Low latency USB hub

[Guest]

I'm looking for a USB hub for some extra stuff as I only have 3 free ports. The only problem is that I would either be running keyboard and mouse through it, or a MIDI keyboard, all of which needs as little latency as possible. Looking around on the internet has had little yield, so this is my second option. My computer has thunderbolt support which I'm using for monitors, but there will still be plenty of space for several other thunderbolt devices, so maybe a USB hub connected via thunderbolt would work? Searching for one didn't help though as everything that came up was either a thunderbolt dock which have far more than is needed, or an adaptor that is either one thunderbolt to one USB, or just a regular USB hub.

 

So does anybody know of such a thing? And what would you recommend? I need an extra 3 or 4 ports at the most.

 

Thanks for any help.

[samcool55]

18 minutes ago, OTheB said:

I'm looking for a USB hub for some extra stuff as I only have 3 free ports. The only problem is that I would either be running keyboard and mouse through it, or a MIDI keyboard, all of which needs as little latency as possible. Looking around on the internet has had little yield, so this is my second option. My computer has thunderbolt support which I'm using for monitors, but there will still be plenty of space for several other thunderbolt devices, so maybe a USB hub connected via thunderbolt would work? Searching for one didn't help though as everything that came up was either a thunderbolt dock which have far more than is needed, or an adaptor that is either one thunderbolt to one USB, or just a regular USB hub.

 

So does anybody know of such a thing? And what would you recommend? I need an extra 3 or 4 ports at the most.

 

Thanks for any help.

What if you add an extension card with USB ports?

Something like this https://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/USB-3.0/Cards/4-port-pcie-usb-3-card~PEXUSB3S42

It's just an example btw, you can find much cheaper ones but this is a relatively epic one  You don't need such an expensive one, i'll edit this if i find a better one.

 

edit: this one is cheaper and probably good enough

https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Express-Connector-Controller-Internal/dp/B00FPIMJEW

[Guest]

1 minute ago, samcool55 said:

What if you add an extension card with USB ports?

Something like this https://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/USB-3.0/Cards/4-port-pcie-usb-3-card~PEXUSB3S42

It's just an example btw, you can find much cheaper ones but this is a relatively epic one  You don't need such an expensive one, i'll edit this if i find a better one.

Unfortunately an extension card won't work. The tower is several metres away from the workstation and really long USB cables are going to be just as bad as a regular USB hub, if not even more inconvenient.

[samcool55]

1 minute ago, OTheB said:

Unfortunately an extension card won't work. The tower is several metres away from the workstation and really long USB cables are going to be just as bad as a regular USB hub, if not even more inconvenient.

Oh ok that changes the situation a lot.

In that case i would get a thunderbolt dock/hub thingy, that won't give any power issues because the dock probably needs separate power but you will have added latency regardless of what you pick.

[Guest]

Just now, samcool55 said:

Oh ok that changes the situation a lot.

In that case i would get a thunderbolt dock/hub thingy, that won't give any power issues because the dock probably needs separate power but you will have added latency regardless of what you pick.

of course there will be added latency, but it's best to try and get as little as possible. I will probably go for a dock, but I'd be happiest with a dock that doesn't have all the extra ports like ethernet, display-port, or HDMI - just a handful of USB ports.

[DovahKriid9]

On 11/27/2016 at 2:41 PM, Guest said:

I'm looking for a USB hub for some extra stuff as I only have 3 free ports. The only problem is that I would either be running keyboard and mouse through it, or a MIDI keyboard, all of which needs as little latency as possible. Looking around on the internet has had little yield, so this is my second option. My computer has thunderbolt support which I'm using for monitors, but there will still be plenty of space for several other thunderbolt devices, so maybe a USB hub connected via thunderbolt would work? Searching for one didn't help though as everything that came up was either a thunderbolt dock which have far more than is needed, or an adaptor that is either one thunderbolt to one USB, or just a regular USB hub.

 

So does anybody know of such a thing? And what would you recommend? I need an extra 3 or 4 ports at the most.

 

Thanks for any help.

This video should solve all your questions. If you just want to know, it doesn't matter what USB port you use, it is all the same. So buy whatever hub you want. 

 

https://youtu.be/nbu3ySrRNVc