Asus Motherboard Caught Showing Off USB 3.0

Wait, a second--blue USB ports? What could that possibly mean? If our Chinese translation skills are any good, it means USB 3.0, which definitely means happiness. We've known that USB 2.0 was growing a bit long in the tooth, and we've seen a few demonstrations overseas showcasing the abilities of early USB 3.0 connections, but this marks the first time that we've seen the next-gen connector demonstrated on a real, live motherboard.

It seems that the lucky mainboard is an Asus P6X58 Premium, and while a pair of USB 2.0 sockets are also included, it's the pair of USB 3.0 ports that has us salivating. USB SuperSpeed, as it's formally known, should add a much-wanted boost to transfer rates, and it sure looks as if it will accept current USB 2.0 cables. We're still unsure if those cables will have what it takes to handle USB 3.0 rates, but at least the shape of port gives us some hope. Check out the Via link down below for a few more images, but don't get your hopes up for an imminent release. We're guessing USB 3.0 won't launch in earnest until 2010 at the earliest, but we're definitely excited that things are progressing along well enough to try it out on a mobo.