14 DAY TRIAL // Even though storage units with support for the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard are becoming more and more widespread, they aren't exactly gaining traction as quickly as they could. This is because there is, currently, no native chipset support for this technology, from either Intel or Advanced Micro Devices. Even the latest platforms, though they boast SATA 6.0Gbps, lack this feature. Over the past few months, however, millions of USB 3.0 controllers were sold, a feat which seems to have been great enough for AMD to change its plans.
Advanced Micro Devices has reportedly decided that it is time to take a step forward and integrate USB 3.0 connectivity into its reference motherboard designs. As such, it has entered a collaboration with Renesas/NEC Electronics, by means of which the µPD720200 USB 3.0 controller shall be integrated in future platforms. This collaboration will also facilitate interoperability of Renesas Electronics' UASP driver and AMD's motherboards, thus providing a standardized UASP driver.
AMD supposedly enhanced data transfer, compared to conventional BOT, by 20%, while reducing design-cycle time. Integrating the aforementioned USB 3.0 controller will take things one step further and bring the interface a little closer to the mainstream. Future joint efforts will be put into maximizing the actual performance of the standard on AMD mainboards, as well as on actually standardizing the technology itself.
“We are pleased to share our USB 3.0 host controller and technologies with AMD to develop their USB 3.0 product portfolio by reducing time-to-market, lowering power consumption, and improving price-performance,” said Kazuyoshi Yamada, senior vice president, Renesas Electronics Corp.
“By combining both companies' innovation and expertise, we were able to enable the USB 3.0 ecosystem for UAS support, further increasing the performance of these USB 3.0 solutions,” said Mike Wisor, senior director of system software development at AMD.