USB Hub...do they work well?

[beavereater]

I'm running out of USB space, and I've started unplugging stuff and plugging in stuff...it's getting annoying. Do the USB hubs work well, as far as speed goes? Any disadvantages to having one?

[IKnowNothing]

Yes USB hubs do work well.

Couple of things to look at when you buy are :
1. Make sure it's USB2.0 - otherwise you'll never get the bandwidth
2. Make sure it has an external power supply
The USB is limited to very low current if you don't have a powered hub then you may blow the USB hub in your PC and that is real bad news - trust me.

There are obvious limitations :
First and foremost is limited bandwidth. Despite a misconception a hub does NOT give you more bandwidth. It simply allows you to share what you have between more peripherals. There is no precidenmce order so it gets shared between all items that are being accessed. Not a problem most of the time but can be a pain if you have to pass a lot of time critical data.

You are also limited to 128 items on USB - The hub doesn't count butthe PC does. Also note you may have one or two USB channels on your PC all the ports on the case are using a hub (or 2) on the motherboard.

One point to note is that you can daisy chain hubs but you can get serious limitations on throughput when accessing multiple devices.

[beavereater]

I basically have my 2 external HD, webcam, printer, keyboard, mouse and PDA cradle hooked up...I want to be able to hook up my ipod cable and the cable to may camera (Or a card reader if I get one). I don't plan on using all the devices at once, but I'd like something. I guess I'll do a little shopping tomorrow.

[TBoneit]

Keep in mind the other drawback of unplugging and plugging all the time. The ports aren't designed for that and will wear out. I've seen that on a customers computer. It could be your motherboard has unused USB ports. In Many cases the newer boards have 8 usb ports with four on the back and two hooked up in the front and no cable for the other two ports. Check the MB manual.

[IKnowNothing]

If I were you I'd seriously think about getting a hum to plug the carmera, PDA Cradle and iPod into.

I wouldn't plug the HDs into it simply because I'd want maximum throughput to them when I'm using them. As TBoneit said the ports do have a finite life but I've been using mine for a USB pen 2 or 3 times a day for over 3 years now and have no problems.

The other advantage of a hum (given a long enough cable) is you can put it in a convenient position - useful if like me the PC is on the floor and are disabled.