VIA Announces New SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Hub Controller

By Dena Cassella January 5, 2010

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 has been making a lot of news lately, and is expected to be supported by many new products that will be unveiled at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The updated interface features 5Gbps of bandwidth (technically 4.8Gbps), and is fully backward compatible with previous versions of the Universal Serial Bus.

USB 2.0 is currently rated at 480Mbps, but real world throughput is rarely above 35MB/s due to protocol overhead.

This is now a major problem as many devices such as keyboards and monitors now feature built-in USB hubs, which provide additional downstream USB ports. However, bandwidth is still limited by the single upstream connection to the computer.

This may not be a critical issue for rarely used devices, but it is a major concern for those who depend on USB connections for headsets, webcams, and data transfers. Many new motherboards now come with USB 3.0 ports, but limited PCIe bandwidth on the motherboards mean that there are usually only a few SuperSpeed ports, leaving early adopters in the cold.

VIA Technologies has unveiled its VL810 SuperSpeed Hub Controller, the industry’s first integrated single chip USB 3.0 hub that support one upstream and four downstream ports. It is built on a 80nm process, which is not unexpected considering many USB 2.0 hubs are built on a 180 or 130 nm process. Expect the new chip to be used in next generation computer monitors and keyboards.

“The growing emphasis on high-definition multimedia content is placing increasing demands on current data transfer technologies,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing for VIA Technologies. “SuperSpeed USB not only makes transferring HD video files, high pixel count digital photos, and backing up hard drives quick and easy, but VIA’s new hub controller allows consumers to get the most out of the technology by expanding the capacity of PC systems.”

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One of the best times to upgrade your tech stack, be it your desktop, a new laptop, or some high-resolution monitors, is when great deals are to be had. Well, I'm here to share that thanks to Dell's top deals, you can power up your tech game and have most of the summer to make it happen. Maybe you're happy with your current system or setup. That's excellent, but you're likely considering upgrading somewhere, and that's precisely what these deals are all about. Dell has a smorgasbord of deals on laptops, desktops, gaming desktops, monitors, accessories, and so much more. We'll call out a few of our favorite deals below, but for now, know that you should be shopping this sale if you're interested in anything tech-related.

What summer tech should you buy in Dell's top deals?

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Many people use Microsoft Teams regularly to communicate with colleagues both inside of the office and remotely. It is considered one of the most efficient ways to ensure you can stay in contact with the people on your team, but what if you need to let people know you’re not readily available? Microsoft Teams has a method for you to set up an "Out of Office" status for your profile to let staff members know when you’ll be gone for the afternoon, for several days on vacation, or for an extended period.
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