This is one of the main reasons a USB 3.0 cable can offer much more transfer rate than your USB 2.0. A USB 2.0 can only have as many as 4 or 5, but a USB 3.0 has 9. One key difference between the two cables is their pinouts. It is possible but the performance will still fall back to 2.0. The same is true for your USB 3.0 port using a USB 2.0 cable. However, the performance will fall back to 2.0 rather than 3.0. A USB 3.0 port can only use USB 3.0 cables to be effective, but USB 2.0 ports can use both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 cables.

These differences however will only take effect as long as you use the required cables for your ports. USB 2.0 can handle a transfer rate of 480 MB/s but with USB 3.0, you can go as high as 5 GB/s or even 10 GB/s with USB 3.1. What’s the difference between a USB 2.0 cable and USB 3.0 cable? There are quite a few technical and physical differences that are notable, one being how fast the data is transmitted. You can grab a USB 3.0 cable with A-Male and B-Male plugs at 3 feet for around $9.00. This is to avoid data transmitted to cause data loss and corruption. The preferred maximum length of a USB 3.0 cable is at 3 meters or 9.8 feet.

The number of pins on each end can also be an identifier, by having more pins than your standard 2.0 cables.

You can distinguish a USB 3.0 cable by simply identifying its blue color. Take note, these enhancements will not take effect unless the cables are USB 3.0 capable, that’s because the new cable contains not only 4 or 5 pinouts but 9.Ĭommon return path for electrical current The 3 rd version of the USB (Universal Serial Bus), it provides more enhancements like your superfast transfer rate of up to 5 GB/s.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 cable speed comparison