{"id":3012,"date":"2023-01-26T18:50:59","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T18:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.velocitymicro.com\/blog\/?p=3012"},"modified":"2023-01-26T21:48:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T21:48:12","slug":"usb4-what-is-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.velocitymicro.com\/blog\/usb4-what-is-it\/","title":{"rendered":"USB4: What is it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UBS4<\/p>\n

USB4 is here, but what is it? <\/b>In short, USB4 is the latest, fastest version of the USB standard. For the uninitiated, USB nomenclature is a hydra.<\/a> USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2 2×2, Thunderbolt 1, 2 & 3 – despite the fact some of these are direct upgrades of their predecessors, you could find almost all of them in your run of the mill wire nest. Naturally, it gets worse: USB manufacturers need only meet the minimum of a USB\u2019s generations\u2019 specifications. That\u2019s one of the reasons why you have cables that will charge your phone but won\u2019t pull any data.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the type and amount of information that a cable can transfer also varies. Some cables can tunnel DisplayPort signals, some can be used to hook up entire external video cards or PCIe devices, some can do both or neither. USB-IF\u2019s solution is to simplify the lingo by dropping any mention of \u201cgeneration\u201d, though in that sense it\u2019s only getting a little more simple. In the future, you\u2019ll see USB4 2×2, 4×4, and the recently announced v2.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

20Gb\/s vs 40Gb\/s<\/b><\/h2>\n

We’ll keep this focused on USB4 specifically. USB4 is a revision of the Universal Serial Bus. It\u2019s built on the Type-C platform, and is backwards compatible. To be considered for the classification, a cable must be capable of transferring 20 Gb\/s, but through bidirectional cable lanes, can achieve up to 40 Gb\/s. <\/span>You can tell if a USB4 cable is capable of 40Gb\/s data transfer if it is marketed or physically badged with these emblems.<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Via USB-IF.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

What else can USB4 do?<\/b><\/h2>\n

USB4 is capable of, predictably, everything its predecessors are, but better. This includes DisplayPort and PCIe support. Plus, at 40 Gb\/s, you could see 8k video at up to 60Hz – a staggering number considering what little we\u2019ve seen of the absurd resolution. For course, the cord alone is not enough – make sure that your USB cord and port share specifications if you want your maximum advertised performance. Just because they’re compatible doesn’t mean they’re a made match.<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of minimum specifications, datapro.net<\/a> lays out quite well the requirements of both hosts and hubs:<\/span><\/p>\n

Hosts must support:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n