Best USB Hub for PC and Laptop
USB hub are less ignored accessory of your desktop and laptop. Now we have a separate category of portable devices called as Tablet who also support usb connectivity. USB is the universal connector which by default comes in maximum devices. You can use it for data transfer, for charging, for printing, scanning or for web surfing. They are the most common connection available till date. Now if you have a less space, or your cpu case is kept somewhere where you cannot hook multiple usb devices then you have to buy a good USB Hub. It happens with me a number of time. I own a Ultra Portable which has only 2USB connection. One is occupied by my mouse, and other one by USB. Even if I have to hook a tablet or printer have to remove one. Some full fledge laptops offers you 4 to 6 ports on your machine. But is that enough. Another thing, a number of cpu case gives you two usb port on the front side. And there are minimum 4 on the backside. For ease connection the front ports are normally utilized by a mouse or keyboard. Later on you have to turn your cpu case to reach another ports. This is a bit annoying. I have to turn by cpu case to add additional phones and a printer. I cannot afford to go for a costly cabinet which higher number of front usb port at the front top side. This issue is resolve by a USB Hub.
A hub comes with usually 2,4,6,8, etc usb connectors. It operates on a single port which is connected to the backside. The most easier one to find is a 4 port usb connector. But you must remember one thing that this devices face issue related to power. A usb port on motherboard has a limitation of using power which is imposed by bios or motherboard settings. When you add multiple devices on a single hub, some of it will be detected and some will not. I added around four 8GB pen drive at a time, in which only 2 were detected. This can damage your device also. To remove this issue, there are some self powered usb hub. That take care of the power requirement. I am here going to list of the best usb hubs that you can go for. Anyhow you are going to spend money on buying this so it is better if we can check some better brands in the market. USB hub are not really exposed and no one things of really having them until they find the need. They make your job easier. We have different devices like camera, printer, tablet, usb Internet dongle, etc which needs a usb connector. You cannot keep them hooking on the backside of your cabinet and then finding issue to disconnect them also. There are two ways to deal with the situation. The first is either adding a good USB hub or second is adding multiple cables which offers you usb to usb connection.
The cable just give you an extension kind of support. For more connection you have to buy more cables. This are quiet wrong choices. I am still wondering why CPU Case manufacturers are not giving some connectivity on the top side. This are only found on high end cabinet. I am talking about one of the images listed below. If you can have a 4 quick usb connector on the top side then your job becomes much more easier. The image of cabinet below offers you easy 4 port front connection. This type of connection are not yet available on affordable cases. Mostly they are fixed in the middle or to the extreme lower end. And if you go for buying such type of cpu case then you have to pay easily around $80 to $100 (Rs. 4000 to Rs. 5000) . So that is simply a costly upgrade. Lets check out some of the best usb hub that we can go for. A portable accessory which will help you connect your external drive along with your smartphone and pen drive. Also one thing I want to add here is that there is a difference between Self Powered USB Hub and regular one. The self powered comes with additional power adapter but performance point of view they are the best one. The self power usb hubs also offer you charging options. As they come with power adapter, you do not require to keep your pc on. Even when your computer is turned off you can hook your phone on the same and charge it.
1. Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub :
The first choice is Belkin Hi-Speed Usb Port. This hub is termed as high speed connector which offer you quick connectivity with ease setup. The hub is designed to increase your existing transfer rate and it manages all devices at one place. It does not matter what you use on it. It can be a printer, scanner or a usb drive. You can use everything at a single time. The hub works on self powered features which does not put a pressure on your system hardware. The usb hub is designed to support minimum 127 devices connected on the every port. You can use it continuously for hours and it will give you a efficient output. The price of this product is just $29.99. The simple plug&play support offer you a convenient way of configure different devices on the same hub. You can add older usb models on the same also. With the front led support you can get indication of current power usage. The design is quiet unique. The 4 ports embedded on this device offer support for ultra-fast device to connect and work together. You will not face any slow performance issue over this single device. The device is design smartly to distribute power as per the usage. So if you are transferring a data from camera to pc, the other device connected will lie silent with minimum power usage. This is one of the important factor of this device. The USB sub has two cables connectivity. The first one hooks to your pc and the second is power adapter. As it operates on its own power, the usb hub does not need to really on the cpu power limitations. That is the reason you can perform a much higher number of task on the single device.
2. Targus Desktop USB 2.0 7-Port Hub with Audio :
Targus Desktop USB Hub is another high speed device that comes with 7 port usb connectivity. Along with you can also fit your speaker or headphone to the same. With 7 highspeed usb port the device offers you easy connectivity. It has a vertical format design that gives you better connectivity options. This device has 7 usb port connectivity with a single microusb connector on the backside. Also this port has two set of audio pins to configure a headphone or speaker on the front and backside both. With a simple 5V adapter the device is capable of giving you smooth performance and quiet better output. The data transfer ratio on the same is termed around 480mbps which is quiet not bad at all. The specification of device termed the transfer speed around 60mb/sec. That is quiet more than enough. The hub is a clear option to work with multiple options and you are not depending on your cpu case usbs. It has a independent power system that perform well enough with different devices that comes with universal plug and play support. You can add a mp3 player, a printer, a scanner, etc. Amazon sells this device for $11.95 which is not a bad deal. Somehow the device lands easily on your desktop and offer you better connectivity. As the usb hubs are embedded along the sides you can manage your connectivity more easily. The front section provides you 2 with 2 on the top side and 3 and backside. Even if your computer is shutdown you can use it as charging device.
Targus Desktop hub is a very lightweight application that has a compact design and simple look. There is no installation cd, it is a plug and play device that hooks easily with your single pc port. It is quiet recommended software for those who needs to use multiple devices at a single time. It has good amount of power management level for different devices. For example a external usb device needs good power at the time of data copy while idle devices does not need much. You will not gain a good amount of performance if you try to hook the device on a laptop without connecting the charger to it.
Re: Best USB Hub for PC and Laptop
3. Kensington PocketHub 7-Port USB HUB :
Kensington offers a regular ush hub with 7 port connection. This port does not comes with any power adapter. It operates and depends on your smps. You can hook around 7 devices at a time. This is another powerful plug and play devices and very small to carry. You can expand your usb connectivity needs through it. This not a self powered usb hub, so it is recommended to use limited devices at a time. There might be hardware undetected due to lack of power supply. It work properly with usb and mp3 players. The best part of using this device is it portable to carry and is being better than other non powered usb hubs. It can help you to expand your connectivity through a single cable. As it features a plug and play quality you do not require to add any driver or software to the same. Some I recommend the device to charge more than one devices at a time. The cost of device is $39.99. Compared to certain self powered usb devices this is a bit costly device. It features USB 2.0 connectivity while with certain self powered device that might not perform well but a good enough to hook up devices easily. There is no audio port or any additional stuff added on the same. The best point of using this app is that it provides you to use a number of devices without conflicting among each other. With active led lights on the device it is possible to find which ports are active and which are not.
4. Sabrent Premium 4-Port Self-Powered USB 2.0 Hub :
This is a unique usb hub which is a comparison of portable and self powered usb hub. The hub only provides you around 4 port connectivity. So there are less connectivity options available on the same. It is designed with a motive of easy movable. There is a port at the top and other are laid well on the sides. While there is a micro usb and power adapter connector on the backside. It is a small devices which offer you multiple devices connectivity with better power management. The size is just a smaller than your palm size. Somehow it is a best option for those who usually travel to different places and need a hub connectivity for different devices. You can connect your external hard drive on the same and get better transfer rate. It features USB 2.0 traditional speed. The data transfer rate can be expected to 480mbps maximum based on the device you have. You can hook more similar hubs on the device and extend your usb connectivity. With single power led support then hub has minimum indication for active devices. The data transfer speed is quiet nice. The highest speed for other device is around 12mbps which is fair enough. Through daisy chain method you can hook up around 127 devices to the multiple hubs. Self powered does not means you will need to use the ac adapter on it. You can connect the hub through microUSB connector and use 4 devices at a time. But for devices like external hard drive, to copy paste large amount of data you have to provide a additional power source. This hubs also features connectivity for older devices. You can use USB 1.1 devices on the same also. The price of this devices is around $11 approx. Compared to other is cheaper and better device.
Conclusion:
Whenever you are looking for a better usb hub the first thing you have to find is the power requirement. There are number of cheaper devices in market but a number of them are useless. For example you bought a hub with 4 port connectivity. There is no self powered adapter feature in this. Then you will face a issue with multiple connectivity. You can copy paste data from single or maximum usb at a single time while other ports will stay inactive as there is no other power source to run those devices. If you have a higher number of devices like a scanner, printer, smart-phone, tablet, external hard drive, etc then you must go for only self powered devices. By adding them on the power connector you can enjoy a better data transfer rate and connectivity options.
