Asus intros first USB 3.0 motherboard
SuperSpeed joined by 6Gb/s Sata too
Asus has taken the wraps off what's certainly its first USB 3.0 motherboard and very possibly the first one of its kind at all.
The Xtreme Design P7P55D-E Premium board is based on Intel's P55 chipset, which doesn't support SuperSpeed USB, so Asus has integrated an unnamed third-party USB 3.0 controller which is hooked up to a pair of ports on the back of the board.
Asus' Xtreme Design P7P55D-E Premium: USB 3.0 on board
The board also has a pair of 6Gb/s Sata ports, along with six 3Gb/s ports. It has two PCIe x16 slots for graphics cards - it supports both AMD's CrossFire X and Nvidia's SLI multi-card technologies - and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports.
The SuperSpeed USB ports are compatible with USB 1.1 and 2.0 devices, but the board has ten USB 2.0 ports too, plus an eSata connector on a bracket.
Asus also announced the U3S6 PCIe x4 expansion card, designed for its P7P55D motherboard to bring USB 3.0 and 6Gb/s Sata to that board. In other respects the P7P55D's specs match those of the P7P55D-E.
The board's launch shows that claims Intel has put back the release of USB 3.0 supporting chipsets - if true - may not matter very much.
There's no word yet on pricing or availability, alas, for either motherboard or add-in card. ®
Special Report Inside USB 3.0
COMMENTS
devices devices devices!
I'd like to see the availability of stable 6gb/s harddrives and/or ssd with this release. I can only hope that despite Intel's "inability" to implement USB 3.0 that they can at least release an 6gb/s X-25 in the near future.
Penguin logo
Think the box needs a USB3.0 only works with LInux sticker!
Cool, now I can make good use of all my USB 3.0 devices
erm...
Light Peak is a farce
Not sure about strapping on USB 3.0 to the side like this, but hey, it's better than not providing it at all, so I give ASUS a lot of credit.
I can only assume that NVidia and VIA are laughing about Intel's stubborn 'inability' to deliver USB 3.0 LGA motherboards and looking forward to a great 2010 for themselves.
USB 3.0 makes so much more sense for consumers, but Intel would rather push their technology. Decent analysis here: http://www.glgroup.com/News/Intels--Light-Peak--Consumer-PC-Based-Fiber-Optic-USB-Ports---Why--43871.html
The author doesn't even mention cost or durability. When was fiber optic ever cheaper than copper? And let's see you coil up your Light Peak cable and put it in your laptop bag, then see how long it works.
