Asus ready with the first USB 3.0 Motherboard

Intel pushes out its USB 3.0 chipset by at least a year

Reportedly, Asus introduced an add-on card with a third-party USB 3.0 controller, just as reports started claiming that Intel will postpone its USB 3.0 chipset launch by at least a year.

ASUS U3S6 PCIe x4 add-on card for PCs was introduced on Wednesday and sports both a 6-Gbit SATA bridge with two ports as well as two USB 3.0 ports. In addition, the P7P55D-E Premium motherboard was also announced, featuring the 6-Gbit SATA technology as well as two USB 3.0 connectors. Both products will be available in early November at $29 and $299 respectively, the company reported.

Allegedly, Asus’ choice for its board was the NEC UPD720200 USB 3.0 host controller, which was believed by Asus to be the first "true" implementation of USB 3.0.
The new technology shows a spectacular jump forward with a transfer rate of data of about 5 Gbits/s.

A logo and an interoperability program were introduced by the USB Implementer’s forum, striving to make device adoption quicker. In addition, several USB 3.0 devices were demonstrated recently at the Intel Developer Forum, but prices are yet to be confirmed.

The specs of both the U3S6 expansion card and P7P55D-E Premium motherboard are listed below:

ASUS P7P55D-E Premium Motherboard
CPU Socket      LGA1156 socket for Intel® Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3*** Processors
Chipset Intel® P55 Express Chipset
Memory  DDR3 2200 (O.C.)/1600/1333/1066MHz
Power Phase     48 Hybrid Phase****
PCIex16 Slots   2
Multi-GPU       CrossFireX/SLI
Gbit LAN        x 2
Audio   10-ch HD, DTS
Storage         6x SATA 3Gb/s
       1 x eSATA (by bracket)
       1 x Ultra DMA
       2 x SATA 6Gb/s
USB     10  x USB2.0/1.1
(6 ports at back panel, 4 ports at mid-board)
       2 x USB 3.0/2.0 (Rear)
1394a   2 ports (one at mid-board, one at back panel)

ASUS U3S6 Expansion Card
Internal Connectors     2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports for up to 2 SATA hard disk drives
       Backward compatible with SATA 3Gb/s and SATA 1.5Gb/s hard disk drives
External Connectors
Interface       2 x USB 3.0 ports.
       Backward compatible with USB 2.0/1.1 interface
Interface
Configuration Supported PCIe x4 interface
       Compatible with PCIe x4, x8, and x16 slots
Operating Systems Supported     AHCI Mode
Compatibility   Windows® 7/Vista/XP 32/64bit
Compatible Models       Maximus III Formula
       P7P55D Deluxe
       P7P55D EVO
       P7P55D PRO
       P7P55D
       P7P55D LE
       P7P55D LX
Features and
Accessories     True SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 Throughput: Native support for PCIe Gen2 bandwidth
       Supports Hot Plug function
       Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ)
Accessories     2 x Serial ATA 6Gb/s cables
       1 x  Support CD
       1 x User manual
Form Factor     4.8" x  3" (12.2cm x 7.6cm)