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What are the Advantages of USB 3.0 Over USB 2.0 Devices

We cannot think about a computer without having USB ports (Universal Serial Bus) because of the nonparallel use of them. Age of the USB 2.0 is over, and most of the computer systems and devices have started migrating to USB 3.0 standard. Though both standards are backward compatible, USB 3.0 connector is physically different from 2.0 connector due to the additional pins. We can connect a Universal Serial Bus 3.0 device with 2.0 connector, but then you can expect only Universal Serial Bus 2.0 performance.

Let us check the major advantages of USB 3.0 over USB 2.0 devices. Major advantages of 3.0 version over 2.0 are higher speed, better power efficiency, better data buffering, etc.

This article explains the differences between these two standards.

Differences Between USB 3.0 and USB 2.0
  1. Speed Difference Between USB 3.0 and USB 2.0
    Universal Serial Bus 3.0 is very much faster than  2.0.

    The data transfer speed of Universal Serial Bus 3.0 is about 4.8Gbps compared to 480 Mbps data transfer speed in 2.0 standard.

    So by comparing the difference in data transfer speed, we must say  3.0 is ten times faster than  2.0.

  2. Power Saving in USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Standards
    Power management of USB 3.0 is considerably better than in 2.0 standard.

    The Universal Serial Bus 3.0 standard can save energy while the system is idle.

    Technically speaking 2.0 version uses to power up to 500 mA and USB 3.0 uses up to 900 mA, but the power efficiency of 3.0 standard is better than that in 2.0 standard.

  3. Duplex Settings in USB 3.0 and  2.0
    USB 2.0 devices can only handle one-way traffic(half-duplex). But the 3.0 version is able to send and receive data simultaneously(full-duplex).

  4. Number of pins in USB 3.0 connector
    We cannot use USB 3.0 connector to connect 2.0 devices through the reverse is possible.

    It is because of the additional pins in the Universal Serial Bus 3.0 connector.

    There are nine wires in Universal Serial Bus 3.0 connector cable, and it is bigger compared to the four-wire 2.0 connector cable.

    USB 3.0 connector is physically bigger than that of Universal Serial Bus 2.0.

  5. Connector Colors Difference
    We can identify USB 2.0 connector and USB 3.0 connector by checking the color.

    3.0 connector is big and blue where  2.0 connector is grey colored.
Here you have read the major differences between these two standards.

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We have seen the advantages of migrating from 2.0 to 3.0 standard.

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You can prevent users from connecting Universal Serial Bus devices on your computer. To do it, follow the instructions provided in the link below.
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Anonymous said…
Nice tutorial man