USB 3 Upgrade on MBA 2011

[Vairamuthu]

Hi guys,

Just want to know. Is it possible to upgrade usb3 on MBA 2011 13"?

[robbieduncan]

The internal USB ports cannot be upgraded or changed in any way.

[stchman]

Originally Posted by Vairamuthu

Hi guys,

Just want to know. Is it possible to upgrade usb3 on MBA 2011 13"?

No, the USB controller is part of the MBA's motherboard.

[Mac_Max]

Originally Posted by stchman

No, the USB controller is part of the MBA's motherboard.

More precisely it's part of the Platform Controller Hub so even if you had a lot of fancy equipment you couldn't do a chip swap.

You could however purchase either the Belkin or Matrox Thunderbolt docks as they provide USB 3:

http://www.belkin.com/us/thunderbolt

http://www.matrox.com/docking_station/en/ds1/

[johnnyturbouk]

Originally Posted by Mac_Max

More precisely it's part of the Platform Controller Hub so even if you had a lot of fancy equipment you couldn't do a chip swap.

You could however purchase either the Belkin or Matrox Thunderbolt docks as they provide USB 3:

http://www.belkin.com/us/thunderbolt

http://www.matrox.com/docking_station/en/ds1/

For what you get, both totally over-priced IMHO

[hackerwayne]

Originally Posted by Vairamuthu

Hi guys,

Just want to know. Is it possible to upgrade usb3 on MBA 2011 13"?

Short answer: Not possible.

[Mac_Max]

Originally Posted by johnnyturbouk

For what you get, both totally over-priced IMHO

True, I really wish those had been a bit cheaper. I would like a TB dock that included an active DisplayPort hub so I could power both of my external DVI monitors from the internal graphics chip (I'm using a DisplayLink USB 2.0 adapter).

Originally Posted by hackerwayne

Short answer: Not possible.

Except for the two products I listed...