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I-PAC: usb or ps/2? ... or does it matter?

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patrickl:
My new PC (a cheap clone) came without a PS/2 connector already. I was kinda shocked by this since I hadn't thought about PS/2 going away before I faced the obvious fact that on my new PC it had already happened. Intel has been pushing for a new motherboard standard (BX) which will be without PS/2 and other legacy ports. As of yet it doesn't seem to happen too quickly, but I sure was glad my I-PAC could do USB (allthough I still have not found my USB cable back :-[).

Minwah:
I'm sure it is mentioned in some of the threads linked to from here, but since no-one has mentioned it I believe in PS/2 mode the IPAC can handle more simultaneous keypresses (than USB).

Tiger-Heli:

--- Quote from: Minwah on October 27, 2004, 07:09:01 am ---I'm sure it is mentioned in some of the threads linked to from here, but since no-one has mentioned it I believe in PS/2 mode the IPAC can handle more simultaneous keypresses (than USB).

--- End quote ---
I cover this.  Before MinWah's get flamed, here's what I say (basically, it's true, but not a very big issue):

Depending on board revision, there is a limit of 14, 22, or 16 inputs (plus modifiers such as Shift, Alt, and Ctrl) that the I-PAC supports in USB mode, unlimited in PS/2.  While this isn't a very practical limitation (4 players each simultaneously pressing diagonals and pressing Buttons 1 and 2 simultaneously exceeds it, but not much else), it is a limitation which is not present in PS/2 mode.

Minwah:

--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on October 27, 2004, 08:05:54 am ---Depending on board revision, there is a limit of 14, 22, or 16 inputs (plus modifiers such as Shift, Alt, and Ctrl) that the I-PAC supports in USB mode, unlimited in PS/2.  While this isn't a very practical limitation (4 players each simultaneously pressing diagonals and pressing Buttons 1 and 2 simultaneously exceeds it, but not much else), it is a limitation which is not present in PS/2 mode.

--- End quote ---

Thanks, that's it :)

While not a big limitation (& I personally think people just 'like' USB more than anything else atm), it is a limitation nevertheless.

Tiger-Heli:

--- Quote from: Minwah on October 27, 2004, 10:28:56 am ---Thanks, that's it :)
While not a big limitation (& I personally think people just 'like' USB more than anything else atm), it is a limitation nevertheless.

--- End quote ---
Agreed.

Personally, I don't think it matters, except for a desktop controller, where USB is more convenient (although many of the more popular ones like X-Arcade and HotRod were PS/2).

The problem is you have to change your thinking a little bit with the current trends - i.e. most new gamepads, joysticks, webcams, mice, trackballs, some spinners, etc. are USB plug-and-play.  So the idea of a USB plug-and-play encoder makes sense to people.  The idea of a PS/2 encoder and a USB keyboard or plugging the keyboard through the encoder seems foreign, whether it performs better or not.

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