[turtle777]

I've had two USB hubs that I had nothing but trouble with.

E.g., my printer would lose connection or not initialize correctly when rebooting the Mac.
I would have to manually unplug and plug it back in to be recognized by OS X.

What's important:
* at least 5 ports
* reliability
* providing enough power for devices like external DVD drives

What's not important:
* Speed (doesn't have to be USB 3.0)
* looks

Any suggestions ?

TIA,
-t

[cgc]

Either this sweet 80-port USB hub or this badass cow hub.





...sorry, the little red Cornholio on my shoulder made me do it.

[turtle777]

80 port ?

Cool. Finally something to hold my full USB stick collection.

-t

[mduell]

This 7 port looks reasonable and is well reviewed, however the power adapter says 2A which is only 4 full power (500mA) devices.

[reader50]

After researching hubs (I had some problems too) I got this one. Not a single problem since.



Cables Unlimited USB1870 7-port multi-TT USB2 hub. The power brick is rated 2.6A output.

Currently out of stock at Amazon or Newegg, but you can read the enthusiastic reviews. It's still available at various retailers, but it isn't cheap.

[turtle777]

It seems like a good (i.e. powerful enough) power supply is one of the winning ingredients.

-t

[P]

I would say that weight is another, because one that is not heavy enough will slide around on the desk and contribute to the spaghetti.

PSU is important though, as parts with batteries (like iPods, iPhones, iPads...) can ask for even more than the regular 500mA under the Charging Supplement to USB 2.0.

[jmiddel]

Thanks reader, as P says, power draw for iP{hones and such is just too much for lesser hubs, like my Macally one. I'm getting 2! $26-40 does not seem excessive for a solida powerful hub.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Cables Unlimited USB1870 7-port multi-TT USB2 hub. The power brick is rated 2.6A output.

Sounds nice, but there are no cheap sources.

And the manufacturer went bankrupt.

-t