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Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

philip.greenspun.com

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Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#11

Post by makeitdouble »

aslilac wrote: post #3

calling USB A “legacy” and a “relic” is so misplaced. we all still own USB A devices. I challenge the author to go find a wired keyboard or mouse that comes with a USB C plug. it’s possible, but not easy. the thing is, we could just have both! this isn’t some winner/loser scenario. the real question should be why these computers with enough bandwidth for 11+ connectors don’t at least split the difference with 6/5 of…

> I challenge the author to go find a wired keyboard or mouse that comes with a USB C plug..

I can confirm, it's a journey. It's the same kind of journey than finding a hair trimmer that charges on USB C.

I see it more as makers being complacent and not giving a fuck though. There's no technical reasons for those to be USB A, and the USB C ones work great.

So yes USB A will be there for a while, and more often than not it's a symbolic middle finger to the buyer, a signal that a product should probably be avoided.

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#12

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

jauntywundrkind wrote: post #4

I'm ready for it. My desktop has a half dozen usb-c adapters stuffed into various ports and hubs. Usb-c cables are the most versatile. You can get all kinds of pigtails and adapters to turn them into anything else. Other connectors don't have that property of universality, because they don't have enough cables.

USB-C is the bees knees if it works right. Which does not seem to always happen.

Plus, "active cable" is close enough to an oxymoron to make me afraid we overreached.

(I do like that a small pocket kit with an USB C cable and a couple of adapters seems to cover most needs.)

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#13

Post by nfriedly »

> mechanical hard drive and a feeble 8 GB of RAM (is that even enough to run Windows by itself?)

Windows 10 runs acceptably on a Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of RAM - this was my son's gaming PC until a couple of months ago. (It did have an SSD, though - a mechanical hard drive would certainly have reduced the snappiness.)

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#14

Post by quickthrower2 »

p1mrx wrote: post #8

USB-C was designed for highly-integrated mobile devices. Motherboard vendors don't want to deal with power delivery and DisplayPort, and users will be confused when that stuff doesn't work. When a USB-C port is out in space, rather than flat on a desk, C-to-A adapters create a lever arm that increases the risk of damage. Though this can be solved by using adapters with ~100mm of wire in the middle.

I always found that my C to A erred on the side of letting the cable fall out. So no damage but fairly irritating.

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#15

Post by barrkel »

The big upgrade in USB-C for mobile devices is power delivery; a secondary benefit is video output for laptops, enabling docking using a single cable instead of an old-fashioned dock.

PCs aren't in the power delivery game and don't really need an extra video output.

Meanwhile, USB 3 over a USB A socket is still able to transfer 500 MB/sec of data - I just did this earlier today, copying from an old M2 SSD in an enclosure to my new upgraded installed SSD. That's pretty quick.

USB C could double it, but how often do you need 1 GB/sec? Not many flash drives can deliver that outside of SSDs in enclosures.

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#16

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

p1mrx wrote: post #8

USB-C was designed for highly-integrated mobile devices. Motherboard vendors don't want to deal with power delivery and DisplayPort, and users will be confused when that stuff doesn't work. When a USB-C port is out in space, rather than flat on a desk, C-to-A adapters create a lever arm that increases the risk of damage. Though this can be solved by using adapters with ~100mm of wire in the middle.

Power Delivery was an addendum to USB 2. It is specified for USB-A ports.

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#17

Post by layer8 »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #9
aslilac wrote: post #3

calling USB A “legacy” and a “relic” is so misplaced. we all still own USB A devices. I challenge the author to go find a wired keyboard or mouse that comes with a USB C plug. it’s possible, but not easy. the thing is, we could just have both! this isn’t some winner/loser scenario. the real question should be why these computers with enough bandwidth for 11+ connectors don’t at least split the difference with 6/5 of…

Almost every device I’ve bought in 2023 is usb-c now, even low end stuff, and keyboards and mice. By 2025 I’d expect it’ll be rare and unusual to see a micro port on any new device. USB A is definitely legacy.

PCs still come with half a dozen or more USB-A ports and only a single USB-C port (if you're lucky). Dongles, flash drives, webcams and the like are still prominently USB-A. Logitech's lineup is still mostly USB-A. I'm not sure that there will even be a full transition to USB-C, but if so, it will take quite a while.

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#18

Post by upon_drumhead »

aslilac wrote: post #3

calling USB A “legacy” and a “relic” is so misplaced. we all still own USB A devices. I challenge the author to go find a wired keyboard or mouse that comes with a USB C plug. it’s possible, but not easy. the thing is, we could just have both! this isn’t some winner/loser scenario. the real question should be why these computers with enough bandwidth for 11+ connectors don’t at least split the difference with 6/5 of…

http://codekeyboards.com are currently USB C as are https://www.wasdkeyboards.com

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#19

Post by nfriedly »

The vast majority of keyboards and mice are USB-A, so you want at least two USB-A ports for those.

Even Apple recognizes this, which is why the desktop Mac's still have a couple of USB-A ports.

(And most of the rest are Bluetooth, not USB-C!)

USB-C has its merits, but I think they are bigger on mobile devices where you only have a limited number of ports and they have to serve multiple roles. On a desktop, it's certainly nice to have a couple of USB-C ports, especially if they're USB4, but you also have dedicated ports for video, audio, etc, so the versatility isn't quite as valuable.

Re: Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)

#20

Post by pynappo »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #9
aslilac wrote: post #3

calling USB A “legacy” and a “relic” is so misplaced. we all still own USB A devices. I challenge the author to go find a wired keyboard or mouse that comes with a USB C plug. it’s possible, but not easy. the thing is, we could just have both! this isn’t some winner/loser scenario. the real question should be why these computers with enough bandwidth for 11+ connectors don’t at least split the difference with 6/5 of…

Almost every device I’ve bought in 2023 is usb-c now, even low end stuff, and keyboards and mice. By 2025 I’d expect it’ll be rare and unusual to see a micro port on any new device. USB A is definitely legacy.

i think the GP was talking about wired peripherals that plug into usb-a ports on the computer side, not wireless mice/keyboards which use usb-c to charge

my current wireless mouse/wired keyboard have usb-c on the peripheral end but I still use usb-a to connect them to the computer

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