So, if you change code and need to restart them or you just want to power them off, you often need to yank the plug in and out, a huge hassle that could damage your gear. But with the power switches, I just turn off my USB speaker and turn on the wireless headphone dongle, or vice versa.Īnyone who works with microcontrollers such as the Raspberry Pi Pico or any Arduino board knows that most of these devices don't have on / off switches or even reset buttons. Changing default audio devices in Windows is a royal pain, requiring one to go into the control panel to, for example, make sound come out of your headset instead of your speakers. I have been using the Sabrent HB-BUP7, the nearly-identical 7-port sibling to the HB-B7C3, as my daily driver for more than a year, and having these buttons is a real game changer. Other hubs have microSD or SD card readers built-in.

Any extra connectivity? Some USB-C hubs will come with HDMI out, allowing you to connect to a monitor, provided that your PC can output video from its Type-C port.

By definition, a USB hub that needs its own plug isn’t very portable. Bus power from your computer can be pretty low, not enough to juice several power-hungry peripherals at once or to charge devices at a reasonable rate.

Powered or not? Some USB hubs come with their own AC adapters so that they can provide more power than your computer delivers from one of its ports.There are also some cheapies that are limited to USB 2 avoid those at all costs. Speed: Most USB hubs operate at standard USB 3.0 (aka USB 3.2 Gen 1) speeds of 5 Gbps.Also, consider whether you are attaching any USB-C devices (most output ports on hubs are Type-A). Most USB hubs have at least 3, more often 4, output ports, but at your desk, you may need a lot more than that. Output ports: Make sure you get enough ports to attach the number of devices you’re likely to need.

Many laptops, including a lot of the best Ultrabooks, only have USB-C ports, so your hub's upstream connector would have to be Type-C.

Upstream connection (Type-A or Type-C?): USB hubs have multiple downstream ports to connect to your devices but only one upstream connector, which could be a port but is often a built-in wire that connects to your computer.

To find the best USB hub for your needs, consider the following: Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.

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