a Windows 10 installation USB effortlessly. The process of creating a Windows 10 installation USB is quite simple, and Mytour provides detailed guidance on this. You can find the article on Mytour.
As technology continues to advance, products utilizing the latest generation of this communication standard are beginning to emerge. Most recently, the USB 3.1 connection standard has garnered attention compared to the previous USB 3.0. If you're interested in this connection standard, please follow along to learn more about what USB 3.1 is and how much faster its data transfer speeds are compared to USB 3.0.
Exploring the Essence of USB 3.1: How Much Faster is Data Transfer Compared to 3.0?
USB 3.1 (also known as USB 3.1/Gen 2) is the successor to USB 3.0, identifiable by its turquoise connection port. USB 3.1 doubles the transmission speed of 3.0 to an enormous 10 Gbps. Like its predecessors, it is fully compatible with older devices.
When paired with Type-C connections, USB 3.1 promises to unlock many exciting possibilities. Additionally, with the ability to deliver up to 100W of power in version 2.0, it can fully power or charge a notebook, potentially replacing the proprietary AC port with this widely adopted alternative. With four data lanes, USB 3.1 Type-C can even carry both DisplayPort and HDMI ports, extending its versatility further. Imagine, one port to rule them all - how convenient would that be?
Currently, the USB 3.1 protocol stands as the highest protocol and successor to the USB 3.0 protocol, which is ubiquitous in most modern laptops and desktops. A deeper look reveals that the USB 3.1 protocol is further divided into two types:
- USB 3.1 Gen 1: This protocol is quite similar to USB 3.0, with a maximum speed of 4.8 - 5 Gbps, albeit slightly better in performance. Essentially, you don't need to worry too much about this protocol.
- USB 3.1 Gen 2: This is the true new generation of USB. It boasts a maximum data transfer speed of 10Gbps, doubling that of USB 3.0/3.1 Gen 1. USB 3.1 Gen 2 also improves signal processing capabilities to reduce data overhead, meaning it saves more bandwidth during transmission compared to the previous generation. The logo used to denote USB 3.1 Gen 2 is SuperSPEED+.
For detailed data processing speed of USB 3.1, you can refer to the comparison image below:
USB 3.1 is backward compatible with USB 2.0, meaning if you have a USB 2.0 hard drive connected to a computer with USB 3.0 connection, it will still be recognized, and vice versa. However, the speed will reach the highest possible level of the hard drive, rather than fully utilizing the 5Gbps of USB 3.0. Of course, they must also use the same port, as you can't plug a USB-C port into a USB-A slot and vice versa.
Identifying USB 3.0 or 2.0 ports on a computer isn't always clear to everyone. If you're interested, you can follow the guide on how to identify USB 3.0 ports on laptops and computers here.
So, through this article, you've seen clearly the 'power' of the USB 3.1 connection standard, haven't you? Additionally, for those who are unable to upgrade their computers to support this new connection standard, they can still use third-party software to assist with data copying, such as Teracopy. You can find detailed information in the guide on speeding up file copying with Teracopy that we shared earlier.
