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posted by janrinok on Thursday October 20 2022, @06:37PM   Printer-friendly

USB-C can hit 120Gbps with newly published USB4 Version 2.0 spec:

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: USB-C is confusing. A USB-C port or cable can support a range of speeds, power capabilities, and other features, depending on the specification used. Today, USB-C can support various data transfer rates, from 0.48Gbps (USB 2.0) all the way to 40Gbps (USB4, Thunderbolt 3, and Thunderbolt 4). Things are only about to intensify, as today the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) published the USB4 Version 2.0 spec. It adds optional support for 80Gbps bidirectional bandwidth as well as the optional ability to send or receive data at up to 120Gbps.

The USB-IF first gave us word of USB4 Version 2.0 in September, saying it would support a data transfer rate of up to 80Gbps in either direction (40Gbps per lane, four lanes total), thanks to a new physical layer architecture (PHY) based on PAM-3 signal encoding. For what it's worth, Intel also demoed Thunderbolt at 80Gbps but hasn't released an official spec yet.

USB4 Version 2.0 offers a nice potential bump over the original USB4 spec, which introduced optional support for 40Gbps operation. You just have to be sure to check the spec sheets to know what sort of performance you're getting.

Once USB4 Version 2.0 products come out, you'll be able to hit 80Gbps with USB-C passive cables that currently operate at 40Gbps, but you'll have to buy a new cable if you want a longer, active 80Gbps.

Today, the USB-IF confirmed that USB4 Version 2.0 will take things even further by optionally supporting a data transfer rate of up to 120Gbps across three lanes.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 20 2022, @07:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 20 2022, @07:10PM (#1277576)

    Their cables are unspec'ed garbage.

    Is there a reputable source for cables that meet spec?

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Thursday October 20 2022, @07:44PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Thursday October 20 2022, @07:44PM (#1277580) Journal

    Basically, you get 160 Gbps total. 80 Gbps going one way for full DisplayPort 2.1 (formerly 2.0). That's enough for 8K 60 Hz w/ 10-bit color, no Display Stream Compression. Then you have 40 Gbps bidirectional.

    So you can plug an 8K display into a PC. That display can have USB ports to chain other devices, and it could send back input from a touchscreen.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Rupert Pupnick on Thursday October 20 2022, @09:55PM (1 child)

    by Rupert Pupnick (7277) on Thursday October 20 2022, @09:55PM (#1277594) Journal

    How long are these 120 Gb/s capable cables? Two inches?

    Would be nice to not have to read TFA to find out.

    • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Friday October 21 2022, @06:25AM

      by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 21 2022, @06:25AM (#1277655)

      That probably includes the connectors.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Immerman on Friday October 21 2022, @02:10AM (2 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Friday October 21 2022, @02:10AM (#1277618)

    I predict USB-C4 will be big. Explosive even.

    • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Friday October 21 2022, @06:20AM (1 child)

      by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 21 2022, @06:20AM (#1277652)

      But the USB-C5 will be an over-hyped disappointment.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by Rich on Friday October 21 2022, @12:43PM

        by Rich (945) on Friday October 21 2022, @12:43PM (#1277698) Journal

        Depends on the implementation. Sinclair's is said to lack a bit, but Lockheed's has a hell of a lot of bandwidth when loaded with USB sticks.

  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 21 2022, @03:55AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 21 2022, @03:55AM (#1277635)

    USB4 Version 2.0? Would it have killed them to call it USB 4.2.0 or something like that? Two version numbers on the same product...

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 21 2022, @06:05AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 21 2022, @06:05AM (#1277650)

    I don't know how to cope I think I need to buy a proprietary Apple cable to solve my deep problems.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Dr Spin on Friday October 21 2022, @08:01AM

    by Dr Spin (5239) on Friday October 21 2022, @08:01AM (#1277681)

    that the way you use numbers is to call these 4.0 or 4.1 or something, in fact absolutely anything, except version 4 2.0,
    then they should not be permitted to use numbers at all!

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