Belkin SuperSpeed USB 3.0 4-Port Hub

[markg2]

The new machine naturally has the 3x USB ports at the rear so I need to attach an extension to the front with the machine sitting under a desk enclosure.

I've read that people have had problems (not necessarily with the referenced model) with 3x vs. 2x hubs for some reason.

I'd like to know if anyone has either had experience with the referenced hub or has another 3x hub they've found to be effective and (possibly) less expensive (best price for the Belkin is ~$50).

Mark

 

[bobafetthotmail]

Check if your mobo has USB 3 headers (look at the manual, otherwise post here the mobo name and I can go fetch it), if it has them you can buy cables like these and enjoy full USB3 speed on all such ports.

 

[markg2]

Intriguing prospect but first 2 things--

Of course there's no manual. Can the identity of the motherboard be found in the BIOS?

If same is compatible, does connecting the cable pin end require opening and connecting to the motherboard or is there actually a matching pin connection readily available at the rear?

 

[LittleJay]

Speccy - Portable

Download the portable version of Speccy and run it. It will give you information about your computer hardware.

 

[markg2]

I ran the regular Speecy and pasted the motherboard info to the attached file.

 

[bobafetthotmail]

Mh, from that the only readable thing is that you have a ThinkCentre M82, if that's true, it's not meant to be upgraded like that.

So we are back to your idea about hubs and the 4 back ports. A hub splits the bandwith of a single port (the port it is connected to) with all the devices you attach to it, so if you connect say 2 hard drives and use both at the same time, (say a large file transfer on both at the same time) the speed is cut in half, or worse.
Also, the power a hub can provide to all the devices attached to it is limited to the one it takes from a single USB 3.0 port, unless it has its own power supply.

Since you are not going to be able to reach the backside ports easily anyway, I'd suggest to buy extension cables and pipe all (or a couple of) your backside ports in easy-to-reach places. Some extension cables are designed with this use in mind, like this or this, but cost twice as much as a simple USB 3.0 extension cable.
Just make sure the stuff you buy has one Male and one Female connector, or you won't be able to connect any device to it (Female is the connector like the one in the back ports of the PC you have).


For the sake of others that may read this in the future, the pin end must me connected to the motherboard directly, on motherboard USB 3 headers you can still use the rear ports for something else. The headers on the mobo look like this or similar.
If you buy the components and assemble the PC on your own, you are 99% likely to have at least one 2-port header.

 

[markg2]

Since I have 4 USB 3X rear ports I don't need a 4 port hub to increase # availability--I just didn't realize I could buy an extension cable from rear to front for location availability like the Neweg product. I'll just buy 2 or 3 of the cables and I'm good to go.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[bobafetthotmail]

yeah, was suspecting it. I hardly need more than 4 ports myself as well.