Prograde Digital Launches the World's First USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type-B Card Reader

[TheLostSwede]

ProGrade Digital, founded with a mission to provide the highest quality professional grade digital memory cards and workflow solutions, announces its new PG05.6 card reader, a single-slot reader designed specifically for the latest CFexpress 4.0 (PCIe Gen 4) Type B memory cards. The PG05.6 reader is based on the latest USB4 technology which is designed to achieve speeds of up to 40 Gbits/sec. When used in conjunction with the latest CFexpress 4.0 (PCIe Gen 4) memory cards, benchmark tests highlight a tripling of data transfer speed from card to host. The PG05.6 is also equipped with ProGrade's patented magnetic base and an adhesive metal plate that allows users to mount the reader to any work surface, such as the back of a laptop. The new reader is also supplied with a certified USB 4.0 cable - assuring the maximum performance possible.

"Our new PG05.6 reader provides a tremendous leap forward in workflow performance by allowing content offload speeds to be reduced by 67% when compared to the performance of USB 3.2, Gen 2 technology of our current product line-up", said Wes Brewer, CEO and Founder of ProGrade Digital. "Along with faster speeds comes the need to provide extra cooling capability for reader and card - something we've spent more than a year perfecting in the new design."




ProGrade Digital USB4 CFexpress Type B Single-Slot Card Reader Key Features:

• Single-slot memory card reader for CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards
• Backward compatible with CFexpress 2.0 Type B cards
• Transfer rates of up to 40 Gbps (5 GBytes/sec)
• USB4 interface
• Patented magnetic base and included adhesive metal plate
• Heat sink for extra cooling capability
• Refresh Pro enabled
• USB 4.0 certified cable included
• MSRP $99.99

Like all ProGrade readers, each PG05.6 reader contains a unique serial number to ensure best-in-class after sales support and tight quality control of the components used inside. Using this serial number, a customer can register their product at http://progradedigital.com/register to receive product updates. The new reader is also shaded a dark grey with blue accents on the rear connector to clearly differentiate it from the prior generation of USB 3.2-based readers.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Asni]

"Transfer rates of up to 40 Gbps (5 GBytes/sec)"

3.8GB/s (3.938GB/s with 128b/130b encoding).
Hate fake marketing.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

"Transfer rates of up to 40 Gbps (5 GBytes/sec)"

3.8GB/s (3.938GB/s with 128b/130b encoding).
Hate fake marketing.

Yeah, and while I will admit that I'm not sure how it works for USB4, but at least for Thunderbolt 4, that "40Gbps" number is misleading as it represents the COMBINATION of data (32Gbps/PCIe 3.0x4) and other protocols like displayport (which add in the 8Gbps) reach the 40Gbps, but if you hook up any kind of storage device, you'll never achieve data rates faster than 32Gbps.

I don't know how USB4 works, but I'd assume a lot of it is dependent upon what the host device uses to support that USB4 port, i.e. whether it's an ASMedia controller and how many PCIe lanes connect and what generation etc., but yeah it can be very misleading especially for casual consumers.

I

 

[LabRat 891]

I wonder what USB-NVMe bridge they're using?
(Must be, since not all USB4 supports PCIe encapsulation)

I'm only familiar with Gen3-back bridges.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Yeah, and while I will admit that I'm not sure how it works for USB4, but at least for Thunderbolt 4, that "40Gbps" number is misleading as it represents the COMBINATION of data (32Gbps/PCIe 3.0x4) and other protocols like displayport (which add in the 8Gbps) reach the 40Gbps, but if you hook up any kind of storage device, you'll never achieve data rates faster than 32Gbps.

I don't know how USB4 works, but I'd assume a lot of it is dependent upon what the host device uses to support that USB4 port, i.e. whether it's an ASMedia controller and how many PCIe lanes connect and what generation etc., but yeah it can be very misleading especially for casual consumers.

USB4 can deliver the full 40 Gbps, assuming the host controller supports 40 Gbps data rate and has a wide enough system interface. This assumes you're only using the USB4 interface for data.
The ASMedia ASM4242 can do 40 Gbps on one port, but not both simultaneously, due to its PCIe 4.0 x4 interface being the bottleneck.

ASM4242 | USB4 Host Controller 40G|ASMedia Technology Inc.

USB4 Host Controller 40G , USB4 Gen 3x2 40Gbps, ASM4242,USB4 Host 40G

www.asmedia.com.tw

I wonder what USB-NVMe bridge they're using?
(Must be, since not all USB4 supports PCIe encapsulation)

I'm only familiar with Gen3-back bridges.

One of the two variants from ASMedia?

USB Controller|ASMedia Technology Inc.

ASMedia Technology was founded in 2004 and went public in 2012 (stock code: 5269.TW). Headquarter is located in Taiwan. ASMedia specializes in high-speed interface technologies with strong expertise in high-speed SERDES in house development. Company strives for continual innovation and the...

www.asmedia.com.tw

Also, neither of you read my article about USB4 from last year?

USB4 is Coming - Everything You Need to Know

USB4 is the next evolution of the USB standard, but it's quite different from its predecessors as it brings with it support for DisplayPort connectivity, as well as optional PCI-Express and Thunderbolt 3 support. It tries to fix some technical issues, but adds a few of its own, but at least the...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[LabRat 891]

USB4 can deliver the full 40 Gbps, assuming the host controller supports 40 Gbps data rate and has a wide enough system interface. This assumes you're only using the USB4 interface for data.
The ASMedia ASM4242 can do 40 Gbps on one port, but not both simultaneously, due to its PCIe 4.0 x4 interface being the bottleneck.

ASM4242 | USB4 Host Controller 40G|ASMedia Technology Inc.

USB4 Host Controller 40G , USB4 Gen 3x2 40Gbps, ASM4242,USB4 Host 40G

www.asmedia.com.tw

One of the two variants from ASMedia?

USB Controller|ASMedia Technology Inc.

ASMedia Technology was founded in 2004 and went public in 2012 (stock code: 5269.TW). Headquarter is located in Taiwan. ASMedia specializes in high-speed interface technologies with strong expertise in high-speed SERDES in house development. Company strives for continual innovation and the...

www.asmedia.com.tw

Also, neither of you read my article about USB4 from last year?

USB4 is Coming - Everything You Need to Know

USB4 is the next evolution of the USB standard, but it's quite different from its predecessors as it brings with it support for DisplayPort connectivity, as well as optional PCI-Express and Thunderbolt 3 support. It tries to fix some technical issues, but adds a few of its own, but at least the...

www.techpowerup.com

IIRC, your article was one of the things that had me excited for USB4.

USB4 Tunnelling and DP Alt Mode​

One of the key advancements with moving from USB 3.2 to USB4 is something referred to as Tunneling. The short version of what tunneling allows is a means of sending multiple different protocols simultaneously over the USB4 fabric. The longer version is that USB4 allows for not just USB data to be sent, but also PCI-Express and DisplayPort signals. Until the signal reaches an endpoint, such as a DisplayPort monitor, the signal is sent as encapsulated data within the USB data stream, and the actual DisplayPort signal only gets extracted once it reaches its destination. This is similar to how Thunderbolt works.

Unlike DP Alt Mode, which physically takes over two wire pairs of the four pairs in a USB Type-C cable for exclusive use for DisplayPort signals, tunneling allows the DP 1.4 signal to be transmitted simultaneously with USB4 or PCIe signals. At higher resolutions and refresh rates, DP Alt Mode can even use all four data pairs in a USB-C cable, which means USB data transfers are limited to USB 2.0 speeds over a separate set of low-speed wires inside the USB-C cable. When tunneling is used for DisplayPort 1.4 signals, DP will be prioritized over USB and PCIe data, due to a display signal being isochronous in nature, which means that an interruption to the signal would prevent a picture from being displayed on the screen. Although tunneling doesn't solve this for high-resolution/high refresh rate displays today, future versions of USB4 should have a solution for this that still allows for high-speed data transfers. Note that Display Stream Compression (DSC) can be used to save bandwidth for the DisplayPort signal when tunneling is used.

...and since that write-up, the few USB4 options I'd looked into, supported/implemented (pretty much) none of that.
Edit: Apparently, the AM4 board w/ USB4 that I swear I'd researched; never existed. That was my ref point, and The Internet is telling me it's a false memory

It's not your fault USB-IF and ODM/OEMs make this exceedingly difficult. Example:

A key thing to note is that the standard is called "USB4," not "USB 4.0" or "USB 4," and the USB-IF actually has two marketing names for USB4, namely "USB4 20 Gbps" and "USB4 40 Gbps." The technical names are "USB4 Gen 2x2" and "USB(4?) Gen 3x2," but there's also "USB4 Gen 2x1" and "USB4 Gen 3x1," both of which are fallback

So, that allows AIBs and ODM/OEMs to sell "USB4" branded devices, that cannot even do the 'new baseline speed' of 20Gbps. (like what happened with USB Type-C* and USB 3.1->3.2)
*Yes, I'm well-aware USB-C is a just physical/interconnect standard. However, that's not how it was 'sold' to the market. The promise of "one connector to rule them all" turned into a quagmire of highly-varying implementations and poor accessory quality (IMHO: due, in large part to such 'loose' technical specifics.)

Also, your mention of so few USB4 controllers on the market/ever to be made, makes me think USB4 as a whole is just about DoA (for consumer-enthusiasts).
Basically, it looks like its gonna get the 'firewire' treatment (having few, if any fully implemented integrations on the PC platform). Ending up largely relegated to 'professional media industry' and Apple.

Addendum: I'm probably mostly jaded, since USB4 feels like we were supposed to have it 2 years ago. In fact, I can find rumblings in 2020 about USB4...
So, I'll admit to a sour attitude tinting my PoV; and I should really reserve judgement until AFTER ASM4242 sees full market-availability.
(I edited after reading specs on ASM4242, and it promises to be my every expectation and more.)


Edit 2:
Looks like there was some implementation on some 6000series APU option Mobile PCs. (at least after Firmware updates) Author also goes over early 'USB4 advertised' non-USB4 devices.

edit 3:
@8:33 in the video, he mentions that Microsoft Sticker-Certified Windows 11 laptops marketing USB4 port, must support PCIe tunneling.
Previously and by demonstration, 'not-actual-USB4' devices had me thinking otherwise.
Note: He does emphasize right afterwards how PCIe Tunneling is still an optional feature.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Everything USB4 got delayed by about a year, courtesy of shall we say, poor documentation from the USB-IF that assumed a lot of things that would only be inhouse knowledge if you worked at a certain company. Hence why a lot of things never ended up being delivered on time.

 

[LabRat 891]

Everything USB4 got delayed by about a year, courtesy of shall we say, poor documentation from the USB-IF that assumed a lot of things that would only be inhouse knowledge if you worked at a certain company. Hence why a lot of things never ended up being delivered on time.

Thank You.
At least my sour feelings are not entirely w/o basis in reality.

As long as yields are good, and adoption wide, those Host and Device options from ASMedia are looking extremely attractive.

ASM4242
Integrating ASMedia’s self-designed physical layers (PHYs), this controller is implemented with USB4 router including the time measurement unit (TMU) and several PCIe downstream/DisplayPort IN/USB downstream adapters, PCI Express switch, DisplayPort retimer and Intel® eXtensible Host Controller Interface.

I'd love to slot-in an ASM4242-based PCIe Gen4x4 USB4 card into my X570
(even better if 4-ports using 2 interlinked via PCIe Switch ASM4242s, too ).

 

[TheLostSwede]

So, that allows AIBs and ODM/OEMs to sell "USB4" branded devices, that cannot even do the 'new baseline speed' of 20Gbps. (like what happened with USB Type-C* and USB 3.1->3.2)
*Yes, I'm well-aware USB-C is a just physical/interconnect standard. However, that's not how it was 'sold' to the market. The promise of "one connector to rule them all" turned into a quagmire of highly-varying implementations and poor accessory quality (IMHO: due, in large part to such 'loose' technical specifics.)

Not quite, as host devices can be 20 or 40 Gbps, this was enforced by a certain company in the USB-IF, whereas most companies only wanted the 40 Gbps standard. The 20 Gbps option might never happen. That said, I have a feeling we might see an implementation in phone SoCs at 20 Gbps, as it uses less power, gets less hot etc.
End devices can be 20 or 40 Gbps, but hubs, have to be 40 Gbps and also have to support all the various extras such as DP Alt Mode and so on.

Also, your mention of so few USB4 controllers on the market/ever to be made, makes me think USB4 as a whole is just about DoA (for consumer-enthusiasts).
Basically, it looks like its gonna get the 'firewire' treatment (having few, if any fully implemented integrations on the PC platform). Ending up largely relegated to 'professional media industry' and Apple.

Today there is only one, ASMedia. Obviously AMD has their own implementation in their mobile chips, but I have little to no insight into that host controller.
Intel and Apple are Thunderbolt 4, but Thunderbolt 4 is compatible with USB4, so shouldn't matter much, but Thunderbolt 4 is limited to 32 Gbps for data.
Considering that a lot of companies are working on USB4 peripheral chips, I doubt that is the case, as the final devices will be a lot cheaper than their equivalent Thunderbolt devices.

These are some of the key parts needed, but it seems like the lack of proper documentation is holding others back.

Realtek Demos First USB4 Hub Controller at Computex 2023

So far it has been very quiet on the market when it comes to USB4 hubs, with most products being based on Intel Thunderbolt hardware costing Thunderbolt money. Realtek was demoing its RTS5490 "hub router controller" at Computex and it's as far as we're aware, the first USB4 hub IC that has been...

www.techpowerup.com

VLI Focuses on Video over USB-C at Computex

Having visited all the major Taiwanese USB chip vendors during Computex, it's clear that the three have very different focus when it comes to their businesses, with ASMedia going for host and device controllers with PCIe Express support, Realtek focusing on USB hubs and connectivity. This leaves...

www.techpowerup.com

Addendum: I'm probably mostly jaded, since USB4 feels like we were supposed to have it 2 years ago. In fact, I can find rumblings in 2020 about USB4...
So, I'll admit to a sour attitude tinting my PoV; and I should really reserve judgement until AFTER ASM4242 sees full market-availability.
(I edited after reading specs on ASM4242, and it promises to be my every expectation and more.)

Well, I can tell you that ASMedia isn't overly pleased either, as they thought they were done and dusted in 2022, but ended up spending a year making a bunch of changes to pass the USB-IF certification. I can't go into too many details, as I don't want to put my friend there in an awkward position with the USB-IF.

ASMedia's Delayed USB4 Host Controller is Nearly Here

Regular readers of TPU might remember our in-depth USB4 article that we posted almost a year ago, but since then, very little has happened and ASMedia has as yet to make its ASM4242 USB4 host controller available to its partners and then ASM2464 USB4 to PCIe 4.0 bridge was suffering the same...

www.techpowerup.com

Edit 2:
Looks like there was some implementation on some 6000series APU option Mobile PCs. (at least after Firmware updates) Author also goes over early 'USB4 advertised' non-USB4 devices.

See above.

edit 3:
@8:33 in the video, he mentions that Microsoft Sticker-Certified Windows 11 laptops marketing USB4 port, must support PCIe tunneling.
Previously and by demonstration, 'not-actual-USB4' devices had me thinking otherwise.
Note: He does emphasize right afterwards how PCIe Tunneling is still an optional feature.

Host controllers and hubs have to support PCIe tunneling, end devices don't.

Thank You.
At least my sour feelings are not entirely w/o basis in reality.

As long as yields are good, and adoption wide, those Host and Device options from ASMedia are looking extremely attractive.

See more replies above. It's obviously about cost as well, but ASMedia's USB4 host controller is cheaper than Intel's Thunderbolt chips.

I'd love to slot-in an ASM4242-based PCIe Gen4x4 USB4 card into my X570
(even better if 4-ports using 2 interlinked via PCIe Switch ASM4242s, too ).

It might be possible. This card got a bigger heatsink for the retail launch.

MSI First Motherboard Maker to offer USB4 Add-in Card with 100 W USB-PD

At Computex 2023, MSI was showing off its USB4 100 W Expansion Card—also known as the MS-4489—which is the first officially announced USB4 add-in card in the market. MSI didn't specify the actual chip being used, but we've verified that the card is based on ASMedia's ASM4242 USB4 host...

www.techpowerup.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1699755393126432943

Just to have one, I picked up a USB4 cable in Taiwan this summer for $20, a lot cheaper than Thunderbolt cables and it can supposedly do Thunderbolt data as well.

Looks like the cable has a Cortex-M0 chip in it...

https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infineon-EZ-PD_CCG2_Datasheet_USB_Type-C_Port_Controller-DataSheet-v15_00-EN.pdf?fileId=8ac78c8c7d0d8da4017d0ecd9536480b

 

[Asni]

"Transfer rates of up to 40 Gbps (5 GBytes/sec)"

3.8GB/s (3.938GB/s with 128b/130b encoding).
Hate fake marketing.

Btw, the 3.8GB/s effective bandwidth with Asmedia ASM2464PD chip (pci-ex x4 gen4 interface) has been tested on many products.

ZikeDrive World's First and Fastest USB4 SSD Drive

USB4 40Gbps Enclosure • Max 3.8GB/s Read and 3.1GB/s Write Speed • NVMe PCIe Gen 4X4 SSD | Check out 'ZikeDrive World's First and Fastest USB4 SSD Drive' on Indiegogo.

www.indiegogo.com

USB4 NVMe SSD Pro Enclosure

satechi.net

HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure

Introducing the world’s fastest 40Gbps USB4 SSD Enclosure. The HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure unlocks increased productivity by working directly from your SSD. Experience lightning-fast 40Gbps transfer speeds and seamless compatibility with M.2 NVMe SSDs. The easy snap-in installation...

www.hypershop.com

 

[LabRat 891]

It might be possible. This card got a bigger heatsink for the retail launch.

MSI First Motherboard Maker to offer USB4 Add-in Card with 100 W USB-PD

At Computex 2023, MSI was showing off its USB4 100 W Expansion Card—also known as the MS-4489—which is the first officially announced USB4 add-in card in the market. MSI didn't specify the actual chip being used, but we've verified that the card is based on ASMedia's ASM4242 USB4 host...

www.techpowerup.com

There is no pricing or release information just yet, but it will likely fall around $69+ range if MSI wants to remain competitive to the TB options out there, including its own TB4 solution. You’re also likely to see it launch sometime this year (hopefully, sooner than later so the company can move on to more feature-competitive options).

Retail Launch? Where?! I need it
(gives me an excuse to stop 'playing around with' Crossfire/AMD MGPU)

 

[TheLostSwede]

Btw, the 3.8GB/s effective bandwidth with Asmedia ASM2464PD chip (pci-ex x4 gen4 interface) has been tested on many products.

ZikeDrive World's First and Fastest USB4 SSD Drive

USB4 40Gbps Enclosure • Max 3.8GB/s Read and 3.1GB/s Write Speed • NVMe PCIe Gen 4X4 SSD | Check out 'ZikeDrive World's First and Fastest USB4 SSD Drive' on Indiegogo.

www.indiegogo.com

USB4 NVMe SSD Pro Enclosure

satechi.net

HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure

Introducing the world’s fastest 40Gbps USB4 SSD Enclosure. The HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure unlocks increased productivity by working directly from your SSD. Experience lightning-fast 40Gbps transfer speeds and seamless compatibility with M.2 NVMe SSDs. The easy snap-in installation...

www.hypershop.com

I saw it at Computex as well.

ASMedia's Delayed USB4 Host Controller is Nearly Here

Regular readers of TPU might remember our in-depth USB4 article that we posted almost a year ago, but since then, very little has happened and ASMedia has as yet to make its ASM4242 USB4 host controller available to its partners and then ASM2464 USB4 to PCIe 4.0 bridge was suffering the same...

www.techpowerup.com

Just spotted this on Twitter, apparently there will be 2 meter long USB4 cables, with a retimer chip in each end.

Retail Launch? Where?! I need it
(gives me an excuse to stop 'playing around with' Crossfire/AMD MGPU)

Should be out alongside the refreshed Z790 boards.