increasing USB ports on iMac late 2012?

[negroswamy]

can anyone suggest any "good bang-for-your-buck" hubs that i can use to plug more things directly to the imac? i would probably prefer to get a lot of USB 3.0 capability and a LOT of input spots, just so its future-proof...things just dont seem to work well thru the daisy-chained hubs that plug in devices further & further away from the actual computer so my new strategy is to try to plug in as close as possible to the imac.

they are all USB 3.0 plugs actually as per:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5522

thanks in advance, guys!

i decided to cut/paste the details of my question in the 1st reply b/c i think it seems to scare off potential good advice when they see something so long to read...if any other info is needed, please just ask!

 

[negroswamy]

possible important details to the above situation

here are the details i decided to move so that it didnt distract from my initial question:

hey guys i have the (this is from the "about my mac" since i dont know what all these really mean):

iMac - 21.5" Late 2012, 2.7Ghz Intel Core i5, 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3, NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 512MB, OSX 10.9.4 (13E28) computer.

these are OK for stuff like charging my nike fuelband and random bluetooth headphones but they SUCK for hard drives (especially since everything is USB 3.0 now).

4 ports are used like this:

1. is taken by the accessory geeks hub (the "rosewill" hub is plugged into the "accessory geeks iboard" hub - the iboard hub is actually really confusing because it's output usb's contain a split 2-headed USB plug...but i only use 1 because i can afford having a hub that takes up 2 spots on the imac only to offer 3 spots for other stuff - thereby netting me only 1 extra spot!?!?!?). I WAS THINKING THIS WOULD BE A GOOD ONE TO REMOVE FROM THE IMAC'S PORTS?

2. is taken by a 30-pin plug to charge my ipad 3 or iphone 4s (wont charge on the other hubs for some reason - not even the rosewill externally-powered one). I WAS THINKING THIS WOULD BE A GOOD ONE TO REMOVE FROM THE IMACS PORTS AS LONG AS IT COULD BE PLUGGED TO SOMETHING THAT WOULD ACTUALLY CHARGE & SYNC THE IPAD?

3. is taken by a 2TB USB 3.0 external hard drive that i use for my whole family's itunes stuff (ABSOLUTELY MUST BE PLUGGED DIRECTLY TO IMAC?)

4. is taken by a 3TB USB 3.0 backup drive that does the hourly time machine backups (ABSOLUTELY MUST BE PLUGGED DIRECTLY TO IMAC?)

its about coming time to get another hard drive for itunes stuff and if i could connect more things directly to the imac, they seem to work better instead of going thru these (possibly cheap/low quality) hubs.

 

[negroswamy]

fun stuff about my imac & setup

about my imac:

bought it about a year ago on craigslist and it was new in box (unboxed it myself!) and had full applecare warranty on it! bought it for $975 tax-free! was amazed at the deal and the couple i got it from had mac's all over the place (even had 2 3-4 yr olds with iphones & ipads), said they bought it in 2012 black friday and its been sitting in the box ever since. ive used it for about a year and NO complaints...the applecare is really nice for peace-of-mind.

about my setup:

anyways, i really bought it because we have like 2 apple tvs at the house and people werent able to enjoy them when i left for school with my macbook pro. so i thought it would be nice to keep an imac with itunes always on so people could enjoy when i was busy. now, i got 2 USB hubs [one is an (unpowered) iboard glass stand with 3 USB inputs on it and another is a (powered) rosewill with about 8 USB inputs on it], both are only USB 2.0.

(sorry for dusty pics taken from photo booth)

 

[jji7skyline]

Just get a random hub, they're pretty generic.

Or you could get a thunderbolt docking thing for more connections.

 

[FreemanW]

USB 3.0 speed is nice. You have a USB 3.0 computer.

I do not understand why you would get anything other than a USB 3.0 hub.

There are plenty to be had.

 

[Fishrrman]

Search for a USB3 hub WITH ADEQUATE POWER.

It has to be a "powered" hub...

 

[negroswamy]

Just get a random hub, they're pretty generic.

Or you could get a thunderbolt docking thing for more connections.

USB 3.0 speed is nice. You have a USB 3.0 computer.

I do not understand why you would get anything other than a USB 3.0 hub.

There are plenty to be had.

Search for a USB3 hub WITH ADEQUATE POWER.

It has to be a "powered" hub...

Thx for the replies but I wish it were that easy...lots of issues...

 

[Georgio]

Thx for the replies but I wish it were that easy...lots of issues...

No it's not that hard.

I have this hub, it works very well, it powers everything plugged into it at once. It gets a little warm but that's understandable given the amount of 'toys' I have plugged into it.
Infact I like it so much I'm considering getting another to split the load a little.

http://usb-hub-review.toptenreviews.com/belkin-review.html

 

[negroswamy]

No it's not that hard.

I have this hub, it works very well, it powers everything plugged into it at once. It gets a little warm but that's understandable given the amount of 'toys' I have plugged into it.
Infact I like it so much I'm considering getting another to split the load a little.

http://usb-hub-review.toptenreviews.com/belkin-review.html

but thats only usb 2.0. also, if ur curious about the difficulties, here are some issues...thats why i was looking for someone who has done this successfully already.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4577942?start=15&tstart=0

 

[Chippy99]

but thats only usb 2.0. also, if ur curious about the difficulties, here are some issues...thats why i was looking for someone who has done this successfully already.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4577942?start=15&tstart=0

I have this Anker 10 port hub and it works flawlessly on my late 2012 iMac - never a single glitch with it.

http://www.ianker.com/support-c11-g186.html

I am not sure they make it any more, but it's also sold under the Orico brand and some others too I think. The key point is to look for hubs with VIA Labs VL812 chipset. That seems to work consistently well with iMacs.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-A3H10...&sr=8-29&keywords=10+port+usb+hub+via+chipset

 

[negroswamy]

I have this Anker 10 port hub and it works flawlessly on my late 2012 iMac - never a single glitch with it.

http://www.ianker.com/support-c11-g186.html
Image

I am not sure they make it any more, but it's also sold under the Orico brand and some others too I think. The key point is to look for hubs with VIA Labs VL812 chipset. That seems to work consistently well with iMacs.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-A3H10...&sr=8-29&keywords=10+port+usb+hub+via+chipset

U da man, chippy! (Unless ur a woman - either way, thx so much!). Seriously tho, searching for that chipset term instead of hubs in general is bringing up hubs that are like 1/2 the price...

 

[Chippy99]

U da man, chippy! (Unless ur a woman - either way, thx so much!). Seriously tho, searching for that chipset term instead of hubs in general is bringing up hubs that are like 1/2 the price...

No problem mate. It figures that VL812 based hubs should work since the USB controller in the 2012 iMac is a VL812.

It should work fine out of the box and if you buy one now, it's probably got late firmware on it. FWIW mine has firmware 85.80. I upgraded it to that from some previous older firmware but to be honest it made no difference and it was working perfectly previously. I really should not have bothered, but sometimes I can't help keep fiddling!

 

[negroswamy]

No problem mate. It figures that VL812 based hubs should work since the USB controller in the 2012 iMac is a VL812.

It should work fine out of the box and if you buy one now, it's probably got late firmware on it. FWIW mine has firmware 85.80. I upgraded it to that from some previous older firmware but to be honest it made no difference and it was working perfectly previously. I really should not have bothered, but sometimes I can't help keep fiddling!

haha good to know...u would be surprised how many things ive read about people having problems and it seems like even apple hasnt given the info that u have here about the chipset.

when googling basic "best imac usb 3 hub", the first page is apple's own http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5172 - which doesnt mention it.

also what else comes up is just a bunch of threads about people regretting their purchases. but after looking at amazon reviews w hubs w that specific chipset u mentioned, they are very positive reviews AND a lot cheaper than the "popular" ones...so i dont know how u learned this, but its very valuable info! thanks again!

 

[Chippy99]

haha good to know...u would be surprised how many things ive read about people having problems and it seems like even apple hasnt given the info that u have here about the chipset.

when googling basic "best imac usb 3 hub", the first page is apple's own http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5172 - which doesnt mention it.

also what else comes up is just a bunch of threads about people regretting their purchases. but after looking at amazon reviews w hubs w that specific chipset u mentioned, they are very positive reviews AND a lot cheaper than the "popular" ones...so i dont know how u learned this, but its very valuable info! thanks again!

I am embarrassed to say I was wrong about the VIA chipset inside the Mac. I mis-read the System Information report when I was looking at it earlier - my apologies.

But anyway, VIA 812 chipsets work well and in particular the hub I mentioned.

 

[negroswamy]

I am embarrassed to say I was wrong about the VIA chipset inside the Mac. I mis-read the System Information report when I was looking at it earlier - my apologies.

But anyway, VIA 812 chipsets work well and in particular the hub I mentioned.

hey dude, whatever it was, i started finding positive reviews after looking up hubs by the chipset instead of other search methods i was using...the fact that u are having good experiences further solidifies my plan.

again, thanks so much for the help!

 

[Georgio]

I have this Anker 10 port hub and it works flawlessly on my late 2012 iMac - never a single glitch with it.

http://www.ianker.com/support-c11-g186.html
Image

I am not sure they make it any more, but it's also sold under the Orico brand and some others too I think. The key point is to look for hubs with VIA Labs VL812 chipset. That seems to work consistently well with iMacs.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-A3H10...&sr=8-29&keywords=10+port+usb+hub+via+chipset

Good find, I'm always in the market for better USB hubs and that looks excellent

 

[MacOG728893]

I originally bought this product on Amazon but it doesn't seem to be available anywhere. I really liked it because it had ports on the back and the front as well.

http://www.sears.com/utechsmart-10-port-aluminum-usb-3.0-hub-utechsmart/p-SPM8630188632

 

[FreemanW]

I have this Satechi 7 port hub as well as this Belkin powered hub . . . . both currently hanging off of my late 2012 iMac.

What's complicated?

Need more? Daisy chain them. Need them out of sight? Stash them under your desk.

There are two kinds of people, those who see only solutions, and those who perceive only problems.