MSI reveals first USB4 enlargement card, delivering 100W by USB-C

TechSpot is celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary. TechSpot means tech evaluation and recommendation you can belief.
Recap: Computex 2023 exhibitors have showcased forward-looking prototypes protecting numerous areas of private expertise, comparable to Wi-Fi, cooling, and shows. MSI’s exhibit featured an up to date take a look at USB4 integration by way of PCIe, which may permit customers to broaden their charging and show connectivity choices.
-Commercial-
MSI revealed the world’s first USB-4 add-in board at Computex this week. The PCIe enlargement card contains two DisplayPort connections and two USB-C outputs, one in every of which may ship as much as 100W of energy. Though the corporate didn’t reveal the MS-4489 in motion, it acknowledged that the first USB-C port can ship quick charging.
The 100W energy output needs to be enough to cost some laptops, to not point out smaller gadgets comparable to tablets or handheld gaming consoles. TechPowerUp bought a great take a look at the cardboard on the occasion, revealing that the second USB-C port delivers 27W.
Each ports can switch information at a price of 40Gb/s, the usual specification for USB4 1.0 and Thunderbolt 3. MSI confirmed to TechPowerUp that the MS-4489 makes use of the identical host controller as Thunderbolt playing cards – ASMedia’s ASM4242.
Thunderbolt and USB4 have been carefully linked for the reason that debut of USB4 1.0, which is predicated on Thunderbolt 3. Final 12 months, each requirements showcased their next-generation specs, which ought to at the very least double their switch speeds. USB4 2.0 and the as-yet unnamed next-generation Thunderbolt can ship 80Gb/s in each instructions. Nevertheless, the latter additionally has the choice to transmit at 120Gb/s whereas receiving at 40Gb/s.
MSI’s new card receives energy by a 6-pin connector, just like a graphics card. Its bodily PCIe slot is x8 however is simply wired for x4. The high-power USB-C and DisplayPort connections ought to make the MS-4489 helpful for these needing further capability for high-end show gear.
One other notable product from the corporate at Computex is the brand new Status 16 laptop computer, which supplies an early glimpse of Intel’s forthcoming Meteor Lake CPUs. Whereas MSI didn’t specify which processor the system contains, it has 22 threads and might be the identical processor that Intel showcased on the occasion.
Different bleeding-edge MSI displays embrace a brand new Z790 motherboard with Wi-Fi 7 assist, a voice-changing software, a 6GB/s mesh router, new RTX 4060 Ti GPUs, a 49-inch 240Hz QD-OLED monitor (its decision is unclear), and extra. The corporate additionally confirmed off a PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD that, like Adata’s new NeonStorm, manages 12/10GB/s learn/write speeds and features a gigantic heatsink.