USB Hub vs. Express Card

[Rudi]

Hi,

I'm looking to add to my laptops USB ports. I have been reading up on articles and before I go out and buy anything I thought I'd get some input from any loungers who might already have this hardware or have knowledge about the best route to go. I be happy with at least two extra ports, but the rest is up to your guidance...

First:
USB 3.0 Hub vs. Express Card?
Any pro's and con's I should know about between the two options?

Second:
If USB hub is better, I hear it must be powered by AC to be any worth; yet I see plenty of options for up to 4 USB 3.0 ports on a single USB powered hub (no AC power). Do these USB powered hubs really work well with high speed data transfer. Will the single powered hub provide enough power to the 4 ports without lag or data failure. Any opinions or input would be appreciated.

TIA

[BobH]

Howdy, Rudi!

Having no experience with express cards, I cannot speak about them; however, I bought a couple of Sabrent external USB hubs (a USB 2 and a 3) last year. They are powered by the AC mains. Each has 8 or 10 ports. I use about 3/4ths of them for various gadgets and for keeping cords for iPhones and BlueTooth headphones readily available for recharging or downloading. They have given me no problems. I chose Sabrent after looking a several different products and concluding that these seemed to be better designs.

HTH

[John Gray]

Whether you use a mains-powered or USB-powered hub depends entirely on what you want to connect, bearing in mind that a USB-powered hub will be sharing the maximum 0.5A current from one USB laptop socket among however many devices are attached to the hub.

USB Flash Drives and a USB mouse draw very little current, but a USB-powered external hard drive may take too much power (that's why you sometimes get a double USB plug for these, to draw up to 1A).

Summarised: you shouldn't have an problems with a mains-powered USB hub, but you might be able to get away with a USB-powered USB hub.

[Rudi]

Good advice Bob and John.

I had just finished reading this article which contains the same advice too (quoted below).
This is good to know and means I must start thinking about what exactly I plan to plug into the ports after i have purchased one.

If you’re using a little USB travel hub, like the Sabrent 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub, you’re limited to the maximum amount of power the USB port the hub is attached to can provide. This is more than fine for a simple setup like adding an external keyboard and mouse to your laptop to create a more comfortable workstation, but once you start adding more demanding devices into the mix like USB hard drives and the like the lack of power quickly becomes a problem.

In such a case the problem is completely resolved by using a powered USB hub. Each port on the USB hub will receive full USB-standard power with no dips in power or devices disconnecting for want of a stable connection. Especially for projects like adding peripherals to the Raspberry Pi microcomputer, a powered USB hub is mission critical as the host device just can’t crank out enough juice for a bevy of attached devices.

[DaveA]

Also these USB powered devices will drain your laptop battery real quick.

[Rudi]

TX Dave.
That is something to take note of, though in my case the laptop is plugged into power almost exclusively.