MacBook Pro - Using USB hubs w/ the MBP

wezman2k · wezman2k #1 (**permalink**)

10-25-2007, 06:06 PM

Hey, I was just wondering if it's alright to use a usb hub with the Macbook Pro. Will this affect my latency much (I use a MIDI keyboard through USB)?

That's really my only complaint with this, there aren't enough USB ports.

TheCustomer99 · TheCustomer99 #2 (**permalink**)

10-25-2007, 07:48 PM

I use a USB hub on my MB and have no problems at all. I run a wireless mouse, my printer, my flash drive, and my iPod cable all through that hub without any problems. I have a Belkin travel size 4-port hub. Belkin is a great brand.

Nurburgring · Nurburgring #3 (**permalink**)

10-27-2007, 12:08 AM

I use a cheap ($29.99) Kensington 4-port Pocket USB 2.0 Hub. It's black, so it goes really nicely with my black MacBook. I only use it for minor peripherals such as charging my iPod Shuffle, connecting my wireless Logitech mouse, and plugging in my trusty Sandisk 2GB Cruzer Micro USB drive.

fleurya · fleurya #4 (**permalink**)

10-27-2007, 12:39 AM

I use a USB hub for my external hard drives and they work great. I watch a lot of movies stored on my external drives and they play fine with no latency. I have a Belkin 2 port powered USB hub.

illusionist · illusionist #5 (**permalink**)

10-27-2007, 01:20 AM

I also use a USB Hub with my MBP. It works great.

mac57 · mac57 #6 (**permalink**)

10-27-2007, 12:50 PM

Make sure you get a powered USB hub, not one that takes its power just from the USB cable itself.

I had an oddball occurence the other day that underscored this for me. My ViewSonic 2130b monitor has an integrated four port USB2.0 hub. I have my wireless Logitech keyboard/mouse combo plugged into it, which is convenient.

I am guessing that it is a passive hub though, because I plugged my iPod into another of the ports when it needed to be recharged. Almost instantly, I lost the use of my keyboard/mouse! I am assuming that the iPod took all the "juice" available from the hub and everything else stopped working. I had to manually reset my Mac to get control back.

So, get a powered hub!

TheCustomer99 #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 05, 2007 Location: Where the old Baker farm used to be. Posts: 1,480 Mac Specs: Apple Black MacBook 2 GB RAM, 2.0 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo Proecessor, 120 GB HD. 30 GB Black iPod Video	10-25-2007, 07:48 PM I use a USB hub on my MB and have no problems at all. I run a wireless mouse, my printer, my flash drive, and my iPod cable all through that hub without any problems. I have a Belkin travel size 4-port hub. Belkin is a great brand. "Anecdotal thinking comes naturally, science requires training." - Michael Shermer
	QUOTE Thanks

fleurya #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 18, 2006 Location: Anytown, USA Posts: 4,876 Mac Specs: 27" iMac 2.7GHz Core i5, iPhone 4S, 3rd gen iPad	10-27-2007, 12:39 AM I use a USB hub for my external hard drives and they work great. I watch a lot of movies stored on my external drives and they play fine with no latency. I have a Belkin 2 port powered USB hub. "Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others"
	QUOTE Thanks

mac57 #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 29, 2006 Location: St. Somewhere Posts: 4,547 Mac Specs: PowerMac G5 Quad, 2.5 GHz, 4 Core, 120 GB SSD, 500 GB HDD	10-27-2007, 12:50 PM Make sure you get a powered USB hub, not one that takes its power just from the USB cable itself. I had an oddball occurence the other day that underscored this for me. My ViewSonic 2130b monitor has an integrated four port USB2.0 hub. I have my wireless Logitech keyboard/mouse combo plugged into it, which is convenient. I am guessing that it is a passive hub though, because I plugged my iPod into another of the ports when it needed to be recharged. Almost instantly, I lost the use of my keyboard/mouse! I am assuming that the iPod took all the "juice" available from the hub and everything else stopped working. I had to manually reset my Mac to get control back. So, get a powered hub! My Macs: PowerMac G5 Quad, 2.5 GHz, 4 Core, Mac Pro, 3.2 GHz 8 Core, Power Macintosh 7500/100 My iStuff: 32 GB iPhone 4, 30 GB iPod Video, 16 GB iPod Touch My OS': Mac OS X Tiger, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Mac OS X Leopard, Mac OS 8.6, openSUSE 10.3, Win XP I was on the Mac-Forums honor roll for September 2007
	QUOTE Thanks

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
USB hubs for macbook - Best one available	mbakker20	Other Hardware and Peripherals	12	08-02-2007 04:07 PM
MBP & CrossFire USB 2.0 Mounting Problem	edskii79	Apple Notebooks	0	03-29-2006 04:27 AM
Mac mini & USB Hubs	will3k	Apple Desktops	4	02-14-2006 12:38 PM
USB Hubs for a Mini	walkerj	Apple Desktops	4	02-25-2005 04:31 AM
advice needed: Powered usb hubs	coach_z	Schweb's Lounge	2	01-14-2005 01:14 PM

MacBook Pro - Using USB hubs w/ the MBP

Internet Services

Web Development

Digital Marketing

Consumer Tech

wezman2k #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 12, 2007 Posts: 81	10-25-2007, 06:06 PM Hey, I was just wondering if it's alright to use a usb hub with the Macbook Pro. Will this affect my latency much (I use a MIDI keyboard through USB)? That's really my only complaint with this, there aren't enough USB ports.
	QUOTE Thanks

illusionist #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 29, 2007 Posts: 121	10-27-2007, 01:20 AM I also use a USB Hub with my MBP. It works great.
	QUOTE Thanks

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)