AMD to back USB 3.0 in its chips

From CNET News.com: Advanced Micro Devices will support USB 3.0 in its chips, marking the first instance of a major PC processor supplier getting behind the standard. Intel has yet to support the high-speed interface.

The USB Implementers Forum today announced that AMD will deliver the first chipsets to integrate support for USB 3.0, aka SuperSpeed USB. A chipset accompanies the main processor.

"With [today's] announcement AMD is...disclosing our support for SuperSpeed USB 3.0 in upcoming AMD A75 and A70M Fusion [chipsets]. Both chipsets are shipping today," said Phil Hughes, an AMD spokesman, responding to an e-mail query.

The current USB 2.0 standard, which is found on virtually all laptops today, has been around for an eternity in tech years. Intel laid the groundwork for widespread use on PCs and devices in spring 2002 when it put the technology in its silicon. Eight years later, the advantages of moving to a faster standard are clear for devices like digital cameras, camcorders, and hard drives: transfer rates jump from a peak of 480 megabits per second on USB 2.0 to as much as 5 gigabits per second with USB 3.0.

But mass adoption by PC makers won't happen until support is included in chipsets, according to Brian O'Rourke, an analyst at In-Stat. "In order for the rippling effect to happen with USB 3.0 it has to hit in PCs and for it to hit in PCs it has to be integrated into the chipset. AMD is not Intel, but it's probably the next best thing in chipsets," O'Rourke said. Currently, USB 3.0 is integrated into PCs by adding a separate chip, typically from NEC.

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