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A good powered USB Hub?


Billy86

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Maxing out my USB Ports so considering a powered USB hub which I understand from reading on their use in audio production is the way to go. Looking at an Anker 10 port 60 watt (7 USB 3). Curious to know what community members are using. Thanks. 

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I have a lot of USB hubs.  As a rule though, they all have faults.  The three main one's I'm using now include:

Anker [Upgraded Version] USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 10-Port Hub Including a BC 1.2 Charging Port with 60W (12V / 5A) Power Adapter [VIA VL812-B2 Chipset and Updated Firmware 9081] AH231
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGQWL2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Powered USB Hub - ACASIS 10 Ports 48W USB 3.0 Data Hub - with Individual On/Off Switches and 12V/4A Power Adapter USB Hub 3.0 Splitter for Laptop, PC, Computer, Mobile HDD, Flash Drive and More
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q3TYF15/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 12V/3A Power Adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E6GX4BG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The Anker one is the least stable of the three.  It flakes out more often and requires the power be removed and it rebooted more than the other two.  It also splits the hub into multiple hubs in strange ways.  Which makes configuring it difficult.  I setup Windows so that it never drops or modifies power on USB ports (because I don't need those laptop low power headaches on a 1500 watt desktop workstation).  Getting the Anker setup right was harder than it should have been.  Perhaps I need to update its firmware?  Perhaps I bought it too soon (the Amazon title and description seems different from when I bought it back in 2016).  I'm not sure.  But I sure wouldn't buy it again.

The Amazon can flake out and needs to be power cycled.  Not often but it happens.  I got it mainly because of the layout of the ports since it was going to live on the floor).

The ACASIS hub isn't that bad, I like the separate power switches.  But when my mouse is connected to it and then the computer, the BIOS can't see the mouse.  The Anker hub does present the mouse to the BIOS correctly.  In Windows this doesn't' matter, but it's annoying.  When I have to change BIOS settings I have no mouse (unless I move it).

Power is usually a big issue with USB hubs with lots of ports.  Don't think you can draw full power from all 7 or 10 ports, you can't.  If you want to charge something (and not do data) you need to get a different kind of hub.  There are also lots of kinds of USB 3 now.  The speed difference can be a big deal.  Make sure the hub you pick matches the port you are going to plug it into.

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56 minutes ago, Matthew Sorrels said:

I have a lot of USB hubs.  As a rule though, they all have faults.  The three main one's I'm using now include:

Anker [Upgraded Version] USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 10-Port Hub Including a BC 1.2 Charging Port with 60W (12V / 5A) Power Adapter [VIA VL812-B2 Chipset and Updated Firmware 9081] AH231
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGQWL2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Powered USB Hub - ACASIS 10 Ports 48W USB 3.0 Data Hub - with Individual On/Off Switches and 12V/4A Power Adapter USB Hub 3.0 Splitter for Laptop, PC, Computer, Mobile HDD, Flash Drive and More
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q3TYF15/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 12V/3A Power Adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E6GX4BG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The Anker one is the least stable of the three.  It flakes out more often and requires the power be removed and it rebooted more than the other two.  It also splits the hub into multiple hubs in strange ways.  Which makes configuring it difficult.  I setup Windows so that it never drops or modifies power on USB ports (because I don't need those laptop low power headaches on a 1500 watt desktop workstation).  Getting the Anker setup right was harder than it should have been.  Perhaps I need to update its firmware?  Perhaps I bought it too soon (the Amazon title and description seems different from when I bought it back in 2016).  I'm not sure.  But I sure wouldn't buy it again.

The Amazon can flake out and needs to be power cycled.  Not often but it happens.  I got it mainly because of the layout of the ports since it was going to live on the floor).

The ACASIS hub isn't that bad, I like the separate power switches.  But when my mouse is connected to it and then the computer, the BIOS can't see the mouse.  The Anker hub does present the mouse to the BIOS correctly.  In Windows this doesn't' matter, but it's annoying.  When I have to change BIOS settings I have no mouse (unless I move it).

Power is usually a big issue with USB hubs with lots of ports.  Don't think you can draw full power from all 7 or 10 ports, you can't.  If you want to charge something (and not do data) you need to get a different kind of hub.  There are also lots of kinds of USB 3 now.  The speed difference can be a big deal.  Make sure the hub you pick matches the port you are going to plug it into.

Thank you for the rundown. Very helpful. Interestingly, the Amazon one is not currently available. Your experience with the Anker model makes me rethink the one that I’m looking at. I wasn’t thinking about this, but the ACASIS has built-in surge protection which seems like a great idea, although I will be plugging it into an uninterruptible power supply. I don’t plan on doing any charging, just running USB devices off of it.

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11 hours ago, Charles Czerny said:

I use a Plugable 10-port USB 2.0 powered hub for the music PC. Also use a Plugable for my desktop PC setup. They've given me good service.

 

Thanks for the note. I want to stick with USB 3.0 for the faster transfer speeds.

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Normally I like Anker.  And it does look like they have updated the 10 port model from when I bought it.  USB is a world of differences, all crazy confusing.  Even cables can be flaky with USB 3.1 Gen 2 vs Gen 1.  I have generations of cables & hubs and have still not found any I thought was great.  That said none of those three I'm using are so defective that I've replaced them yet.  Right now though if I was buying another hub I'd be looking for something with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support (or is it now called USB 3.2 Gen 2)  Or maybe a USB 3.2 hub.  So many different USB 3's these days and they really aren't the same at all.  But matching the computer port you are going to use is the key thing.  A faster USB 3 hub hooked to an old USB 2 port won't do any better than USB 2.

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On 12/19/2020 at 9:53 AM, Matthew Sorrels said:

Normally I like Anker.  And it does look like they have updated the 10 port model from when I bought it.  USB is a world of differences, all crazy confusing.  Even cables can be flaky with USB 3.1 Gen 2 vs Gen 1.  I have generations of cables & hubs and have still not found any I thought was great.  That said none of those three I'm using are so defective that I've replaced them yet.  Right now though if I was buying another hub I'd be looking for something with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support (or is it now called USB 3.2 Gen 2)  Or maybe a USB 3.2 hub.  So many different USB 3's these days and they really aren't the same at all.  But matching the computer port you are going to use is the key thing.  A faster USB 3 hub hooked to an old USB 2 port won't do any better than USB 2.

Other than this https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Powered-Aluminum-SuperSpeed-Splitter/dp/B07XHL5399/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=usb+3.2+hub&qid=1608495379&refinements=p_72%3A2661618011&sr=8-4

A powered, 4-port USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 GBPs) I don’t see any other in that class with more ports. Lots of 3.0 (5Gbps) with 7 and 10 ports. 

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