What is a USB Hub and how to choose it?

A USB Hub, also known as a “USBC Hub”, is an adapter with which to extend the number of USB ports available on our computer, something fundamental these days where all the devices we buy have a connection through it.

The main purpose of the USB C port hub is to increase the number of ports available on our PC, which can be extremely useful in laptops, where we generally only have two or three of these USB ports. In this article, we will know a little more in-depth about USB Hubs, their usefulness, and the types that we can find in the market.

At some point as computer users, we have surely had to resort to disconnecting any of our USB-connected peripherals to connect and use another, something tiring and quite problematic, even more so if our PC is of the desktop type and is located against a wall.

In this sense, an adapter or USB 3.0 hub with long cable is the answer to all our problems, since all we have to do is connect the cable included with the adapter to an available USB port on the front or the back of the cabinet of the PC and leave the rest of the device on the desk. Or in the place that best suits our needs, and then plugs in what we want to connect to the computer comfortably and without problems, forgetting about the problem of seeing that we disconnect and leave without working to be able to use another device.

What is a USB Hub?

Using a USB hub with long cable is extremely easy, since all we have to do is find a free port on the computer and connect the hub there, and after that, we will be able to connect all kinds of devices. And the best of all everything is that we will not have to worry about drivers or controllers, since the operating system that we use, be it Windows, Linux or macOS will automatically take care of installing and configuring the software that is needed without any kind of intervention from us.

How to choose a USB hub?

If we are one of the users who will only use a Docking station for iPad Pro to connect only a couple of devices at a time, we can make use of a basic hub that has at least four ports, enough for most applications. And with which, we can connect cameras, pen drives, and other peripherals without problems.

Now, if our requirements include the possibility of connecting for example cameras, external storage disks, and CD / DVD drives simultaneously, all of their devices with a high-power consumption, the best thing is then to acquire a USB Hub with external power through a transformer.

In this way, the concentrator will have enough power to feed everything that we connect to it without risking that some of them will not work because it does not have enough current to fulfill its mission.

How to buy a USB 3.0 hub with long cable?

Appearance:

Appearance is sometimes essential if you want to keep a certain harmony in the use of electronic equipment, if we want the HUB to be consistent with the rest of the devices, we can search a wide variety of designs and shapes that are currently in the market and that can be adapted to any taste. In this case, we must also take into account where it will be placed, and based on this criterion you can choose an elongated, round, or square one.

Connectivity:

With the rise of peripherals, the evolution of USB ports is increasingly necessary. To determine which is the best USB that adapts to the specific needs that are required, we must attend to the version of our device that is compatible with the type of USB that we must acquire. For example, the most recent version (3.0) will be much faster than the previous one (2.0), to make the most of the performance of each one. Although previous versions are compatible with our device, it is recommended that if we have a current version, we do not use previous USB versions that will slow down the process without being able to remove it. the biggest match to connectivity.

A number of ports:

In this case, we must first know the number of devices that are needed or want to connect, generally, the most common USB C port hub has 4 USB ports but we can find them with 6, 10, 12, or even 20 USB ports. In any case, we recommend that choose a HUB with a couple more ports than you need at first since it is always good to have a certain margin available, because at some point they may be necessary.


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