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0 pointsuserbinator3y ago0 comments

As long as there are no two different standards that are capable of the same wattage and speed

There are. USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 and 3.2 Gen 2 are both nominally 10Gbps but use different signaling.

0 comments

I am still not convinced that Gen 1x2 actually exists. Sure, it's in the specs, but can you actually buy chips which support 1x2 but not 2x1?

Sure, in theory it is easier to design because you are dealing with two 5Gbps signals instead of one 10Gbps signal so you have a bigger error margin, but 2x1 was introduced in 2013 whereas 1x2 came along in 2017, had a worse real-world data transfer rate, and required way more complicated chips due to the mandatory USB-C handling.

Did anyone bother to build chips for it?

0x4573y ago

Yes, but the result is the same. USB 3.2 Gen 2 will downgrade to USB 3.2 Gen 1x2. But also, I've never seen USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 device in real world.

For the consumer, the difference is negligible.

wereHamster3y ago

Does that affect device function?

crote3y ago

In theory, yes.

Gen 2x1 uses a slightly more efficient error correction method than 1x2, so even though the number of bits going over the line is the same, the effective data transfer rate is higher.

Meanwhile, Gen 1x2 uses half the bandwidth that 2x1 requires, which makes the design of the chips, PCBs, and cables a lot easier. If a Gen 2x1 link fails to operate reliably, it will actually downgrade to 1x2 if possible.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

crote3y ago

I am still not convinced that Gen 1x2 actually exists. Sure, it's in the specs, but can you actually buy chips which support 1x2 but not 2x1?

Did anyone bother to build chips for it?

0x4573y ago

Yes, but the result is the same. USB 3.2 Gen 2 will downgrade to USB 3.2 Gen 1x2. But also, I've never seen USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 device in real world.

For the consumer, the difference is negligible.

wereHamster3y ago

Does that affect device function?

crote3y ago

In theory, yes.

Gen 2x1 uses a slightly more efficient error correction method than 1x2, so even though the number of bits going over the line is the same, the effective data transfer rate is higher.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse