Does a an Extra USB PCI Card Take More Reources than Adding a Hub?

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J

JB

I have one USB2 card installed and need to either add another card or a hub.

Will adding the card take more system resources than adding a hub?

Do the resource requirements go up as more usb ports are populated whether
on a card or hub?

Thank you.

Mike
 
JB said:
I have one USB2 card installed and need to either add another card or a hub.

Will adding the card take more system resources than adding a hub?

Do the resource requirements go up as more usb ports are populated whether
on a card or hub?

Thank you.

Mike
Click to expand...
A powered hub would be the better idea unless you had a real ballsy power
supply in your computer.
 
Venom said:
A powered hub would be the better idea unless you had a real ballsy power
supply in your computer.
Click to expand...



The PS would make no difference. You get a max of 500MA from the usb port.

My question had to do with system resources..IOW IRQs and memory allocation.
 
The PS would make no difference. <

I take that back. It could make a difference but in my case it would not as
I have enough slack in the available current to take care of what I have in
mind.
 
JB said:
I take that back. It could make a difference but in my case it would not
as I have enough slack in the available current to take care of what I
have in mind.
Click to expand...

The external hub w/power supply certainly can make a difference with
higher-draw external devices, and can protect the system itself from
instability caused by too high a draw on one port (I've had this happen when
connecting a 1Amp laptop drive to a port; the hub locked up, but not the
system. When this was done on a laptop port, the laptop crashed badly
enough to require removing the battery and resetting the BIOS).

As resources, the controller chips and ports are going to be found, drivers
loaded and resources allocated regardless of whether they physically are
located externally or internally, so resource use should be very similar if
not identical.

Then, there's the convenience factor of having the external hub placed a
little closer to hand or just a bit closer to where the gear actually goes.

HTH
-pk
 
speaking of current draw through a usb port, does an externally powered usb
hub provide power to the peripherals attached to it (assuming this is how
they get their power) even when the computer is turned off? I ask with
relation to the ipod i have just ordered, which doesn't come with an ac
power cord, but must be charged through a usb port. Unfortunately, with a
regular motherboard usb port, i am led to believe the usb port will provide
no power when the computer power is switched off, and so the ipod will only
charge if/when the computer is turned on.

Any ideas? For the record i bought the AC power adapter 'accessory' as well,
but it pains me that apple doesn't provide a means of charging the ipod as a
part of the package.


Bushy
 
"Bushy" said:
speaking of current draw through a usb port, does an externally powered usb
hub provide power to the peripherals attached to it (assuming this is how
they get their power) even when the computer is turned off? I ask with
relation to the ipod i have just ordered, which doesn't come with an ac
power cord, but must be charged through a usb port. Unfortunately, with a
regular motherboard usb port, i am led to believe the usb port will provide
no power when the computer power is switched off, and so the ipod will only
charge if/when the computer is turned on.

Any ideas? For the record i bought the AC power adapter 'accessory' as well,
but it pains me that apple doesn't provide a means of charging the ipod as a
part of the package.


Bushy
Click to expand...

On older motherboards, there is an option header called USBPWRxx,
where the xx is the number of the port pair. Selecting the +5VSB
option will leave the USB ports powered when the computer is sleeping.

Some of the newest Athlon64 motherboards, which have a large number
of USB ports, no longer have those headers. I can only guess that
all the USB ports are already set to +5VSB, because I don't see any
additional power management devices on those motherboards.

Plugging a USB mouse that has LED illumination on it, can be
used as a quick means to see if a port has power. I presume the
Ipod has a charging indicator as well ?

No idea on a USB hub. You'd have to test it. Most likely to work
if the USB hub is self-powered with its own brick power source.

Paul
 
I bought a very small 4 port USB2 hub the other day and it didn't come
Click to expand...
with a power adapter either.The hub packaging states it has the power supply
included but the dealer said to re read the advertisement as it clearly
states no adapter. Bastard. How expensive could a 5v AC adapter cost? It
doesn't help that I am having trouble locating one locally. I am tempted to
plug a 6v supply into it.
I took the USB cable out of the old USB1 hub with the adapter still plugged
in and a memory stick flashed it's led at me so I guess that might charge
your iPod.
 
sweet, thanks for the help people.

once i gett eh ipod i'll test it out, but i get the feeling that the USB
ports on ym a7n8x deluxe aren't powered on when the computer is off. I don't
have an optical mouse to test this on, but the scanner wil re-initialize
every time the computer is turned on with it plugged in. I fancy this is an
indication that the scanner is powering up. I could be wrong though. Thanks
again

Bushy
 
Venom said:
with a power adapter either.The hub packaging states it has the power
supply
included but the dealer said to re read the advertisement as it clearly
states no adapter. Bastard. How expensive could a 5v AC adapter cost? It
doesn't help that I am having trouble locating one locally. I am tempted
to
plug a 6v supply into it.
I took the USB cable out of the old USB1 hub with the adapter still
plugged
in and a memory stick flashed it's led at me so I guess that might charge
your iPod.<
Click to expand...

Look closely at the specs and see if it claims rates of 480mbps which is the
USB2 "hi-speed" rate. If it does not, it probably only supports 12mbps
which is USB2 "full speed". That is the same rate as USB1.1 and it's not
worth spending additional money on IMO.
 
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