14 DAY TRIAL // There are a bunch of USB 3.0 host controllers on the market, but only some of them have, thus far, gained the official approval of the USB Implementers Forum, and it looks like the crowd has grown by one.
When it comes to new technologies, there are certain performance and quality standards that one needs to meet before certification is given by the corresponding consortium of IT players.
USB-IF (USB Implementers Forum) is one interface that relies on host controllers, with said controllers made by more than one company.
When a host chip of this sort gains USB-IF certification, it means that there are no compatibility issues and that the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 logo can be strapped onto the product it lands in.
Until recently, there were no Taiwanese hardware makers that had such recognition, but this has changed now that ASMedia, an ASUS daughter company, became the first.
More specifically, its two-port host controller has received approval, although this means that the single-port one found in some notebooks and lower-end desktop platforms has not.
As found in a report, the ASM1042 has been found viable by the consortium, a convenient fact, knowing that motherboards using it already exist.
Given that ASMedia also had WHQL certified drivers, this only completes the set of conditions that mainboard makers like to see.
The other two host controller makers, Eltron and VLI, also have WHQL drivers but have yet to gain USB-IF certification.
For those that want a reminder, the USB 3.0 interface allows data to be transferred at a theoretical maximum rate of 5 Gbps.
This is a tenfold increase over the 480 Mbps that USB 2.0 ports can achieve and is the asset that has been getting into all sorts of storage devices and PC products.
What remains is to see if VLI and Eltron succeed in getting their own inventions validated sooner rather than later.