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Worth it to wait for USB3 and SATA3?

T

teddyv

Senior member
Hi Folks - I have had the upgrade itch for some time now, my old 939 Ath64-3000 system begrudgingly trudges on but I could really use speed for things like iTunes audiobook converting and I have this brand new Windows 7 Ultimate from the launch event...

I am looking at the i5, but am wondering if it is worth the wait for USB3 and SATA3. Both seem like a pretty big jump in technology and a good foundation to add things as they come out in the coming months (especially hard drives with reports like this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Seagate-AMD-SATA3-Standard,7223.html)

Any thoughts?
 
I'm with you ! Want USB3 + SATA3 !
But it will take a few months after
the new mobos debut to make a good
choice ; so plan on buying after Q2-10
 
When they do come out, they'll be at expensive prices compared to moderate ones so you might have to end up waiting longer unless you want to jump on the 1st few boards that come out.

So its upto you.. if you can wait, go for it. If money is a factor, something now might be cheaper but money is money, what can you get for it now vs a year from now.
 
We haven't yet hit the bandwidth limitations of SATA 2, Why do we need SATA 3?

I'm all for USB3 however.
 
Fully integrated support from Intel is not going to come until 2011 apparently. I would say within the next six months or so or maybe even a year, we'll see more mobo manufacturers like ASUS and the like put USB3.0 into their mobos. ASUS and Gigabyte actually already make a board, I think it is with a P55 chipset with both SATA3 and USB3 in it using add-on chips.
 
The thing to remember is, in the world of computing, there is always a 'new' and better something just coming out. You want a new computer. Buy the best you can afford and be happy.
Pretty much anything you buy is going to smoke your old system.

As an aside unless you are thinking of putting out the bucks for a pair of intel SSD's and running them in a raid configuration no current Hard drive is close to using all of the existing pipe line.
 
I guess my question lies more with future "upgradability" - I hold on to computers for a while (this one is over 4 years old.) My question I guess is more, two or three years from now is SATA3 and USB3 going to be a big enough reason to upgrade that I will kick myself for not waiting a few months for more SATA3/USB3 boards to come out and feedback from people using them? I know there will always be bigger/better/faster, but these seem to be two pretty big leaps.
 
teddyv said:
Hi Folks - I have had the upgrade itch for some time now, my old 939 Ath64-3000 system begrudgingly trudges on but I could really use speed for things like iTunes audiobook converting and I have this brand new Windows 7 Ultimate from the launch event...

I am looking at the i5, but am wondering if it is worth the wait for USB3 and SATA3. Both seem like a pretty big jump in technology and a good foundation to add things as they come out in the coming months (especially hard drives with reports like this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Seagate-AMD-SATA3-Standard,7223.html)

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Moore's law not withstanding, there will always be something better just over the horizon. If you need it now buy it now.
 
I'm really looking forward to USB3 as well, I wouldn't hold off on a system purchase just for that though as you can always just add in a USB3 card later once it is released.

The one thing I am holding off on because of USB3 is a multiple bay RAID'ed enclosure. For something like that which I would plan to keep for a long time as a backup/storage device, I'm willing to wait for something which supports much faster I/O as backing up terabytes of data would really benefit from USB3.
 
I actually bought a P55 motherboard and returned it after hearing about USB3/SATA3. I'm not sure if I am going to end up buying the same motherboard again (gigabyte P55 ud2) for $100-110 or if I should wait and pay around $150-160 for a gigabyte P55A ud3 with USB3/SATA3. I guess I'm waiting on when the P55A ud3 will be available and pricing. I don't really need either USB3 or SATA3 right now, but like the OP I only upgrade every 3-4 years and during that span they may become more important as I may be plugging in a HD camcorder using USB3 or getting an SSD hard drive that would benefit from SATA3. A lot of people are saying that things get better the longer you wait, of course, but is it worth waiting a few weeks for these things in particular if you don't plan on upgrading again for 3-4 years?
 
Samwise, the GA-P55A-UD3R is not only going to introduce SATA 3 and USB 3 features compared to the P55 version. In addition, the other improvements will include:

* 12-phase power VRM design vs. 8-phase currently, for more optimum power efficiency and thermal solution
* LOTES processor sockets which should have less burning issues than current Foxconn ones when overclocking beyond 4.2ghz+
* Realtek ALC889 codec vs. current 888

Considering the price difference between "P55A" series UD4P and the stock version is about $15, I would say these improvements, along with USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0 may translate to $10-15 price increase on UD3R. If you intend to keep your system for 3-4 yeras, then extra $15 amounts to less than 9 cents a day.
 
RussianSensation said:
Samwise, the GA-P55A-UD3R is not only going to introduce SATA 3 and USB 3 features compared to the P55 version. In addition, the other improvements will include:

* 12-phase power VRM design vs. 8-phase currently, for more optimum power efficiency and thermal solution
* LOTES processor sockets which should have less burning issues than current Foxconn ones when overclocking beyond 4.2ghz+
* Realtek ALC889 codec vs. current 888

Considering the price difference between "P55A" series UD4P and the stock version is about $15, I would say these improvements, along with USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0 may translate to $10-15 price increase on UD3R. If you intend to keep your system for 3-4 yeras, then extra $15 amounts to less than 9 cents a day.
Click to expand...

That is why I returned my original ud2. I am just hoping that the GA-P55A-UD3R comes out soon and truly is only $10-15 more. Thanks for the reminder about the other improvements RS.
 
tomatom said:
I'm with you ! Want USB3 + SATA3 !
But it will take a few months after
the new mobos debut to make a good
choice ; so plan on buying after Q2-10
Click to expand...

Don't expect SATA3/USB3 before Q1 2011. Won't happen(with Intel anyway).

Regarding it being worth the wait, I'd say it depends on your current system and what you use it for.

As for me, I'm coming from a P4 Northwood that I've had for 6-7 years so it makes zero sense for me to wait. That's another year and a half of torture for a system that should be retired.
Personally, If I had a Core2 Duo or Quad(Any system from 2006 and later?), I'd wait.
 
lothar said:
Don't expect SATA3/USB3 before Q1 2011. Won't happen(with Intel anyway).

Regarding it being worth the wait, I'd say it depends on your current system and what you use it for.

As for me, I'm coming from a P4 Northwood that I've had for 6-7 years so it makes zero sense for me to wait. That's another year and a half of torture for a system that should be retired.
Personally, If I had a Core2 Duo or Quad(Any system from 2006 and later?), I'd wait.
Click to expand...

You would wait for Intel's implementation instead of getting what Gigabyte/ASUS has right now?
 
lothar said:
Don't expect SATA3/USB3 before Q1 2011. Won't happen(with Intel anyway).
Click to expand...

It will happen very soon but not integrated into the Intel chipset. They will be with additional controllers on the motherboard (from NEC and Marvell).
 
Do you suppose it will make a huge difference if the USB3/SATA3 controllers are integrated into Intel's chipset vs. the "add-on" implementation? Currently there are 2 boards by Asus and Gigabyte(as mentioned by others above) that feature USB3/SATA3. Why not just get either one now? Gigabyte's P44A-UD4P sounds reasonable pricewise.
 
pcper.com just had a TWICH ("This Week in Computer Hardware") videocast that showed an Asus PCIe 4x add-in card that, for about $30, will offer 2 USB 3.0 ports (externally), as well as an internal SATA 3 (6 Gb) port.
Also shown: an Asus external USB 3.0 HD housing.

Edit:
Link: http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=809
 
Last edited:
avp2306 said:
But is there any performance hit due to running SATA/USB through an add in card via PCI-E?
Click to expand...

Performance reportedly the same as for the Asus motherboard-integrated version.
However, if you don't have a PCIe 4x slot, you'd need to install the card in a PCIe 16x slot.
 
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