cable "management" 2015 MBP

[HBOC]

I have a mid 2015 MBP 15", which has 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x TB2 and HDMI. My problem is that i am using every port and it isn't enough.

My last MBP was the 2008 MBP and i used a kensington USB hub i bought at apple. The problem with that is it would spark when i connected it to the MBP. Tossed that out and haven't tried another hub since.

Are there any suggestions on what to use? I have a mix of external hard drives that use FW800 and USB 3.0.

 

[mroy16]

What specific ports are you looking for? There are a ton of options out there, from simple USB splitters to powered docks. If you post your specific needs, people here can offer much more helpful suggestions.

 

[ISKOTB]

Before I went cloud I did use a hub like this one

 

[HBOC]

thanks for the suggestion. The ports i am in need of are mostly USB and i have one more firewire LaCie external drive i use. For some reason i like their enclosures, so i keep buying them on eBay and putting in new drives 🙂

As for the powered USB hub, it worked well? After the sparking of my last one, i gave up on them...

 

[mroy16]

I've never had any sort of electrical problem with powered USB hubs. A sparking device is a serious concern, but thankfully not one that I've heard of before. A modern USB hub from a brand that you've heard of should serve your purposes perfectly.

A quick search on Amazon turns up a number of good options.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"The ports i am in need of are mostly USB and i have one more firewire LaCie external drive i use. For some reason i like their enclosures, so i keep buying them on eBay and putting in new drives"

As much as I like firewire, it's time to STOP buying firewire-based drives and enclosures.

It now requires not one, but TWO daisy-chained dongle/adapters to connect them to new Mac products:
- thunderbolt3 to thunderbolt2 adapter
and
- thunderbolt2 to firewire adapter.

USB3 is now the better (and faster) alternative.

 

[oldtime]

I've used plenty of powered hubs over the years without issue. Just don't get a bottom of the barrel one to save a few bucks.

 

[HBOC]

i know i need to ditch firewire. However when i bought the LaCie drives, i had my old iMac that had these ports and
USB 2.0

 

[posguy99]

USB3 is now the better (and faster) alternative.

It's faster, it's not better. It won, the same way VHS won out over Beta, even though Beta was superior.