USB hubs are neat little devices that many people use for various purposes. For example, they can be used when you don’t have enough USB ports in a device such as a computer.
Instead of settling with a limited amount of USB ports, you can instead buy a USB hub that can connect a bunch of devices in a hub, which is then connected to one USB port in your computer.
However, users also wonder if USB hubs can affect performance negatively if you connect devices to them. In this article, I’ll go over if this is true, and if so, what scenarios you should be aware of.
Yes, a USB hub can reduce your PC performance depending on how many devices you have connected to it, and if it’s powered or not. If you plug devices that require a lot of voltage in a passive USB hub, they might not even work properly depending on the device. Also, if you have too many devices connected to a USB hub, this can affect the performance of the connected unit negatively.
Let’s go through the details of this matter. In this article, I’ll guide you through when USB hubs are a good idea, the potential performance issues related to them, and a lot more.
Do USB Hubs Reduce PC Performance?
As I mentioned previously, what’s most important regarding USB hubs is that you plug in the right devices to the right type of USB hub. For example, if you want to connect a printer or something through a USB hub, you have to use a powered USB hub.
This is because the printer requires a lot of voltage, and it will have massive performance issues or not work at all if you plug it in with a passive USB hub.
Every electrical device needs power. If you connect a device that requires a considerable amount of voltage to a USB hub that doesn’t provide any additional power, the device gets powered only by the passive USB hub that draws from your computer.
This will in turn cause performance issues in your device, and possibly in your computer. In contrast, you won’t need a powered USB hub if you want to connect peripherals such as keyboards, mice, or flash drives to your USB hub.
If you connect the right device to the right USB hub, however, tests that users have done show that the performance loss is negligible and you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between plugging a device directly into your PC’s USB port.
In the end, it all comes down to matching the right USB hub with the right devices.
Do USB Hubs Add Latency?
When you use a USB hub, your device is connected by extension, and this has led users to wonder whether or not USB hubs can add latency (or “lag”) to your connected devices.
Latency is, of course, the time it takes between an input and the execution of the input. So, do USB hubs add any latency to connected devices?
The answer is: they can. If you have a bunch of devices connected to a USB hub, there might be some latency. This also depends on the speed and quality of the port.
While there might be some latency, it is so slight that you probably won’t be able to tell any difference, especially if you’re using later USB versions. Quite frankly, you probably won’t notice the difference even if you’re using USB 1.0.
Personally, I have a wireless mouse connected to a USB hub, and I can’t notice any input lag whatsoever. It might be there, but the delay is negligible.
When Should You Use a USB Hub?
Let’s go over when you would use a USB hub, and what type of USB hub you would use for what situations. In general, USB hubs are used when you don’t have enough USB ports in your computer to connect all the devices you want to connect directly to your computer.
As I discussed previously, there are two types of USB hubs: the passive USB hub, and the powered USB hub. The powered USB hub uses a main socket to provide extra voltage while the passive USB hub doesn’t use any additional power.
Powered USB Hub
You would need a powered USB hub when connecting devices that need extra voltage to run properly. Fairly simple, right? So, for example, hard drives, cameras, fans, and so forth.
Of course, powered USB hubs can make use of every USB-connected device, so why wouldn’t you always want to use one? Well, for one, they’re more expensive. You can easily find regular passive USB hubs for about $10, but powered USB hubs can cost up to $50 or more.
Also, if you’re low on power sockets, you might want to use a passive USB hub, as the powered ones have to be connected to a socket to receive power.
Passive USB Hub
The passive USB hub’s greatest drawback is the lack of power, clearly. There are a limited number of devices you can connect to it successfully. These include peripherals such as a mouse and keyboard, flash drives, some printers, and so forth.
It’s also worth mentioning that the passive USB hub can have a rough time powering a lot of devices at once, depending on the devices.
The benefits of using a passive USB hub include pricing, first of all. You can get a good passive USB hub for $10 or so. Passive USB hubs are also oftentimes portable, which is really nice if you like to travel light. They also don’t require a power socket.
Are There Better Alternatives To USB Hubs?
A problem many users have had with USB hubs over the years is that they stop working fairly quickly. Of course, this doesn’t go for all or even most USB hubs, but some do. This begs the question: are there better alternatives to USB hubs?
First of all, it all depends on what you plan on doing with the alternative solution. For example, do you want to transfer data, connect peripherals, or do other things? There aren’t any alternatives if you don’t have enough USB ports on your computer, that’s why the USB hub is there.
If you do have some extra ports on your computer, however, you can consider using wireless devices (either RF devices or Bluetooth), and in that way, you don’t have to deal with extra cables and devices lying around.
Does USB Cable Length Impact Performance?
Yes. At least if they get long enough. For example, having a 7-8 feet (~2 meters) USB cable is fine, but when you get up to 10 feet, you’ll start having interference issues which will then impact the performance of the connected device negatively.
It also depends on what type of USB cable you have. For example, earlier versions of USB can be longer (up to 16 feet!) without having performance issues.
You could solve this, however, by using two shorter cables with a power unit between them. A powered USB hub would be one way to do this.
In short: without using any extra power supply or more than one cable, too long of a cable will impact the performance of a connected device. A USB 3.0 cable shouldn’t be longer than 10 feet and has a max acceptable length of 16 feet.