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usb hubs: Powered vs Unpowered

Can you just choose any hub?

While grabbing any USB hub may seem like an easy fix, there is are many factors to consider. While most USB hubs add additional USB ports to increase the number of devices that can be connected to a computer, their method of attaining power is different. If you’ve been shopping around, you’ve seen USB hubs in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. Read through our guide to assist you in choosing the right hub for your needs.

bus POWERED

With a bus powered hub, each device has to share the power supply and bandwidth from the computer’s USB port. This means the power and bandwidth are the same no matter how many devices are connected.
Low-powered devices like mice and keyboards will work, but you will find that high-powered devices like webcams and external hard drives may fail to work or generate error messages if the USB hub does not have the correct amount of power to operate.

self POWERED

When you have a self powered USB hub, the allocation of electric power means that any device connected to it will be relatively unaffected. If you’re looking to connect multiple high power consuming devices, you should consider a powered USB hub. We believe the best hub is one that allows multiple device connections and can maintain high data transfer speed and connectivity with ease. Also note that any device that is connected to your hub, but is not being used, will not draw power.

Power Source:

Computer USB Port

Supported Devices:

Keyboards, mice, flash drives, low power devices

Power Source:

AC Input

Supported Devices:

Printers, external hard drives, high power devices

Hubs
Hubs

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USB 2.0 Hubs

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USB 3.0 Hubs

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USB-C Hubs
USB-C Hubs

17 Products

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A leading manufacturer of innovative USB hubs, chargers, serial devices, add-on cards, adapters and cables.

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Coolgear Inc
5120 110th Avenue North
Clearwater, Florida 33760 U.S.A.

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Toll Free: 1 888 688 2188
Local: 1 727 209 1300
Fax: 1 727 209 1302

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  • Adapters
    • USB Isolators
    • USB Adapters
    • USB C Adapters
    • USB Ethernet Adapters
    • SATA Adapters
    • Accessories & Power
    • Accessories
    • Add-on Card
      • Express Card
      • PCI
      • PCIe
      • PCMCIA
      • Serial Add on Cards
      • USB Add on Cards
    • Enclosure
      • 2.5″ Enclosures
      • Docking Stations
      • Expansion Boxes
      • RAID
  • Cables
    • USB Type-C Cables
    • USB 2.0 Cables
    • USB 3.0 Cables
    • USB Screw Lock Cables
    • USB Extension Cables
    • Serial Cables
  • USB Chargers
    • USB Charge Only
    • USB Charging Hub
    • USB C PD Chargers
    • Rack Mount USB Chargers
  • USB Hubs
    • USB 2.0 Hubs
    • USB 3.0 Hubs
    • Variable Voltage USB Hubs
    • PD Power Delivery Hubs
    • Managed USB Hubs
    • USB Over Ethernet
    • USB Chargers
    • Accessories & Power
  • Serial
    • USB to Serial RS232
    • USB to RS422 Serial
    • USB to RS485 Serial
    • RS232 TTL
    • Serial over Ethernet
    • CAN Bus Adapters
    • PCI to Serial Adapter
    • PCMCIA to Serial Adapter
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