USB 3.0 upgrade - step by step to connect

USB 3.0 has several advantages compared to the previous 2.0 standard. The new standard has a total of five additional contacts, and it is also backward compatible. Only certain devices with USB 3.0 plugs cannot be connected to 2.0 sockets. To retrofit your computer, you have several options.

How to retrofit USB 3.0

For the most part, you can connect USB 2.0 plugs to a USB 3.0 jack without any problems. Conversely, in rare cases, it can cause problems. However, if you want to reach the full transfer speed of about 5 Gbit/s, a 3.0 plug and a 3.0 socket is necessary. Even though almost all newer devices already have at least one USB 3.0 port, it can happen that it is not sufficient or none is available. In this case, you can also upgrade the standard under certain circumstances.

1. First, you have to make sure that your motherboard also supports the standard. Usually you can see this on the manufacturer's page or in the manual that comes with it. Here, the component must support the PCI Express 2.0 standard.
2. In addition, the USB 3.0 controller that you want to connect to your computer must also support the corresponding standard.
3. Followed by this, you can connect the USB ports to your board. Usually these are attached to your case in a drive bay that is still free.