Any purpose for this cable?

[Laquer Head]

I was cleaning crap in my basement and came across this USB cable in a box that was Asus monitor stuff..

Obviously its a USB 3.0 cable, but why the funny other end that plugs into monitor? Is this basically just another USB 3.0 but with a weird end - or something else? I can't find anything relevant in the little documentation I have.

 

[voyagerfan99]

It's just the end that plugs into a 3.0 device such as a monitor, external HDD, etc. I'm not sure why it's shaped like that.

 

[Laquer Head]

Yeah I don't understand either,...especially since on this monitor - directly beside this odd shaped one are 2 normal USB 3.0 ports..

 

[voyagerfan99]

especially since on this monitor - directly beside this odd shaped one are 2 normal USB 3.0 ports..

The USB3 cable connects from the monitor to the tower so you can connect other USB3 devices to those USB ports on the monitor. It's good if your workstation is say on the floor or not easily accessible, so you can plug it into the monitor instead.

 

[Laquer Head]

Ohh got yah.. I'm a dumbass.. thanks for clarifying.

 

[Calin]

Also, my keyboard connects to my PC with this type of cable. It has a USB hub too.

 

[beers]

I have one of those on my external HDD dock. Seemed like it facilitated the extra pins for USB3

The lower half of the connector is similar to the old USB B standard. I think the new one is referred to also as B but has some weird term like powered-B

 

[Intel_man]

Yea... a lot of monitors with usb hubs have that.

The shape of it is for backwards compatibility. The old USB 2.0 cables can fit into the slot and run in 2.0 speeds.