VIA Labs VL800 USB 3.0 Host Controller
VIA Labs introduced the VL800 USB 3.0 Host Controller. The VL800 is a single chip solution that enables a PCI Express-equipped platform to interface with up to four SuperSpeed USB peripheral devices simultaneously – double the capability of any currently available USB 3.0 host controller. Samples of the VIA Labs VL800 USB 3.0 Host Controller are now shipping, with motherboards from vendors available from the second half of this year.
VL800 USB 3.0 Host Controller Features
- Compliant with Universal Serial Bus 3.0 Specification Revision 1.0
- Compliant with Universal Serial Bus 2.0 Specification
- Compliant with eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) Specification Revision 0.96
- Supports Legacy USB Function
- In-house USB PHY employs advanced CMOS process to reduce power consumption
- Compliant with PCI Express Base Specification 2.0
- Supports Battery Charging Specification
- Firmware Upgrade
- Option to integrate firmware in system BIOS
- Software
- Initial Driver Support for Windows 7, Vista, and XP
- USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP)
- Supports various Linux kernels
USB 3.0 (also known as SuperSpeed USB) allows for a maximum data transfer rate of up to 5Gbps, or ten times the throughput available to USB 2.0 based devices. Other enhancements provide for improved interaction between device and host controller, including advancements in power management. The increase in throughput allows for the quick and easy transfer of large-volume data and will hasten the development of a new generation of high-performance consumer electronic products.
The host controller’s four downstream facing ports support not just SuperSpeed transfer, but are also backwards compatible with previous USB specifications and offer support for Hi-Speed (480Mbps), Full-Speed (12Mbps), and Low-Speed (1.5Mbps) traffic ensuring seamless connectivity of legacy USB devices.
More info: VIA Labs
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