Technical > PC Hardware Discussion/Reviews > Will USB 2 sockets work with USB 3?

Will USB 2 sockets work with USB 3?

USB 3 sockets have additional pins, beyond that, I don't know.

reply to pandora
»wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_USB_3.0_ba···mpatible

I just try USB 2 stick to a USB 3 socket and that work fine. I do not have anything to test the other way around.

reply to pandora
You can use USB 1.x and 2.x devices in a USB 3.x-class socket -- they will operate as originally intended. You can also use a USB 3.x device in a USB 2.x or 1.x-class socket and it will operate at USB 2.x or 1.x speeds.

Simple version: everything is backwards compatible.
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Making life hard for others since 1977.
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reply to pandora
I thought pandora was asking as relates to an on board header for front port, but such boards aren't out yet and neither are cases, are they?

reply to pandora
I think what is being asked is can you turn the case ports into something capable of usb 3 transfer rates and the answer is no it won't turn usb 2 type ports into usb 3 ports.

reply to pandora

reply to signmeuptoo

reply to jchambers28
Thanks the video let me know that I'll need new USB headers on my case to support USB 3. It also compared USB 2, USB 3, internal SATA and ESATA for drive interface. It appears ESATA will be a viable choice even against USB 3 which I wasn't expecting.

Where USB 3 is likely to be most helpful is with flash drive technology IMO. On the large file test USB 3 was about 4 times faster than USB 2, on small file transfers USB 3 was about 2 times faster than USB 2. So it isn't quite the 10x transfer increase I was expecting. It was nice to see that he did his homework and used SSD drives that could run faster than either interface specification at both ends (inside the external unit and on the host PC). This excludes the hard drive as a bottleneck.

It was an amazingly helpful video, thank you for finding and posting it.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."

if you have a sata 3.0 mobo it could be possible to have e sata 3.0 on a case that has a e sata port on the case it self.

reply to jchambers28

reply to jchambers28
This guy couldn't get firewire to work?

Let me guess, he also used the default driver Windows 7 has for Firewire, too. Well, that's his problem. The default driver 7 likes to use for Firewire chipsets is god-awful. I too had the same problem, and it was only by using the "legacy" driver that is available, that I got to see consistent speeds. Still not quite what I was enjoying on Windows XP with the same hardware, but still a lot better than what 7's default driver did.
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Front Line Force Fortress Forever

Also, what of eSATA 6? I don't know if it is available, but how would it compare to USB3?

reply to C0deZer0
He's also using FireWire 400 and not FireWire 800.
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