Welcome. This site is here to inform you on the best USB hub‘s and what to look for in a USB hub. USB hubs can be found in all shapes ad size. From many manufacturers such as Bekin, Netgear, IO Gear, D-Link and many more you most likely never heard of. So its important that you know what you are looking for in the Best USB Hub
What is a USB Hub
USB (Universal Serial Bus) when it came out 1996 revolutionized the way we connect things to our computers. Now everything can come with a standard connect to make the back of our computers less of a nightmare with different connectors. Since that time the speed that data flows throw the USB has gone from USB 1.0 to USB 2.0 and currently we are starting to see USB 3.0 devices. Now our computers typically only come with 3-5 USB ‘ports’ but the number of devices we can now connect to it has sky rocketed.
A USB Hub is a device that will connect to one USB port on our commputer and split it up to several ports. This not only allows for more devices but better cable management. You can have several like devices connected to a USB hub located away from your computer and be connected with only one cable.
Types of Best USB Hub
Your Best USB hub can be one of several types and configurations. Your two main types of USB Hub are Bus Powered or Self Powered. What you are connecting to your computer will determine what style you will choose.
Bus powered USB Hub draws its power from the host computer. This will limit the number of devices and ports as the computers USB port is limited to the power it can deliver. Some devices require more power than the USB hub can deliver in this configuration (charging devices).
Self-powered USB hubs are those that come with its on power supplly to plug into the wall, and thus should be capable of delivering the full rated power to each port on the USB hub. One thing to look for when buying a self-powered USB hub is to look at the current on the power supply to be sure it can supply full power to each port. Some do not, thinking you will plug in a lot of low powered devices. Each port can deliver .5A by specification. If you have a 7 port USB hub then the power supply should be at least 3.5A (7ports x .5A)
Other things to consider when looking for your best USB hub are: size, number of ports, and of course speed.
Speed being the main factor in our lives today, our best USB hub should be either 2.0 or the new 3.0. The newest should be backward compatible with the older, but your fastest speed in a chain of hubs as always going to be the lowest speed on it. If you computer has only 2.0 ports a 3.0 hub will not really help you in the present. 1.0 and 1.1 are still out there so be sure of what you are buying. With these you are also limited to 9′ of cable length. With 2.0 you still want to check the specifications as the 2.0 protocol still includes the slower speed of 12Mbits/second (full speed) and can still claim 2.0 status. You want to be sure its ‘High Speed’ 480Mbits/second.
The other two factors, size and ports are going to be more of personal taste and needs. Think where you are going to be placing your USB hub, need an outlet near by for self-powered, how it sits on your desk and how the ports will be facing.
Other USB Hub
Internal cards are also another form of a USB hub. If you just need a couple more ports close to your computer you may consider installing an additional card to your computer.
For those on the go there are the mini USB hub. smaller versions that will carry along nicely in your laptop case. Because of space laptops can be limited to their number of ports so a mini USB hub is a nice addition. Some come with a retractable cable to connect to your host laptop.
For real long range connections there are now wireless USB hubs allowing you to cluster 4 or more USB devices up to 30 ft away without any cables in between to get tangled up.
With this information you should be able to find the Best USB Hub for your needs. If you like you can review some our post reviews here to get some ideas for the Best USB Hub, as well as purchase one from some of our pages.