External SSD to overtake internal SSDs thanks to new chip – ASMedia demonstrated USB4 v2 silicon that enables transfer speeds of up to 15 GBps, but the first products won’t be released until next year
ASMedia recently demonstrated its USB4 v2 Physical Layer (PHY) chips at Computex 2024, which allows external SSDs to reach speeds of up to 15 GBps, potentially matching the performance of internal drives.
The USB4 version 2.0 specification, released by the USB Implementers Forum in October 2022, introduces several improvements over the previous version.
It includes the new PAM3 signal encoding format, which extends USB4 bandwidth from 40 Gbps to 80 Gbps for peer-to-peer connections and enables asymmetric speeds of 120 Gbps/40 Gbps.
FPGA-based USB4 dock
ASMedia’s presentation at Computex, titled “Incredible Speed, Exceeding the Limit,” covered both USB4 and PCIe Gen5 technologies. The USB4 v2 presentation showed off 80 Gbps and 120 Gbps physical tiers, capable of dramatically improving the speed at which large data files and high-resolution videos can be transferred. USB4’s backward compatibility also ensures seamless integration with existing USB devices.
The PCIe 5.0 PHY chip shown at the same event is tailor-made for the demanding needs of high-performance computing, big data and – of course – AI servers. It will offer faster transmission speeds, reduced latency, and support for a wider range of high-performance devices. However, details about this chip are terrifying at the moment.
Looking ahead, says the Taiwanese technology company plans to test multi-lane PCIe Gen4 Packet Switches by the end of 2024. It is also planned to unveil an FPGA-based USB4 Dock at CES 2025.
Designed for multi-function workstations, this future dock promises transmission speeds of up to 40 Gbps and power delivery of up to 240 W. The dock will also offer the usual array of ports, including USB A and C, HDMI, DisplayPort and Ethernet, providing improved connectivity and charging options for multiple devices are possible.
Pricing and availability of these new products will be announced in due course.