Choosing a USB hub for working from home: 2.0 or 3.0, how many ports, and with switches
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
3 min reading time
Choosing a USB hub for working from home: 2.0 or 3.0, how many ports and with switches
Your desk needs three USB devices, but your laptop only has two ports. Or they're inconveniently located. You're constantly plugging and unplugging USB connectors until you're fed up. A USB hub solves that. But which one? USB 2.0 or 3.0, four ports or ten, with switches or without? This will help you choose.
USB 2.0 or USB 3.0: the speed difference
USB 2.0 transfers data at 480 Megabits per second. Sufficient for a mouse, keyboard, printer. USB 3.0 goes up to 5 Gigabits per second—ten times faster. Relevant if you transfer many large files to external drives.
Usage
Preference
Why
Mouse, keyboard, printer
USB 2.0
No speed needed, cheaper
Connecting an external drive
USB 3.0
Backups go faster
Webcam, microphone
USB 2.0 is sufficient
Real-time also works well slowly
Office mix (everything at once)
USB 3.0
Future-proof, not much more expensive
Our advice: for home use, it's better to choose a USB 3.0 hub. Your USB 2.0 devices will work on it, and you'll be ready for tomorrow.
How many ports: four, seven, or ten?
Four ports: mouse, keyboard, printer, one extra. An easy number. A 4-port USB 2.0 hub costs around € 9.95 and is compact. For an office: usually enough.
Seven ports: more room to grow. Not all needed simultaneously, but yes, a little extra space helps. A 7-port USB 2.0 hub with an on/off switch is around € 12.95.
Ten ports and more: for those who already have many devices or regularly have guests at their desk. A 10-port hub with LED also provides nice light. Around € 29.99.
Our advice: don't start bigger than you need. Four ports are enough for most. If you need more after a year, you can always buy a new one.
With switches: do you really use them?
Many hubs have switches per port. You can turn off your mouse without having to unplug it. Handy, yes. Realistic? Many people don't touch them. They forget about them.
Advantage: you save power. Disadvantage: extra weight and therefore more expensive. A 4-port hub with switches costs € 9.95. One without: also € 9.95. So in terms of price, it doesn't matter.
Our summary: switches are nice to have. Buy them if you're in doubt, the price is the same. But many don't actually use them much.
Cable or no cable
Most hubs have a cable (30 to 100 cm). This allows you to place it wherever is convenient, not just where your PC is. Good. Such a cable can also break – if you move your hub regularly, it can get damaged. Compact hubs without a cable are rigidly attached to your laptop but are stronger.
Power supply and wattage
Many hubs get power from your computer (USB power). If your hub is modern and everything is connected, your computer may sometimes struggle. Hubs with their own adapter (which you plug into the wall socket) are stronger. For office use, usually not necessary, but nice if you have many peripherals.
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