usb hub...

[ali68]

I'm running out of USB ports, should I go for a powered hub or a standalone one i.e just plug it into the usb port and away I go.

What are the disadvantages/advantages.

Is it worthwhile upgrading to USB2 when I'm at it. (Printer is USB2 friendly,Epson R300)

Thank you

 

[breezer]

powered usb better, non powered draws its power (well that of devices connected to it) from the pc

 

[chinesewhispers]

If you intend to upgrade to USB2, you will need to add a USB2 card to your PC (a PCI version). This is assuming you don't already have USB2 ports.

Plugging a USB2 hub into a USB 1.1 motherboard socket will cause it to run at the slower speed. You need to add the USB2 interface directly to the motherboard.

I do agree that a powered hub is the best idea.

 

[AdamW]

Powered every time. Before you know it you will have 10 USB devices, it's easy to do. Not really a good idea for unpowered hubs.

To be honest, you are unlikely to notice any improvement in printer performance from sticking it on a USB 2 port. If it was a scanner, I would say "go for it", but as a printer, you are pretty safe keeping it on 1.1 for now.

 

[ali68]

Thanks Guys , Is there one that shines above the rest or do they all do a similar job.

 

[pipme]

http://www.usbman.com/

 

[felix]

A USB port can, in theory, supply 500mA. I say "in theory" because my old cronk (HP Vectra VE5) has two USB sockets with a common 1A supply. The point is that if you expand your system using unpowered hubs everything has to share that limited supply. A powered hub removes this restriction, but beware.

There are a lot of cheap, nasty hubs out there. I once tried one of these. It's power light flicked on and off at random then it went off and stayed off - and all the USB devices disappeared from Device Manager. I removed the hub and plugged a device straight into the PC. Nothing there. That hub had pulled some whopping current out of my PC's socket and blown a track off the motherboard. I patched this with some extreme micro-surgery and took the offending hub straight back to the shop. Moral - get a good one.