Philip writes:
Are there any good reference books/Guides to motherboards? I mean really, how come nobody seem interested in making many with USB 3.0 ports? Maybe 1/10th of the motherboards made in 2011 seem to have this simple thing. And it makes your connections ten times faster at no real extra cost?
Per the first question, I personally find motherboard guides to be out-of-date the moment they’re printed because the technology changes too quickly. One of the better places to ask what’s hot and what’s not with motherboards with near-real-time answers is the PCMech forums. Message board members are installing new motherboards all the time, so it’s a great place to start to see what’s good for motherboards right now. A strong community rules supreme when it comes to motherboard discussion, and the forums are definitely the place to go for that.
Per the second question, when it comes to Intel-socket motherboards (Philip was specifically interested in that brand) with USB 3.0 on board, NewEgg carries over 180 of them that have them built right in, so yes, there is choice.
As for the adoption of USB 3.0 itself by the masses however, that’s a different story.
Some have had issues achieving the full rated speed of USB 3.0 where disconnects/reconnects are required just to get the thing working.
Not all USB 3.0 Flash sticks are the same in the speed department. Read and write speeds vary quite a bit and you have to do a fair amount of research to find out what you’re exactly buying (similar to research when buying into SSD).
Windows 7 usually requires a separate driver (provided by the motherboard OEM on disc) just to get USB 3.0 hardware detected correctly in that OS. And as many know, sometimes third-party drivers by motherboard OEMs don’t exactly work the way you’d expect. For Linux users this sometimes means their brand new motherboard won’t have USB 3.0 accessible in their OS at all because the drivers are proprietary to Windows.
USB 2.0, while older and slower, has no awful surprises to it. It works in almost any OS even as old as Windows 98. From WinXP (2001) to present, it’s almost never required to have any drivers to use as the OS of your choice will have native in-built support for it. Linux users never have problems with USB 2.0 unless the device being connected requires proprietary Windows to work (like Wi-Fi sticks).
I don’t want to give off the impression that USB 3.0 is bad, because it isn’t. But I will say that it’s absolutely true that all USB 3.0 devices are not the same; you will not get the same very-predictable nature like you do with USB 2.0.
In the end, there’s plenty of choice concerning USB 3.0. It’s here, available, cheap and works – but reading the specifications because purchasing any USB 3.0 rated device is mandatory to make sure you’re getting the read/write speeds you want.
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