Renesas - formerly NEC - has announced a new chip USB 3.0, the µPD720230. Unlike its best-known chip, it does not place between the computer and the USB 3.0, but between the USB 3.0 device and hard disk. Clearly, it is a chip to be placed in external enclosures.
This new chip has two benefits: it supports the third revision of the SATA and can therefore work to 6 gigabits/s, against 3 gigabits/s in the majority of other chips, and it supports the UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) Protocol. For the first point, Renesas announces that it is possible to reach 370 MB/s with a device adapted (such as an SSD). The second point, UASP is a dedicated protocol totally storage, unlike the usually used (Bulk-Only Transport) BOT and this Protocol to increase the sequential flow using controls such as the NCQ.
The main problem of UASP is that it is not supported by natively operating systems (going to have to wait until Windows 8) and two USB 3.0 chips must be compatible. Renesas indicates that its controllers USB 3.0 (µPD720200, µPD720200A, µPD720201, µPD720202) and chipset AMD A70 and A75 (based on Renesas Technology) are compatible, but in fact, other controllers of the market should also work in UASP. Only constraint now, it is necessary to use UASP drivers, which are not available in all the constructors.
This new chip, sold $3.5 room, should even establish the popularity of USB 3.0, pending integration in chipsets from Intel, a priori in 2012.
