Updated system interfaces are something enthusiast types get excited over because it usually means increased speeds and a whole host of new gadgetry to make use of the new ports.

USB 3.0 is shaping up to be one big increase in performance for storage and…well other devices. HardOCP has tested the standard with some mighty impressive results:

So USB 3.0 allowed us to achieve a sequential read speed about 80MBps faster than 2.0. USB 3.0 also allowed us to achieve burst speeds readings of about 150MBps faster than 2.0. Random access times are the same as this is fully dependent on the drive itself in our situation, and CPU utilization was the same as well given the margin of error.

A definite performance improvement over USB 2.0, eSATA might have lost its performance edge.

You have to hand it to Intel, their Light Peak fiber optic connection technology has caught the attention of many people due to its insanely high speed capabilities and the possibility of making those future-chic optical cable runs a dream come true.

CNET has a writeup on the technology and why it may become USB’s replacement in the future:

But do we really need to go all the way to optical now? High-speed electrical communications is hard–wires can cause electromagnetic interference, for example, and USB 3 cables can only be 3 meters long compared to 5 meters for USB 2. But technology for transferring data over copper wires, like technology for shrinking computer chips, has defied predictions that it will run out of gas.

Here’s hoping they figure out a way to pipe power along side those fragile pieces of fiber.