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Like different USB pendrives ( ex : USB 2.0 pendrives ) have different transfer speeds , do different motherboards have different USB speed ?

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little variation is always possible for different 2.0 usb ports from different manufacturers models. what exactly is the issue ? – Shakehar Dec 28 '11 at 14:12
not an issue .. just asking :) – Niks Dec 28 '11 at 14:14
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3 Answers

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USB is a standard. If a controller is USB 2.0 then it will have a max bandwidth of 480Mbps (roughly 60MBps). However, this is the max speed for the controller. For example, if you have two USB HDDs plugged into the USB ports on your computer and those two USB ports are part of the same controller then you will have a theoretical max bandwidth shared between the two devices of 480Mbps. Even though both drives themselves are capable of transferring at 100MBps, you may find that transferring files from one USB HDD to the other will only go at 15-30MBps, half of what you would expect. This is on the contrary with devices like Firewire or eSata where each port has it's own max bandwidth instead of a shared. Keep in mind that even though USB2.0 is rated for 480Mbps that not all devices will perform that fast.

In addition, Sirex is correct. There are motherboards now a days that have both USB2.0 and USB3. USB3 is typically indicated by being a blue port.

I think that your question was more geared towards, If two motherboards are rated for USB2.0 then will they both be capable of the max bandwidth of 480Mbps (or USB3 with a max bandwidth of 4.8Gbps).

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watch out that MBps is not the same as Mbps. – Lie Ryan Dec 28 '11 at 14:30
Did I have a type-o? Lie Ryan is correct 1MBps = 8Mbps. 480Mbps = (480/8)MBps = 60MBps. b = bit, B = byte. 8 bits in a byte. – kobaltz Dec 28 '11 at 15:03
not that I can see, but people reading this might not notice the difference in the capitalization. – Lie Ryan Dec 28 '11 at 15:09
Very true. I try to be careful when typing as you said, there is a big difference. – kobaltz Dec 28 '11 at 15:14
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up vote 2 down vote

In short, Yes.

You'll need to check the motherboard specs. Most motherboards have 2.0 ports, some have 3.0, and a few have a mixture of 2.0 and 3.0

USB 2.0 and 3.0 have different speeds (3.0 being significantly higher)

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I meant that like different USB 2.0 pendrives have different speeds . Do motherboards also have different USB speeds . – Niks Dec 28 '11 at 14:13
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@Niks pendrives do not have different USB speeds, they are limited by the speed of the flash controller and memory. A motherboard is limited by the bus speed which is generally always faster than USB can go – Paul Dec 28 '11 at 14:18
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up vote 2 down vote

USB 1 is - 12Mb/s USB 2 is - 480Mb/s USB 3 is - 5Gb/s

However, these are the maximums under best conditions. In real world situations, you will need a good driver (both for the USB socket itself and the device you are using).

In addition, especially with USB 3, if using the full 5GB/s, you need to make sure you have a matching hard drive controller and hard drive or your machine will not be able to keep up (providing that the USB device itself is going at full speed... Mind you, this is just an example, probably best off using ESATA for that!)

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Even the latest eSATA III is just 6 Gbps, just slightly above USB 3's 5 Gbps, and both are faster than most drives read/write speed; IMO at that point, compatibility and convenience trumps whatever advantage eSATA would offer. – Lie Ryan Dec 28 '11 at 15:03
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