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Feasibility of Upgrading USB 2.0 ports to 3.0

J

joejoejoe

macrumors 65816
Original poster
I've googled this for days on end in hopes that some discussion already existed on the net, but can't find a single one.

Is it possible to upgrade the USB 2.0 ports in an iMac to 3.0?
 
on this subject will 2.0 devices be compatible with 3.0 and will more to the point 3.0 devices be compatible to 2.0 I would assume yes.
 
skcrane said:
on this subject will 2.0 devices be compatible with 3.0 and will more to the point 3.0 devices be compatible to 2.0 I would assume yes.
Click to expand...

yes they're backward compatible, the same way usb 1.0 and 2.0 are backward compatible.

damn I was really hoping that the upgrade would be easy.

then again I've seen discussions about how a Mac Pro would be fairly simple to upgrade from 2.0 to 3.0, why would the iMac be more difficult requiring a logic board swap?
 
joejoejoe said:
yes they're backward compatible, the same way usb 1.0 and 2.0 are backward compatible.

damn I was really hoping that the upgrade would be easy.

then again I've seen discussions about how a Mac Pro would be fairly simple to upgrade from 2.0 to 3.0, why would the iMac be more difficult requiring a logic board swap?
Click to expand...

You can install a USB 3.0 PCIe card in a Mac Pro. No such option with an iMac.
 
Or if you have a 17" MacBook Pro like me you can wait for Apple to support USB 3 and then buy an expresscard 34 USB 3 adapter something u can't do on an iMac.....
All that processor speed and no external hdd connection protocol worth utilising with it, good one Apple doh.......
 
mrwonkers said:
Or if you have a 17" MacBook Pro like me you can wait for Apple to support USB 3 and then buy an expresscard 34 USB 3 adapter something u can't do on an iMac.....
All that processor speed and no external hdd connection protocol worth utilising with it, good one Apple doh.......
Click to expand...

I have one of those fangled contraptions. Thanks for the tip!
 
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