The power and capabilities of a desktop computer system have expanded rapidly over the time. Following Moore’s law a CPU doubles in performance every two years. GPUs or graphics cards have also followed suite in this expansion of power. Memory speed has been almost as linear; modern DDR3 (2400 MHz effective) is up to 24 times faster than SDRAM first accepted nearly 20 years ago (PC100). Storage has been one of the most underdeveloped technologies for desktop users, as increased speed often led to increased heat and noise, anathema to a modern desktop system.
Solid State Drives have broken new speed barriers and forced storage manufacturers to increase the speed of the SATA interface twice in the last 6 years. Starting in 2006 when SATA 3Gbps interface hit the desktop market, and again in 2010 when the first 3rd party 6 Gbps controllers started appearing. Already that barrier is being pushed to the limits. Further more external storage solutions are becoming faster and faster as Solid State technology continues to increase and design faster NAND in smaller packages.
The Universal Serial BUS, is one such method for connecting external devices. The latest version is USB 3.0 which was first released in 2008, 12 years after the original USB port started appearing in desktop systems. By utilizing the same physical port and basic power and data lines any USB device will theoretically work in any USB port although speed will operate at the format of the lowest speed. (USB 3.0 drive in USB 2.0 port operates at USB 2.0 speed, USB 2.0 drive in USB 3.0 port operates at USB 2.0 speed). There is a VERY small performance advantage to using a USB 2.0 device in a USB 3.0 port. A top speed USB 2.0 flash drive scored better in USB 3.0 ports when testing the ADATA USB 3.0 flash drives almost 2 years ago.)
The USB 3.0 Super speed interface is appearing on most motherboards now with 2-4 ports available. Offering theoretical bandwidth up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 at 5 Gbit/s the actual effective transfer rate is about 11-12x times greater at 400 MBps vice USB 2.0’s 35 MBps maximum sustained rates. If you built your PC more than 2 years ago though you may not have USB 3.0 ports available at all. Have no fear, this is where Silverstone steps in to bring you a new line of USB 3.0 controller expansion cards and accessories. We covered some of their earlier options before, including the EC03 Internal 1X PCIE card, the TS07B 3.5” external enclosure and the Raven RS02 2.5”{ external enclosure that is still pending publication.
Today 3 new products are on the table for evaluation. The EC03B-P is a PCIE 1x peripheral card that offers a 2-port internal 19pin USB 3.0 header as well as a 3.5” expansion bay front plate to access USB3 from the front of your PC. The SST-EC04 offers 4 USB 3.0 ports, 2 internal as the EC03 and 2 spaced nicely apart on the rear expansion plate that will be accessible only via the back of your PC. Lastly we have USB 3.0 based card reader, the FP37. This is a true USB 3.0 card reader front panel device with 19pin internal header and support for all the most common card types as well as a USB3.0 pass through port.
