Easy way of knowing if my PC has "USB2"

Caveat

Registered User
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Hi

Might sound like a silly question but I'm considering a piece of hardware that needs USB2 - how do I know if I have it?

I've checked 'system info' & whilst there are a number of references to USB generally, nothing jumps out as specifically referring to USB2 - what should I be looking for?
 
USB 2 is a high power output version of usb for devices that use a lot of power. It looks like a USB connector with a second slot below it and the plugs are more square. It will have the standard USB symbol on the top half and a DC power symbol on the bottom part which is a horizontal line with a dotted line underneath.

Most modern computers have a mixture of both types.
 
Cavet,

Yes it will work!

USB 2.0 should neither be called 'USB2' nor 'USB 2'.


1. What is USB 2.0?

Finalized in 2001, Universial Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 is a complete overhaul of the Universal Serial Bus input/output bus protocol which allows much higher speeds than the older USB 1.1 standard did. The goal of the new serial bus is to broaden the range of external peripherals that can be used on a computer. A hard drive can easily hit the USB 1.1 bottleneck whereas it now becomes more 'usable' under USB 2.0 conditions.



2. How do I know if my PC has USB 2.0?

You can identify whether your PC has Hi-Speed USB or not relatively easy. Open Device Manager and expand the Universal Serial Bus section. There should be an "Enhanced" USB host controller present.

Windows 98 systems may use a different name, because Hi-Speed USB drivers in these operating systems are not provided directly from Microsoft (Windows ME, 2000 and XP get their drivers through Windows Update).
These drivers are provided by the manufacturer, and may carry the maker's name (i.e. ADS, Belkin, IOGear, Siig, etc.). There should also be two "standard" version USB host controllers present as well. They are embedded in the USB chip which routes the differing USB speeds accordingly without user intervention.
There are currently 7 manufacturers of the Hi-Speed USB host silicon themselves:
ALi (Acer Labs)
Intel
NEC
SiS
VIA
nVidia (shows as "Standard" controller)
Philips
Any other brand name that appears in Device Manager would likely be an add-in Hi-Speed USB PCI card. The makers above do not make add-in cards, but they do make the chips that are used in them.

3. What happened to USB 1.1?

USB 1.1 allowed a maximum transfer rate of 12Mbits/second. It is now obsolete, but both of its speeds (1.5Mbps & 12Mbps) are being adopted into USB 2.0, and they are now called Original USB officially. Though some manufacturers label their products Full-Speed USB. Note that this seems a bit deceptive as it's easy to mistake Full-Speed for Hi-Speed. You won't be fooled from now on as you now aware that Full Speed USB is only 12Mbits/second where Hi-Speed USB mode is capable of a much faster 480Mbits/second.
Traditionally, USB mice and keyboards only need 1.5Mbps to function; exceptions are gaming input devices that require 12Mbps, and they include the Logitech G5, G7, G15 and Razer Copperhead. These higher-end gaming products send way more location feeds thru USB; hence, more bandwidth is required. Generally, the performance levels (1.5Mbps & 12Mbps) are grouped under 'Original USB' by the USB Promoter Group.
The logo shown on the right is authorized by the same organization to the vendors for use on their products should they passed the compliance tests.

4. How fast is USB 2.0?
USB 2.0 has a raw data rate at 480Mbps, and it is rated 40 times faster than its predecessor interface, USB 1.1, which tops at 12Mbps. Originally, USB 2.0 was intended to go only as fast as 240Mbps, but in October 1999, USB 2.0 Promoter Group pumped up the speed to 480Mbps.
As far as I know, effective rate reaches at 40MBps or 320Mbps for bulk transfer on a USB 2.0 hard drive with no one else is sharing the bus.
 
That's great galv - think it probably does have USB2 but need to be sure.
 
I noticed you said your PC was a Dimension 8400 in an earlier post - according to the Dell manual you have the following connectors...you have 8 USB 2.0 ports in total.

Connectors
External connectors:
Serial
9-pin connector; 16550C-compatible
Parallel
25-hole connector (bidirectional)
Video
15-hole connector
Network adapter
RJ45 connector
PS/2 (keyboard and mouse)
two 6-pin mini-DIN connectors
USB
two front-panel and six back-panel USB 2.0–compliant connectors
Audio
five connectors for line-in, line-out, microphone, surround, and center/Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel; one front-panel connector for headphones