USB / PS2?

[Squidmaster]

I'm on the verge of buying a new system, and I've noticed newer keyboards and mice offer both types of connection. Other than the phasing-out of PS2 ports, does USB offer any kind of advantage over PS2 for these connections? Thanks.

 

[upec]

I do not think there is any difference.

 

[Foxhound]

hmm.. just a comment.. not sure how true is this... but i noticed that PS/2 is smoother than USB on my system. sometimes when the precessor and system is loading a lot of stuff(probably leading to heavy I/Os) the USB tend to lag or not respond until the loading has decreased. But i don't notice any such thing when using PS/2.

it could just because my system is a laptop. *shrugs*

any experts care to dispel this?

 

[HammerBot]

I have a logitech dual optical mouse that support both USB and PS/2. I use it in the PS2 port. When I enter the device setup, I get the following message:

<i>The mouse is connected to the PS/2 port, which may not support the full 800 dpi resolution on this product. To maximize your performance, it is recommended to use the USB port</i>

To me, this is plain gibberish. I see nothing in the PS/2 port that limits the resolution. I have tried both ports and am unable to detect any difference.

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[Crashman]

IMO USB is more likely to experience lag under heavy system usage than PS/2, probably because many configurations share the IRQ for USB with another device.

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[Squidmaster]

Interesting... any idea why the newer models offer USB connections rather than PS2. Perhaps a possibility for performance increases via USB that don't exist in current products?

 

[Crashman]

There are several reasons, like the ability to connect several devices (like, say, a mouse and a handheld trackball for presentations, or a fullsized keyboard and a small portable for the couch), the fact that some laptops don't have a PS/2 port, or the fact that companies are trying to phase out PS/2 to cut design/manufacturing cost of boards/chipsets.

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[svol]

And the fact that USB ports allow higher optical mice refresh rates.

My CPU runs so hot the arctic silver undergoes nuclear fusion .

 

[Crashman]

The biggest problem I've seen with USB is laggy performance when the IRQ is shared. If they REALLY wanted to get rid of PS/2, they should give IRQ1 to the USB controller instead of the keyboard controller, and use IRQ12 for another onboard device.

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