How Fast is USB 3.0?

By Jon Henshaw

Just how fast is USB 3.0 compared to USB 2.0 and FireWire 800? It’s crazy fast! USB 2.0 has a maximum data transfer speed of 480mbps, and FireWire 800 has a maximum speed of 800mbps. USB 3.0 shatters those speeds with a maximum data throughput of 4.8gbps! Yup, that’s 4,800mbps!

New Features of USB 3.0

GigaOM posted several new features of USB 3.0. These are my favorites:

  • Did I mention it was 4.8gbps? ;)
  • Fully backwards compatible (as expected)
  • It’s more energy efficient
  • Backed by every major company

I’m looking forward to seeing Apple start to implement in their computers.