USB-IF Announces Publication of USB4 Specification

btarunr · Sep 3, 2019

USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the support organization for the advancement and adoption of USB technology, today announced the publication of the USB4 specification, a major update to deliver the next-generation USB architecture that complements and builds upon the existing USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 architectures. The USB4 architecture is based on the Thunderbolt protocol specification recently contributed by Intel Corporation to the USB Promoter Group. It doubles the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB and enables multiple simultaneous data and display protocols.

The development of the USB4 specification was first announced in March 2019 by the USB Promoter Group. It is now officially published by USB-IF and available for download here.

Key characteristics of the USB4 solution include:

Two-lane operation using existing USB Type-C cables and up to 40 Gbps operation over 40 Gbps certified cables
Multiple data and display protocols that efficiently share the maximum aggregate bandwidth
Backward compatibility with USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3

As the USB Type-C connector has evolved into the role as the external display connector of many host products, the USB4 specification provides the host the ability to optimally scale allocations for display data flow. Even as the USB4 specification introduces a new underlying protocol, compatibility with existing USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3 hosts and devices is supported; the resulting connection scales to the best mutual capability of the devices being connected.

The upcoming USB Developer Days 2019 will include detailed technical training covering the USB4 specification and the latest for USB Type-C, USB Power Delivery, and new USB-IF branding strategies.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

TheLostSwede · Sep 3, 2019

I guess this is also the start of the death of all but type-C USB connectors then?

TheinsanegamerN · Sep 3, 2019

TheLostSwede said:
I guess this is also the start of the death of all but type-C USB connectors then?

I thought USB C already killed type A connections. At least, that's what the internet kept parroting, meanwhile most everything is still type A compatible. type C USB drives are unicorns, most printers/keyboards/mice/other preipherals are type A, ece.

TheLostSwede · Sep 3, 2019

TheinsanegamerN said:
I thought USB C already killed type A connections. At least, that's what the internet kept parroting, meanwhile most everything is still type A compatible. type C USB drives are unicorns, most printers/keyboards/mice/other preipherals are type A, ece.

Well, my phone is type-C and I can buy plenty different type-C USB flash drives locally.
Printers are actually type-B, but yeah, most other things are type-A still and so are most of the ports on brand new motherboards.

eidairaman1 · Sep 3, 2019

TheLostSwede said:
I guess this is also the start of the death of all but type-C USB connectors then?

Which I am not a fan of at all

ShurikN · Sep 3, 2019

TheLostSwede said:
I guess this is also the start of the death of all but type-C USB connectors then?

And thank god for that.

claster17 · Sep 3, 2019

Does USB4 add anything new or is it just a different name for TB3?

JAB Creations · Sep 3, 2019

I remember back at the end of the 90s or early 2000s when I spotted my first motherboard that had no ISA slots. I was thrilled at the thought of that kind of progress. Unfortunately because it's obvious no one did product testing ever type A really really got a foothold in to the market. I'll be thrilled when at least enthusiast motherboard have both nothing but USB 4.0 type C ports on both the front and rear IO. Another issue is that huge amount of stock of components that use type A that are sitting in stores and warehouses. I don't believe this will happen until well in the DDR5/AM5 era though.

Just be thankful that the server and gaming markets are separate: they're still using serial ports!

E-curbi · Sep 3, 2019

Mankind moving forward. :clap:

juiseman · Sep 4, 2019

I feel like I'm always about to break a type c. I still prefer A my self. But it always takes me 2 tries because for some odd reason
I always pick the wrong side.......so I guess it takes 3-4 try's; cuz you got to double check twice just to make sure....then try once more before you feel you
have safely connected the USB Type A connector in correctly....

Don't get me started on Firewire 400.......

Maybe the issue is me? hmmmm..........

Assimilator · Sep 4, 2019

juiseman said:
I feel like I'm always about to break a type c. I still prefer A my self. But it always takes me 2 tries because for some odd reason
I always pick the wrong side.......so I guess it takes 3-4 try's; cuz you got to double check twice just to make sure....then try once more before you feel you
have safely connected the USB Type A connector in correctly....

Don't get me started on Firewire 400.......

Maybe the issue is me? hmmmm..........

EVERYONE has that issue. The type-A connector is simply poorly designed.

Vlada011 · Sep 4, 2019

Nice, USB4 will be implemented in same time with PCI-E 5.0 and DDR5.
Only USB 3.1 Gen 2 still is not widely used.
USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are most popular.

I have USB 3.1 Gen 2 Connector on front panel of case. He is easy removable because WX version of case had only hole, and WXC have and connector removable with 2 screws from other side.
If Lian Li launch USB4 connector I will regulary replace him. Probably will work same for PC-O11 classic and PC-O11 Dynamic/Air.
USB 3.0 above I use for Logitech Unifying Receiver for G900.

ShurikN · Sep 4, 2019

Assimilator said:
EVERYONE has that issue. The type-A connector is simply poorly designed.

In its defense, it's 23 years old. And when it came out it was a pretty big deal.
The issue is they haven't made any progress until type-c... 20 years later.

Also, this needs to never happen again:

Starting with the 20 Gbit/s USB 3.2 standard, USB-IF introduced a new naming scheme. The original USB 3.0 (which was renamed to USB 3.1 Gen 1) with its 5 Gbit/s was retroactively renamed to USB 3.2 Gen 1 and the 10 Gbit/s USB 3.1 Gen 2 was retroactively renamed to USB 3.2 Gen 2. The newest 20 Gbit/s was named USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2. To help companies with branding of the different transfer modes, USB-IF recommended branding the 5, 10, and 20 Gbit/s transfer modes as SuperSpeed USB, SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbit/s, and SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbit/s, respectively.

Assimilator · Sep 6, 2019

ShurikN said:
Also, this needs to never happen again:

I have some bad news for you.

System Name	RBMK-1000
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Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
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Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Overlord Mk MLI
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory	32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s)	Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage	1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s)	Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case	Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Max
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/5za05v

System Name	Skunkworks
Processor	5800x3d
Motherboard	x570 unify
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A
Memory	32GB 3600 mhz
Video Card(s)	asrock 6800xt challenger D
Storage	Sabarent rocket 4.0 2TB, MX 500 2TB
Display(s)	Asus 1440p144 27"
Case	Old arse cooler master 932
Power Supply	Corsair 1200w platinum
Mouse	squeak
Keyboard	Some old office thing
Software	openSUSE tumbleweed/Mint 21.2

System Name	Overlord Mk MLI
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory	32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s)	Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage	1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s)	Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case	Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Max
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/5za05v

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

USB-IF Announces Publication of USB4 Specification

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

TheLostSwede

News Editor

TheinsanegamerN

TheLostSwede

News Editor

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

ShurikN

claster17

JAB Creations

E-curbi

juiseman

Assimilator

Vlada011

ShurikN

Assimilator

Processor	Ryzen 3600
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Mouse	G703
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Software	W10

Processor	R9 5900X
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Power Supply	SP 11 Pt 750W
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Keyboard	Ducky Shine 7

Processor	AMD Ryzen 3800X / AMD 8350
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Cooling	Stock / Corsair H100
Memory	32GB / 24GB
Video Card(s)	Sapphire RX 6800 / AMD Radeon 290X (Toggling until 6950XT)
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Display(s)	Samsung U32E850R
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Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 1300G2 / EVGA Supernova 850G+
Mouse	Logitech M-U0007
Keyboard	Logitech G110 / Logitech G110

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Motherboard	EVGA Z390 DARK
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Video Card(s)	AMD WX 4100 Workstation Card (AMD W5400 7nm workstation card coming soon)
Storage	Intel Optane 900P 280GB PCIe card as Primary OS drive / (4) Samsung 860Pro 256GB SATA internal
Display(s)	Planar 27in 2560x1440 Glossy LG panel with glass bonded to panel for increased clarity
Case	CaseLabs Mercury S8 open bench chassis two-tone black front cover with gunmetal frame
Audio Device(s)	Creative $25 2.1 speakers lol
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Titanium 700watt fanless
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 3 graphite / Glorious Model D matte black / Razer Invicta mousing mat gunmetal
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Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage	2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
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Case	Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse	Logitech G602
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Video Card(s)	ASUS GTX1080Ti Poseidon
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 1TB /850 EVO 1TB / WD Black 2TB
Display(s)	Samsung P2450H
Case	Lian Li PC-O11 WXC
Audio Device(s)	CREATIVE Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	EVGA 1200 P2 Platinum
Mouse	Logitech G900 / SS QCK
Keyboard	Deck 87 Francium Pro
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64