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Best USB hub?

peanutismint

peanutismint

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 4, 2007
437
9
Cardiff, UK
I have a lot of external USB devices, all power-hungry.

My Macbook Pro has 2 x USB ports, plus Firewire 800 and Thunderbolt.

I'm wondering what people's favourite USB hubs are, ones that consistently deliver enough power etc. I've bought several in the past but none have seemed to deliver enough bandwidth/power to all of my devices at once. I don't know whether it's a case of just buying a more expensive hub or if I'm always going to have these problems. I'd have hoped that with each device requiring no more than 5V each, a hub connected to mains power would be able to supply more than enough, but clearly that doesn't seem to be the case. I've yet to experience any bandwidth problems as I don't tend to use more than one hard drive at once (plus I have one hard drive connected via firewire).

I'd ideally need to power around 8 external USB devices at the same time (hard drives, keyboard, surround headphones, audio interface, MIDI keyboard, iPhone dock etc...)


Any suggestions??
Is there a hub that can utilise my Firewire port for USB or is that impossible?
 
fhall1 said:
I use this one - http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Hi-Spe...4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337080250&sr=1-4

I've had it for years and it's been fine for everything I've connected to it.

Never heard of a "Firewire USB hub"
Click to expand...

I had one of these and I'm looking for a replacement. Why ? Because the transformer in the plug "whistles" - lots of electronic hi pitched buzz.
It's in a power train with 3 other transformer plugs - none of them buzz. If you are sensitive to this - avoid it.
 
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Thanks guys - strangely enough just after I posted this I got a great deal on that exact Belkin one on eBay - bit worried about the transformer whine now!! I get that from some of my other plugs already....bad capacitors perhaps??
 
peanutismint said:
Thanks guys - strangely enough just after I posted this I got a great deal on that exact Belkin one on eBay - bit worried about the transformer whine now!! I get that from some of my other plugs already....bad capacitors perhaps??
Click to expand...

I had thought it was a problem with ageing but the Belkin is only a few months old. By contrast an HP brick is several years old and is quiet. I'm of the opinion that it is a design issue as I've never been happy with Belkin's cheap approaches.

I'll have a go at Belkin wrt the brick, but prior experience is not a good omen. I had the same problem w a Netgear switch but I got a replacement without any aggro.
 
I picked up a generic, in house USB 2.0 seven plug hub at Staples. It even has their brand name on it.

The fun part is that it originally came with its own power source. But as I mainly use it to plug in my mouse and one or more thumb drives I quickly unplugged the transformer and just let it use system power. It has never failed me.
 
fhall1 said:
I use this one - http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Hi-Spe...4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337080250&sr=1-4

I've had it for years and it's been fine for everything I've connected to it.
Click to expand...

I purchased four of the dark gray version of this hub. They're garbage. But they're warrantied for life.

All four died over the course of 12 months of light use. All four of the replacements died with 18 months of receipt. And, last week, one of the most recent batch of replacements (received in November) failed without warning.
 
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Question: If you have a mix of devices (3.0, 2.0, 1.1) on a 3.0 hub, will all of the devices run at their max. speed, or do all the devices run at the speed of the slowest device? i.e., will everything default to 1.1?




[I posted this question on another thread, but got no response.]
 
mustang_dvs said:
I purchased four of the dark gray version of this hub. They're garbage. But they're warrantied for life.

All four died over the course of 12 months of light use. All four of the replacements died with 18 months of receipt. And, last week, one of the most recent batch of replacements (received in November) failed without warning.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with my two Belkins. I didn't bother to use the warranty, since I didn't want another disposable unit. Switched to a different brand...
 
I just thought I'd share what I've recently found. http://www.atpeaz.com/index.php/201...ectly-connected-usb-hub-for-your-macbook-pro/

08_Elecom_USB_MBP4-150x150.jpg


It's possible the best USB hub I've found for the MacBook Pro in terms of the form factor. The only downside is the USB 2.0 support only. But my current MBP is the Mid-2010 model, so that's not a problem for me.

But what I love is the ability to just leave it on the MBP all the time without needing the take it off to store your MBP in your bag. And its rotates around also does not block any of ports when you need access to them.
 
darkprints said:
Question: If you have a mix of devices (3.0, 2.0, 1.1) on a 3.0 hub, will all of the devices run at their max. speed, or do all the devices run at the speed of the slowest device? i.e., will everything default to 1.1?




[I posted this question on another thread, but got no response.]
Click to expand...

I've never heard of that, I'm certainly not aware of any slowdown when using 'slow' devices. Each device should operate at their own speed.
 
cincygolfgrrl said:
Where did you buy it? There doesn't appear to be an English language option to purchase link on the Japanese Web site.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I just saw your message. I posted a link (http://j.mp/elecomusb2) in my blog post somewhere a the bottom. Maybe I should have made it a little more prominent.

Personally, I bought it at Best Denki locally here where i live in Singapore. It goes for about $20 SGD per pop.
 
peaz said:
Sorry, I just saw your message. I posted a link (http://j.mp/elecomusb2) in my blog post somewhere a the bottom. Maybe I should have made it a little more prominent.

Personally, I bought it at Best Denki locally here where i live in Singapore. It goes for about $20 SGD per pop.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this gem of a find! I will try to pick up one of these babies when I'm back in Singapore next month. :)
 
mustang_dvs said:
I purchased four of the dark gray version of this hub. They're garbage. But they're warrantied for life.

All four died over the course of 12 months of light use. All four of the replacements died with 18 months of receipt. And, last week, one of the most recent batch of replacements (received in November) failed without warning.
Click to expand...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/350951400590?lpid=82

----------

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/350951400590?lpid=82 I have this belkin electricity usage checker ,I smell a burnt plastic smell when I use it. Do not like the quality. China made anyone know?
 
I think I'm going with this 9+1 port Anker hub, unless someone here has a negative experience with the quality or speed:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGQWL2/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ

It's a bit more expensive at $60, but the additional ports and the fact that it will be visible on my desk make it "worth" the extra value to me.

FYI, the HooToo one is on sale for $30 later today at Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Special/Shell...tem-_-0J2-0020-00008&et_cid=4117&et_rid=77528
 
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Joshua M said:
I think I'm going with this 9+1 port Anker hub, unless someone here has a negative experience with the quality or speed:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGQWL2/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ

It's a bit more expensive at $60, but the additional ports and the fact that it will be visible on my desk make it "worth" the extra value to me.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you purchased yet, but the Anker 7 port here is incredibly small and the ports are at the "desk" level instead of pointing up into the air. The entire unit isn't as tall as an external super drive.

http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Uspeed-7-Port-Charge-Only-Ports/dp/B00B7GAE98

The only downside I've found so far is my Canon 9000F flatbed scanner isn't detected through this. I'm not sure if that is the scanners fault or the hub yet.

Beware that some of the Anker units have been known to have bad power regulators on the dedicated power ports. They're meant to charge a USB device but end up putting out 12VDC. If you're even thinking of using the dedicated power ports I'd put a meter on them to make sure they're not going to fry your toys.
 
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jgarvas said:
Not sure if you purchased yet, but the Anker 7 port here is incredibly small and the ports are at the "desk" level instead of pointing up into the air. The entire unit isn't as tall as an external super drive.

http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Uspeed-7-Port-Charge-Only-Ports/dp/B00B7GAE98

The only downside I've found so far is my Canon 9000F flatbed scanner isn't detected through this. I'm not sure if that is the scanners fault or the hub yet.

Beware that some of the Anker units have been known to have bad power regulators on the dedicated power ports. They're meant to charge a USB device but end up putting out 12VDC. If you're even thinking of using the dedicated power ports I'd put a meter on them to make sure they're not going to fry your toys.
Click to expand...
Between some devices not being recognized and the voltage issue, I wouldn't recommend the Anker to anyone. I wouldn't trust any port to have the proper voltage.
 
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I had used the maxpro usb hub (sorry I couldn't get a link, you have to search for it) and used it for about 4 years. It cost me about $7 and had 7 ports. Worked good enough until one day it stopped working and I think 4 years is worth the money I paid. Maybe you should consider that.
 
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