USB 2.0 vs 3.0 Cable: Which One Should You Buy?

When you buy or wholesale USB cables, you will find that the cable belongs to USB 2.0 or 3.0 standard in the specification column. How to choose the correct USB cable for different purposes? To find the answer, you need to clearly understand the difference between USB 3.0 and 2.0.

First of all, Bytecable will briefly introduce to you what is USB 2.0 and 3.0.

What is USB 3.0/2.0?

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables and connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad variety of USB hardware exists of which USB-C is the most recent.

Released in 1996, the USB standard is maintained by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). There have been four generations of USB specifications: USB 1.x, USB 2.0, USB 3.x, and USB 4.

What is USB 2.0?

Usb 2.0 was released in April 2000, also known as High Speed ​​or High Bandwidth, and its maximum data transmission speed is 480 Mbps. Because many users wholesale cables mainly for charging, most of the charging cables now use the usb 2.0 standard.

What is USB 3.0?

USB 3.0 was released on November 12, 2008. It added a SuperSpeed ​​transfer mode. The data transfer rate of USB 3.0 is up to 5 Gbit/s, which is about 10 times faster than the USB 2.0 standard.

Difference between USB 2.0 and 3.0

Nowadays, many cables use USB 3.0 standard connectors instead of USB 2.0, because USB 3.0 has faster data transmission speed and higher power management. But in terms of price, USB 2.0 cable is much cheaper than USB 3.0 cable. Understanding the difference between USB 2.0 and 3.0 will help you choose the correct USB cable for different devices.

1. Data Sync Speed

The data transmission speed is the biggest difference between USB 2.0 and 3.0, the transmission speed of USB 3.0 is 10 times that of 2.0:

• USB 2.0: 480 Mbps
• USB 3.0: 5 Gbit/s

However, this is only a theoretical data, which refers to the maximum data transmission speed through the USB port. In actual use, the actual transmission speed depends on whether the computer or power bank USB port supports USB 3.0 standard.

2. Physical differences

The physical difference between Usb 2.0 and 3.0 is mainly the appearance and the number of internal wires.

Appearance:

• USB 2.0 connector is white or black.
• USB 3.0 connector is blue.

Number of internal wires

Teardown the two types of cables, you can find that there are different numbers of wires in USB 2.0 and 3.0.

• USB 2.0: There are 4 wires, two of which are used to transmit data, and the other two provide power to the device.
• USB 3.0: There are 9 wires in total. Using these five additional wires, it can increase the transmission speed of USB 3.0 by allowing two-way communication at the same time.

3. Price

For the cable of the same specification (length, current), the price of USB 3.0 cable is about 3-4 times that of 2.0. At Bytecable.com, you can buy affordable USB cables at wholesale prices. We provide a minimum quantity of 100 for bulk purchase. You can also customize cables from our factory, please contact us.

4. Compatibility

USB 3.0 cable can be compatible with the USB 2.0 port. You can plug the USB 3.0 cable into the USB 2.0 port. The cable can work normally, but it only transmits at the USB 2.0 rate. You can also plug the usb 2.0 data cable into the usb 3.0 port, the cable can also work normally.

Which one should you buy?

From all aspects, USB 3.0 cables can provide faster transmission speed, and it is compatible with usb 2.0 port. The only drawback is that the price is more expensive than 2.0.

So if you just buy a cable for charging, USB 2.0 is the best choice. If you often use it and transfer a large number of files, the USB 3.0 data cable may be your better choice, because its excellent speed can shorten the transfer time. Click here to see more USB data cables.

More About USB 2.0 and 3.0

How to test your USB cable?

How to know the data transmission speed and other specifications of your cable? Bytecable is here to provide you with a very simple test method: using a USB port tester, you can easily get the transmission speed of your data line, and you can also get some other data: such as current, voltage, etc. You can buy this simple gadget from Amazon.

Can you put a USB 2.0 cable in USB 3.0 port?

Of course, but you can only use the transfer speed of usb 2.0 (480 Mbps).

If you have any other questions about USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, please feel free to comment.