Getting USB 3.0 speeds out of USB 3.0 hubs?

[OneUp]

Alright, I may be being a little obtuse, but could someone clarify this for me?

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5172#7

How do I get the best performance from the USB 3 ports?
The first device you plug in will configure the port, so always connect USB 3 capable hubs or devices first.

So, on the back of late 2012 iMac there are four USB ports, if I plug in my 3.0 hub to one of them and then a couple of 2.0 devices into the others and reboot my machine, which of them is "first"? Do I have to remove all my USB devices before rebooting and then plug them back in after?

 

[blevins321]

No, I think it means per port. So don't plug a USB 2.0 hub in, and then a USB 3 drive into the hub. I wouldn't think the whole controller card was affected by the first overall device.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Do I have to remove all my USB devices before rebooting and then plug them back in after?

No, @Blevins321 has it right. HT5172 refers to items plugged into "a port", not the computer. Basically saying you can't plug a USB3 device into a USB2 hub. One would think that's obvious, but I've seen worse

 

[errol]

Also, keep in mind that a powered hub will work better.

 

[OneUp]

Also, keep in mind that a powered hub will work better.

Yeah, I went with this one. Right now it's the only thing plugged into the back of the iMac and all USB devices are running from it (keyboard, UPS, headset, etc). Unfortunately, I don't have any USB 3.0 devices laying around to test it with, so I can't tell if it's going to register as a USB 3.0 device or not...

 

[errol]

I don't see why it would not.

 

[opinio]

Alright, I may be being a little obtuse, but could someone clarify this for me?

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5172#7



So, on the back of late 2012 iMac there are four USB ports, if I plug in my 3.0 hub to one of them and then a couple of 2.0 devices into the others and reboot my machine, which of them is "first"? Do I have to remove all my USB devices before rebooting and then plug them back in after?

I am using a kanex USB 3.0 4 port hub with two 4tb seagate barracudas attached running in apple raid 0 and I get 260 plus mb/s read/write in black magic.

 

[OneUp]

Well, looks like speeds are going to be the last of my problems.... With the Anker USB hub connected, the iMac won't wake from sleep at all. Is this something typical of powered USB hubs on the Mac? Any hubs that don't cause this?

 

[errol]

Well, looks like speeds are going to be the last of my problems.... With the Anker USB hub connected, the iMac won't wake from sleep at all. Is this something typical of powered USB hubs on the Mac? Any hubs that don't cause this?

I never used to have that problem with a powered USB 2 hub.

 

[HenryAZ]

I found this article informative about the gap between potential and realized speeds on USB 3.0.