usb hub

[jane]

hiya, bit of advice please!
i only have 1 working usb port on my pc, and my ntl modem is plugged into that. so i thought i would get one of those usb hubs so i could use a digital camera on it. what worries me is , will my internet (broadband) connection be slowed down as its going through this hub thing or will it make no difference. also is their any chance that if i plug it all in that it will blow my only working usb port, like a fuse?
ad what the heck is a usb2 port, as i dont think i have one of those anyway!! whats it look like lol
thanks from jane

windows 2000
not a really new pc but it chuggs along!

[SMHarman]

A USB2 port looks like a USB port, just faster. For a camera and BB it is not likely to be important though.

Will your BB be slower - it shouldn't be, but have you thought about spending less than 10 quid on a ethernet card, cracking open the case, slotting that in and moving you BB to ethernet. It should speed your computer up a bit as the processor no longer has to deal with internet packets, the ethernet card does. Oh and it will free up your USB socket for your camera.

SO save your money for the USB hub and spend it on an ethernet card.

[ikthius]

I have a usb hub, that has my mouse & scanner going through it (it also has another 2 spare usb ports on the hub free) but my modem is using its own usb port.

I don't think it would blow your usb connection, after all it is only carrying data. the only thing that might happen is you may get a bottle neck if you use all at once.

ik

[Chris]

Spend your money on both, I'd say ... yes, ethernet is definitely the better way to connect your PC to broadband but ... one working USB port? How on earth do you cope? By the time I've rigged up my printer, scanner, camera, keyboard, Palm PDA, flash memory drive and speakers, I have precisely minus five USB ports left for other stuff (my machine has two!). Solution...a Belkin Bus Station, with seven USB ports, and no it doesn't noticeably impact system performance at all.

The only thing I will say is that some peripherals rely more heavily than others on the electrical current that is supplied by the USB port on your PC. If you buy a hub, ensure that at least some of the USB ports on it are powered. An unpowered USB hub is useless for many things. From memory, my printer and my flash memory drive both declined to work until I had connected them to one of the four powered ports.

You can get the Belkin Bus Station in a variety of configurations with all sorts of ports available, but the one I got has seven USB ports - four powered ports in the bottom of the stack, and three unpowered ports above it.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...oduct_Id=20863

[ian@huth]

If you are opening up your computer to fit an ethernet card you could also fit a usb2 pci card at the same time. Ebuyer has one with 4 external ports for £7.04 http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=32620

[MetaWraith]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Spend your money on both, I'd say ... yes, ethernet is definitely the better way to connect your PC to broadband but ... one working USB port? How on earth do you cope? By the time I've rigged up my printer, scanner, camera, keyboard, Palm PDA, flash memory drive and speakers, I have precisely minus five USB ports left for other stuff (my machine has two!). Solution...a Belkin Bus Station, with seven USB ports, and no it doesn't noticeably impact system performance at all.

The only thing I will say is that some peripherals rely more heavily than others on the electrical current that is supplied by the USB port on your PC. If you buy a hub, ensure that at least some of the USB ports on it are powered. An unpowered USB hub is useless for many things. From memory, my printer and my flash memory drive both declined to work until I had connected them to one of the four powered ports.

You can get the Belkin Bus Station in a variety of configurations with all sorts of ports available, but the one I got has seven USB ports - four powered ports in the bottom of the stack, and three unpowered ports above it.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...oduct_Id=20863

Sound advice, especially with regard to the powered and unpowered ports.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by ianathuth

If you are opening up your computer to fit an ethernet card you could also fit a usb2 pci card at the same time. Ebuyer has one with 4 external ports for £7.04 http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=32620

2 birds with 1 stone , if the mobo has the room

[andygrif]

Maplins is also a good place to pick them up...I bought a few when the little micro four port ones were on special offer...only 4.99 each. You'll probably get them at Maplins in the Jan sales if you can wait a week!