Intel may add USB 3.0 to chipsets next week
updated 09:40 am EDT, Tue September 7, 2010
Intel Cougar Point to get USB 3.0 support
Taiwan's Commercial Times today claimed that Intel will launch its first native USB 3.0 chipset at next week's Intel Developer Forum. Its Cougar Point chipset for desktops using Sandy Bridge processors will get the faster bus speeds and should help accelerate the adoption of the newer standard in computers. When it would ship wasn't mentioned, but Intel has already promised a late 2010 launch and is informally expected to ship in November.
Notebooks are likely to get USB 3.0 when the Huron River mobile platform arrives in early 2011.
USB 3.0 has already found its way into some desktops and notebooks, but Intel has been visibly absent from the technology despite being the creator of USB itself. The gap has left many companies either turning to controllers from third parties like NEC or else keeping to USB 2.0. The standard is the first to truly overtake FireWire in some areas and should run at about 5Gbps, making it ideal for external solid-state drives, HD camcorders and advanced mobile devices that need large amounts of bandwidth.
