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Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022

01 Sep 22 - 11:11 PM (#4151742)
Subject: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
From: Stilly River Sage

I looked around at the various Tech: threads and didn't see a good fit for this.

USB-C to hit 80Gbps under updated USB4 v. 2.0 spec
You’re going to need new cables and learn to recognize revised logos

The USB Promoter Group has announced version 2.0 of the USB4 spec and promises it can carry data at 80Gbps.

The Group’s announcement [PDF] of the spec is a little light on detail because the nitty gritty stuff will debut in time for developer events scheduled for November.

For now, we’ve been told that the spec will offer the following characteristics:

Up to 80Gbps operation, based on a new physical layer architecture, using existing 40Gbps USB Type-C passive cables and newly-defined 80Gbps USB Type-C active cables.

Updates to data and display protocols to better use the increase in available bandwidth.
USB data architecture updates now enable USB 3.2 data tunneling to exceed 20Gbps.
Updated to align with the latest versions of the DisplayPort and PCIe specifications.
Backward compatibility with USB4 Version 1.0, USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3.

80Gbps is plenty of capacity, but the spec isn’t designed to devote it all to a single connection. Instead the plan is to share out the 80Gbps among different devices connected to a hub or dock. Which is a worthy outcome, given that system builders are increasingly offering PCs with just a couple of USB-C connectors that are suggested as the way to handle video and external storage, a decision that all-but-necessitates the acquisition of a dock or hub.


There's more at the link.

There are many more tech topics than cables, but this is a good starting point for this decade.

01 Sep 22 - 11:30 PM (#4151743)
Subject: RE: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
From: Joe Offer

And the #1 question in my mind: backwards compatibility.

My desktop and Chromebook computers have one USB C port, plus USB 2.0 and 3.0. How soon will they be obsolete?

02 Sep 22 - 12:41 AM (#4151744)
Subject: RE: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
From: Stilly River Sage

  • Backward compatibility with USB4 Version 1.0, USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3.

    When I ordered this Dell desktop a couple of years ago I got lots of USB ports, but couldn't seem to find all of them until I realized the tiny ones tucked in front and back were the C ports. I have cables to use with them, and those older ports won't be any faster with the new cables (that I'm aware of) unless I swapped out cards inside or something.

    • 02 Sep 22 - 05:00 AM (#4151759)
    Subject: RE: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
    From: MaJoC the Filk

    Use the youngest or oldest cable you can get away with. I well remember one of our users finding she couldn't use a certain external peripheral with her iThingie, despite both ends of the connection being the same USB version. Eventually we discovered the connecting cable was more than two USB versions behind, replaced it, and lo! one working peripheral.

    02 Sep 22 - 10:11 AM (#4151780)
    Subject: RE: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
    From: Stilly River Sage

    I have several baskets in the office closet with labels for the old devices that are in them. Power supplies (sometimes they have a new life with a device I find at an estate sale or thrift store), cables, and adaptors are all held onto for quite a while, though I have thinned on occasion.

    On a shelf near my computer is a collection of the most recent adaptors for cables and devices that I use now. And those C-type cables are well-represented there. So far my uses are small - phones and tablets, but I have external hard drives that might benefit from faster cables (if the computer and the drive recognize that that's what they are and respond properly).

    03 Sep 22 - 02:39 AM (#4151853)
    Subject: RE: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
    From: DaveRo

    Stilly River Sage wrote: ... older ports won't be any faster with the new cables (that I'm aware of) unless I swapped out cards inside or something.
    It's worth taking a look inside to see if the motherboard has a spare 'USB 3 header', which is a socket into which you can plug more USB 3 ports. I added a couple* to my 10yo Intel desktop that way - they were USB 3.0 type A (blue) but maybe there are faster or type-C ones now.

    * "Dual 2 Ports USB 3.0 A Type Female to Motherboard 20 Pin Female Header Cable"

    03 Sep 22 - 02:01 PM (#4151886)
    Subject: RE: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
    From: Stilly River Sage

    Dave, I know - the motherboard can be a wealth of surprises. Just because the computer they sold has X number of USB ports or other features, it doesn't mean they exhausted all of the possibilities available on the board itself.

    If you visit the Dell service Manual and go to page 12 you see the Service Board (no results when searching "motherboard" these days). Lots of SATA 6 plugs though they may be in use. There used to be a small array of extras inside on other computers and while I've used those in the past for external hard drives I haven't even considered what I might connect to any of them today. Plugging in a cable that can handle high speeds is always preferable.

    04 Sep 22 - 03:06 AM (#4151915)
    Subject: RE: Tech: USB Type-C cable upgrade 2022
    From: DaveRo

    From the spec of the XPS 8930 I see that two of the USB ports at the back - one type-A and one type-C - are faster than the others, and faster than the type-C port on the front.