USB 1.0 vs. 2.0 (1 Viewer)

[Jon_Are]

I've only used the 1.0 before, but I'm about to get a new PC that has 2.0 ports.

Will my devices (digital camera, scanner, portable MP3 player) be compatible with 2.0? Do I need new connection cables?

Or does the device have to be "2.0 ready"?

Also, will I notice much difference in transfer speed?


Thanks,

Jon

 

[brentl]

2.0 IS backwards compatible. You should be fine.

B

 

[Jon_Are]

Thanks, Brent...


...same connector cables, then?

Jon

 

[Christian Behrens]

Everything stays exactly the same for you as it is now. Only once you get USB 2.0 Hi-Speed devices will you notice a difference.

-Christian

 

[Patrick Sun]

The speed difference can be substantial:

USB 1.0 = 1.5MBit/sec
USB 1.1 = 12MBit/sec
USB 2.0 = 480MBit/sec

http://www.usb.org/info/usb_nomenclature

 

[Jon_Are]

Just to be clear: my device must be USB 2.0 in order to reap the benefits of my new PC and its 2.0 ports, yes??

My digital camera and my portable MP3 player are fairly recent purchases, but as far as I know, they're not 2.0's. How can I tell for sure?

Jon

 

[Travis Hedger]

If you plug a USB 1.x device into a 2.0 port, it will simply function at 1.x speeds.

You may want to check with the website of the company that made your products to see the USB Speed of your devices.

 

[Eric Martello]

Just look on the box, or go to the product manufacturer's site and check the specs. IT will specify USB 1.x or 2.0. There are hardly any USB 1.0 deviced floating around anymore.

In any case, most flash memory these days could not keep up with USB 2.0 speeds, so the extra speed would go unused. USB 2.0 is great for external hard drives, however.