USB 3 variations.

My motherboard has USB 3.2 headers, but the case it is in predates this, with only USB3 connections for external devices. The case ports are connected via a 25 pin connector to the motherboard. What would be the actual speed obtainable?

It would depend upon the generation (gen x) listed with the USB header in your mobo manual.

All USB 3 now fall under USB 3.2 gen x, where x ϵ {1,2,3) so that:

USB 3.2 Gen1 has a data transfer max rate spec of 5 Gb/s
USB 3.2 Gen2 has a data transfer max rate spec of 10 Gb/s
USB 3.2 Gen2x2 has a data transfer max rate spec of 20 Gb/s

Taken from [SOLVED] - connect USB 3.0 case ports to USB 3.2 mobo connectors?

Board Header I/O
- 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)

Rear Panel I/O
- 2 x USB 2.0 Ports
- 4 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports

A320M-HDV R4.0

To be clear, that 25 pin header is USB 3.2 Gen 1, which is the same as 3.1 Gen 1, which is the same as USB 3.0.

Maximum 5.0 Gbps.

This is what a USB 3.1 Gen 2 header looks like:



3.2 Gen 2 is the same. 3.2 Gen 2X2 looks similar.

Thanks for the picture, Bobkn, I have not seen a header like that. I have 2 boards with A320 chipsets and 2 with B450 ones. Even my 2 recently bought cases have the older type of connection for their USB ports.
The reason for my interest is that I have an M2 sata 240Gb external drive that seems to run faster than another M2 WD SN750 Black in an NVME external case. The only cable I have at the moment for the WD came with some Bluetooth headphones, USB C one end and USB the other. I wonder if it is only suitable for charging the headphones, possibly USB2?
I have just looked at the manual of one of the motherboards, an MSI B450 Tomahawk Max II and it has two USB 3,2 gen 2 sockets in the back plate, a type A and a type C, but no headers on the board surface. Maybe the answer for me would be a cable with two type C plugs stuck in the back of the pc.
I was mistaken thinking the large header for USB on the motherboard has 25 pins, it actually is a 20-1 configuration.

I have not seen any special header on a motherboard for USB 3.2 apart from the standard USB 3.0 header. If you mean ports at the back or on the case, USB 1.1 and 2.0 are black inside, USB 3.0 are blue inside and higher speed are different colors such as red for 3.1 (if I remember correctly) and cyan for 3.2 (I think). The headers on the motherboard are the small for USB 1.2/2.0 and the large with more pins for USB 3.0 and higher. I haven't seen anything more.

PS: You can connect and old USB 1.1/2.0 cable on the USB 3.0 header on the motherboard using an adapter and have the USB 3.0 speed, if your case has only the old cable. Similarly you can connect a USB 3.0 cable on the USB 2.0 header with an adapter for older motherboards without a USB 3.0 header.

spapakons said:

I have not seen any special header on a motherboard for USB 3.2 apart from the standard USB 3.0 header. If you mean ports at the back or on the case, USB 1.1 and 2.0 are black inside, USB 3.0 are blue inside and higher speed are different colors such as red for 3.1 (if I remember correctly) and cyan for 3.2 (I think). The headers on the motherboard are the small for USB 1.2/2.0 and the large with more pins for USB 3.0 and higher. I haven't seen anything more.

Click to expand...

My ASUS PRIME X370-Pro motherboard has 3 types of USB headers: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and USB 3.1. Hear is a diagram:


The 20-pin USB 3.1 type C header looks like this:

The information hasn't changed much since my post of last Tuesday.

Good to know. I hadn't seen before the type-C version. Thanks.