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Last Post
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May 16, 2009 4:59 PM
by: Kenichi Watanabe
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Posts:
2,225
From:
The Troposphere in Arizona
Registered:
Apr 10, 2004
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All USB created equal?
Posted:
May 15, 2009 5:29 PM
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Hello,
Are all powered USB hubs pretty much equal? Any suggestions on the best ones?
Thanks
iMac 24", 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB memory, 1TB HD, 23" Dell 2nd monitor
Mac OS X (10.5.6)
750GB HD, 250GB HD, externals, Ipod Touch 2nd G, audio-technica ATH-AD700
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Posts:
13,369
Registered:
Sep 2, 2003
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Re: All USB created equal?
Posted:
May 15, 2009 6:32 PM
in response to: WarriorAnt
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Helpful
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Well, older ones can be USB 1.1 and that's not equal to USB 2.0. They also have a different number of ports. Some are self-powered (has it's own power supply) and others get power from the computer's port; you should get the self-powered type. And, if self-powered, they probably vary in the total power available, to be shared by all the ports.
I have this one with seven ports
D-Link USB Hub
and it has worked well. I often have all seven ports filled, and all the devices work fine, even if some are older USB 1.1 devices and others are newer devices like iPods. Now, I don't have high-power devices like iPods and iPhones and flash drives on every port, but it works fine for my typical mix.
I haven't tried enough other products to make any type of comparison. I have another one that is a combination USB and FireWire hub, made by Trendnet. It has mostly worked fine, except it gave an overload error message a few times. Could be a sign that I plugged in too many high-power devices at once?
Various including Intel iMac, Power Mac G5, Pismo w/G4, Power Mac 8100 w/G3
Mac OS X (10.5.6)
also Mac OS X 10.4.11, Mac OS X 10.3.9, and Mac OS 9.x
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Posts:
2,225
From:
The Troposphere in Arizona
Registered:
Apr 10, 2004
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Re: All USB created equal?
Posted:
May 15, 2009 7:26 PM
in response to: Kenichi Watanabe
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Thanks Kenichi,
Is it best to plug external drives straight into an iMac,s USB ports rather than thru a self-powered hub?
Also how many hubs can be connected to a mac, does it matter?
My typical configuration for just one hub would be as such. M-Audio 49 keystation Keyboard, Wacom Tablet, Belden Nostromo SpeedPad n52, Logitech mic, iPod Touch, Canon Rebel, HP Scanner.
iMac 24", 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB memory, 1TB HD, 23" Dell 2nd monitor
Mac OS X (10.5.6)
750GB HD, 250GB HD, externals, Ipod Touch 2nd G, audio-technica ATH-AD700
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Posts:
13,369
Registered:
Sep 2, 2003
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Re: All USB created equal?
Posted:
May 15, 2009 7:57 PM
in response to: WarriorAnt
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Solved
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My external drives are FireWire, except for the one I use for Time Machine (which is USB 2.0), and that one is plugged into one of the iMac's ports directly. I have not done any tests to see if that is actually better than going through a hub. But it seems logical that it would have less interference from other devices going directly to the iMac.
Also how many hubs can be connected to a mac, does it matter?
There is a maximum number of devices, but I don't recall. It is a limit that no one would actually hit in the real world. You'd probably have to string together more than 10 seven-port hubs to reach it.
My typical configuration for just one hub would be as such. M-Audio 49 keystation Keyboard, Wacom Tablet, Belden Nostromo SpeedPad n52, Logitech mic, iPod Touch, Canon Rebel, HP Scanner.
Some of those seem like high-power devices, except maybe the scanner since it probably as its own power supply. You can always put your mouse and keyboard on the hub, to free up another high-power direct port on the computer. Also, there are some devices that need to connected directly. I have a USB video capture device that requires a direct connection.
Various including Intel iMac, Power Mac G5, Pismo w/G4, Power Mac 8100 w/G3
Mac OS X (10.5.6)
also Mac OS X 10.4.11, Mac OS X 10.3.9, and Mac OS 9.x
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Posts:
5
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Jan 20, 2007
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Re: All USB created equal?
Posted:
May 16, 2009 4:50 PM
in response to: WarriorAnt
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I have an old Asante USB hub (powered) that I had for my old G3 imac that had USB 1.1.
Can I use it on my Intel imac.
Will the hub divide USB 2.0 as it did with 1.1 on the old imac?
intel imac
Mac OS X (10.4.8)
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Posts:
13,369
Registered:
Sep 2, 2003
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Re: All USB created equal?
Posted:
May 16, 2009 4:59 PM
in response to: aj62
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It should work, but you will only get USB 1.1 speed on a USB 1.1 hub.
Various including Intel iMac, Power Mac G5, Pismo w/G4, Power Mac 8100 w/G3
Mac OS X (10.5.6)
also Mac OS X 10.4.11, Mac OS X 10.3.9, and Mac OS 9.x
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