Plan For USB 3.0 Compatibility Testing In Late 2010

Bad news for USB 3.0. Intel is pushing off it's plans to add USB 3.0 chipsets to 2011. This means that we won't see USB 3.0 in consumer-level  systems until then.  We can expect some systems with USB 3.0, but those will be limited to "a few high-end graphics workstations and consumer systems," according to an article at EE Times. This puts a damper on USB 3.0 testing plans.  Although some manufacturers either have or will have products that support USB 3.0 next year, testing those products will be limited to custom configurations.

One manufacturer to look to for help might be Gigabyte.  They plan a motherboard with USB 3.0 support.  This board will have use a NEC chip for its USB 3.0 connector.  And the on-again, off-again plans from ASUS regarding their debut of a motherboard with USB 3.0 support appears to be back on-again according to an this article. We previously cited a report of ASUS pulling this motherboard (USB 3.0 Compatibility Testing Is Coming Soon - Maybe), so we'll have to wait and see.