Cypress EZ-USB GX3 Controller Delivers Near-Gigabit Speed Over USB 3.0

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By Tom's Hardware News Team
published

With an integrated GigE MAC and PHY, the GX3 controller is designed to handle up to Gigabit Ethernet speeds over USB 3.0.

With the advent of the USB Type-C connector, more consumer electronics manufacturers are opting to include it over traditional USB and mini-USB connections. USB Type-C is particularly attractive because of its slim profile and flippable design. Due to the connector's sleek size and shape, laptop manufacturers can make thinner systems. However, as laptops become thinner, I/O port trade-offs must be made, and one of the most useful amenities being omitted is the Gigabit Ethernet port. Cypress Semiconductors seeks to address this with the EZ-USB GX3 controller.

Cypress demonstrated the EZ-USB GX3 today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. While Gigabit Ethernet is capable of speeds up to 950 Mbps, traditional Gigabit Ethernet to USB 3.0 adapters provide a significantly reduced throughput. However, Cypress's EZ-USB GX3 controller was shown to be capable of 910 Mbps, thanks to a proprietary "burst transfer mechanism." This is a negligible difference in comparison to Gigabit Ethernet's maximum speeds. The following graphic shows how their burst transfer mechanism works:

Although the controller is primarily associated with the USB Type C connection, the GX3 will support any USB 3.0 connection, which means a Type A or Type B connection with the controller will receive near Gigabit Ethernet speeds.

Additionally, the GX3 controller can handle both USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet power standards. This includes USB Link Power Management and 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet compliance. It also includes features such as "Wake-on-LAN," power saving modes, depending on network traffic and an AutoDetach, which soft-disconnects from the network when Ethernet connection is lost. Since Cypress wants the GX3 to potentially cater to every system in the market, it comes with drivers for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android and Chrome.

The laptop market has been aiming for thinner and lighter profiles for a while now. Apple's Macbook line has been lacking a lighter profile for the last few years, and Ultrabooks and Chromebooks are following suit. Slimmer laptops are excellent for individuals on the go; for such applications, Wi-Fi should be sufficient. However, there are times when power users need the vastly superior throughput Gigabit Ethernet provides. Cypress doesn't want today's trends to deter functionality, and with the EZ-USB GX3 Controller, both manufacturers and consumers need not worry about the exclusion of Gigabit Ethernet ports.

The EZ-USB GX3 controller is currently in the sampling stage of pre-production.

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Tom's Hardware News Team
Tom's Hardware News Team

Tom's Hardware's dedicated news crew consists of both freelancers and staff with decades of experience reporting on the latest developments in CPUs, GPUs, super computing, Raspberry Pis and more.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • knowom
    gigabit isn't even fast now a days if this was close to 10 gigabit it would exciting hell if that later point would just come down in price significantly to the affordable sub $50 range it would be quite major
    Reply
  • jasonelmore
    yeah gigabit speed is 5x slower than USB 3.0 to put it in perspective.

    the industry needs to push for faster networking standards.

    Gigabit speed is only 100 MB/s. try streaming 4k with only 100 MB a second.. its not good and is only on par with Blu Ray 1080p..

    but this is not amped wireless's fault, just the industry in general and intel.
    Reply
  • Daniel Ladishew
    yeah gigabit speed is 5x slower than USB 3.0 to put it in perspective.

    the industry needs to push for faster networking standards.

    Gigabit speed is only 100 MB/s. try streaming 4k with only 100 MB a second.. its not good and is only on par with Blu Ray 1080p..

    but this is not amped wireless's fault, just the industry in general and intel.

    The purpose of this controller isn't to provide new and exciting speeds, but to provide a comparable internet connection for devices that don't/won't have a form factor allowing for a full ethernet port. Think phones, tablets, and netbooks. This chip helps the USB standard along the path of becoming the "one cable to rule them all."
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    16485036 said:
    yeah gigabit speed is 5x slower than USB 3.0 to put it in perspective.

    the industry needs to push for faster networking standards.

    Gigabit speed is only 100 MB/s. try streaming 4k with only 100 MB a second.. its not good and is only on par with Blu Ray 1080p..

    but this is not amped wireless's fault, just the industry in general and intel.

    A man with that much serious hardware, as yourself, has more money then computer brains apparently.

    You only need 20Mbps for 4K video with typical HEVC / VP9 codecs. You have plenty of bandwidth to spare on a 1 Gigabit connection. Even 4K Bluray is capped at 100Mbps.

    Reply
  • rwinches
    So it's an adapter from USB C to RJ 45 for systems that are too thin to allow an RJ 45 connector. Cool.

    Reply
  • bit_user
    I hate that this is even necessary. USB 3 should have addressed this problem in the standard.

    Note that this adapter will not work without proprietary drivers. And if there's a bug in the drivers, or it doesn't work for whatever linux kernel you're running, too bad.
    Reply