Vantec announces new USB 3.1 HDD enclosures and PCIe add-on card
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Vantec announces new USB 3.1 HDD enclosures and PCIe add-on card
We’re just starting to see USB 3.1 trickle out to motherboards and third-party accessories. This next-generation data transfer interface promises to double the theoretical 5Gbps data throughput of USB 3.0 to 10Gbps. While real-world numbers won’t be quite so heady, our preview tests still indicated quite some impressive results.
With that said, Vantec is adding to the still-limited pool of USB 3.1-compatible products with the NexStar HDD enclosures and a PCIe host controller card. The NexStar 3.1 series is available in both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors and will sport conventional USB Type-A ports for better backward compatibility with older USB 3.0 or 2.0 devices. The enclosures are powered by an external AC adapter and will enable owners of existing 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives to take advantage of the higher throughput that USB 3.1 has to offer.
The enclosures are meant to be paired with Vantec’s add-on PCIe card to enable users to leverage on the best that USB 3.1 has to offer. The USB 3.1 PCIe host card is a full-height PCIe 2.0 x4 add-on card that appears to function similar to USB 3.1 add-on cards from manufacturers like ASUS. The card also uses the same ASMedia ASM1142 USB 3.1 controller that we saw on motherboards with USB 3.1 implementation.
Like the NexStar HDD enclosures, the PCIe host card features two USB Type-A ports for compatibility with legacy devices. This makes it easier for users to connect existing flash drives or portable hard drives that utilize the older Type-A connectors.
According to Vantec, both devices will also support UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) for an extra speed boost when used with the latest OS. It’s probably safe to assume that this refers to Windows 8.1, which has drivers that have already been optimized for USB 3.1 performance.
The Vantec NexStar HDD enclosures and PCIe host card will be available in early June.
Source: Vantec
