Intel Ivy Bridge Getting USB 3.0, Thunderbolt

By Marcus Yam
published

No additional chips needed... next year.

Intel may seem to be a bit behind the game when it comes to integrating USB 3.0 into it chipsets, but that will finally be a solved problem next year with Ivy Bridge.

Kirk Skaugen, a vice president at the Intel Architecture Group, told attendees of a developer conference in Beijing that the Ivy Bridge platform will have both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt (formerly known as Light Peak).

"Intel is going to support USB 3.0 in the 2012 client platform. We're going to support Thunderbolt capability. We believe they're complementary," he said, according to Cnet.

For a while, some thought that Intel was favoring its Thunderbolt over USB 3.0. Given that much of the industry isn't ready to drop that familiar USB connector just yet, Intel will be supporting both in its next platform.

"We encourage all of you working on peripherals around the PC to engage on both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt," Skaugen said.

AMD will actually beat Intel to the punch in offering built-in USB 3.0 support. AMD yesterday said that it will be including Superspeed support in its Fusion A75 and A70M chipsets.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
29 Comments Comment from the forums
  • About time. It's no coincidence that AMD made USB3 announcement earlier this week and Intel follows. It's a shame it's taking this long for Superspeed to get rolled out.

    Yeah, it took a while for 1.1 & 2.0 to get implemented, but those were substantial upgrades in an uncertain market. The market demand for 480MB/s is clear, and the standard hasn't changed that much that a bunch of engineers can't solve the differences.
    Reply
  • kashifme21
    IV bridge plus console ports will be awesome... not.
    Reply
  • stingstang
    Called it.
    Reply
  • atikkur
    will lga115 supports ivy bridge prosessor? thats matter much.
    Reply
  • atikkur
    will lga1155 supports ivy bridge prosessor? thats matter much.
    Reply
  • ricardok
    A70M?!?! ATOM??? Wow! It's just me or the names were created to confuse intel fans??
    Reply
  • mobrocket
    Artimissmo? what planet do you come from...


    USB 3.0 should be great once it goes mainstream, however i doubt the normal user cares or knows the difference
    Reply
  • campb292
    Are all trolls Republican? I know someone who feasts on the bones of TROLLS!


    Anyway, this is welcome news.
    Reply
  • ProDigit10
    Some companies better be working on their midi standard!
    It's over 25 years old!
    Reply
  • bison88
    Lets cut the BS Intel, you're procrastinating to push your Light Peak technology now called by that horrible Thunderbolt name (guy who came up with that should be fired). You're not fooling anyone when USB 3.0 was pretty much finalized back at the very end of 2009 when you say it'll take at least 2-3 years to fully implement in your chipsets.
    Reply