What kind of USB hub do I need for my Meh Surface Pro 2?
0See, my normal USB splitter works fine for just a mouse and keyboard, but I don’t want to chance trying it on my $70 entry level professional mic.
Some quick searching for “USB hub” has shown some nice looking results, but I’m not sure if something that doesn’t use external power would be safe to use for something like the aforementioned mic or an external hard drive. So what do I need to look for in a product?
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Any device that requires more power than your average computer mouse is best plugged into a powered USB hub to avoid overloading the USB port(s) on your computer and potentially causing huge issues. IIRC the Surface Pro 2 has USB 3.0 ports so you’ll want to go ahead and pick yourself up a powered USB 3.0 hub. Now, the only thing you have to figure out from there is how many ports you want, I can’t do that part for you so you’re on your own there.
I really like the brand sabrent, I had an issue with one of their cheaper hubs, and they replaced the faulty hub with a more expensive one that included a power adapter… They said it was due to there being no power for the hub I purchased… I explained it wasn’t the lack of power, it was the hub… they didn’t care either way where the fault was and replaced it for me. Very good customer service… I’d put it up there next to Meh’s Customer service (Which IMHO meh Customer Service:
)
This is another hub I’ve purchased that has been useful, especially the drop in hard drive feature on the top… http://www.amazon.com/External-Docking-Station-Support-Function/dp/B00EHDTQQ0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
@jbartus @sohmageek How do I tell if it’s powered or not? Do I need to just look at the pictures and see if it looks like it plugs into a wall?
@Dizavid read specs, look for a power cord included in the photos. Some will support power but do not include cord, read reviews, see if it’s mentioned, be an educated consumer. Newegg is especially thorough about taking photos so shopping around there is advisable.
@Dizavid With the company I listed (sabrent) they say in the item description/title if it has a power cord. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SIQIV04/ref=twister_B00WKCXC74?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 includes a power cord. as of this posting on this link there are 4 items, 2 include power cords 2 do not.: http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-4-Port-Individual-Switches-HB-UM43/dp/B00JX1ZS5O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464956844&sr=8-1&keywords=sabrent+hub
The ones starting at 16.99 on the above link have power cords. I had one with the usb port on off switches and it didn’t work for me, but they have probably fixed it by now… I may actually buy the 7 port to get usb cords easier to manage… and turn off/on when I need to…
@sohmageek Sabrent stuff is top notch. ^^
@sohmageek @Dizavid another brand worth looking at is Anker, not sure if they have hubs or not though.
You won’t hurt anything plugging a device into a hub with not enough power. The device just won’t work if it doesn’t get enough power. USB 3.0 ports are required to supply at least 900mA (4.5W) which is substantially more than the 500mA in the USB 2.0 spec. If the device tries to draw too much power the port is supposed to limit it and protect itself.
That said, you’re right to recognize that the mic and hard drive require more power than keyboard and mouse. The mic shouldn’t require much power and will probably work ok, but the hard drive has to physically spin so it will take much more power. One of the powered hubs sohmageek mentioned above will set you up perfectly.