USB2 - Card or Hub?

I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.

T.I.

"Talal Itani" <titani@verizon.net> wrote...
>
> I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
> than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
> and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.

I doubt you'll find a PCI card with 7 or 8 ports, so you'll need a hub
anyhow...

On May 4, 12:22 pm, "Talal Itani" <tit...@verizon.net> wrote:
> I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
> than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
> and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.
>
> T.I.

If you are going to be using more than one device on the hub at a
time, then realise that they will be sharing bandwidth. This is ok for
low bandwidth devices like mice and keyboards, but not a good idea for
drives and other high bandwidth devices.

If that is the case, go with a card and give each high bandwidth
device its own channel.

Dean G.

>> I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better
>> choice, than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives
>> to the PC and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.
>
> I doubt you'll find a PCI card with 7 or 8 ports, so you'll need a hub
> anyhow...
>

I was thinking about two PCI cards.

On Fri, 04 May 2007 16:22:54 GMT 'Talal Itani'
posted this onto alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt:

>I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
>than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
>and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.

Apart from the bandwidth contention mentioned by ano poster when
using a USB hub, it's also the case that small USB plug-in devices
(eg digital cameras and MP3 players etc) draw their power from the
USB hub without the hub needing its own power supply. But external
HDDs would definitely need a hub with its own power supply ...so I'd
go for internal USB card(s) which can draw power from the PCI bus.

On Fri, 04 May 2007 19:55:58 +0100, hummingbird
<hummingbird@2die4.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 04 May 2007 16:22:54 GMT 'Talal Itani'
>posted this onto alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt:
>
>>I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
>>than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
>>and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.
>
>Apart from the bandwidth contention mentioned by ano poster when
>using a USB hub, it's also the case that small USB plug-in devices
>(eg digital cameras and MP3 players etc) draw their power from the
>USB hub without the hub needing its own power supply. But external
>HDDs would definitely need a hub with its own power supply ...so I'd
>go for internal USB card(s) which can draw power from the PCI bus.


Unless the USB drives are notebook (2.5" or smaller) they
have their own power source, supply, do not require
significant power from the hub in most cases.

On Fri, 04 May 2007 16:22:54 GMT, "Talal Itani"
<titani@verizon.net> wrote:

>
>I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
>than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
>and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.
>
>T.I.
>


Already answered, quit being an ***.

"Talal Itani" <titani@verizon.net> wrote...
>
>>> I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
>>> than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
>>> and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.
>>
>> I doubt you'll find a PCI card with 7 or 8 ports, so you'll need a hub
>> anyhow...
>
> I was thinking about two PCI cards.

You can do that, if you want.

Just remember that the bandwidth will be limited by the PCI bus to 133 MBps
total for the bus, so don't expect full bandwidth when you're transferring
across several drives at one time.

"hummingbird" <hummingbird@2die4.com> wrote...
>
> Apart from the bandwidth contention mentioned by ano poster when
> using a USB hub, it's also the case that small USB plug-in devices
> (eg digital cameras and MP3 players etc) draw their power from the
> USB hub without the hub needing its own power supply. But external
> HDDs would definitely need a hub with its own power supply ...so I'd
> go for internal USB card(s) which can draw power from the PCI bus.

I don't know what the power limitations are from the PCI bus, but I suspect "7
or 8" HDs drawing all their power from the USB port would overtax the USB power
lines. A single 5400 RPM, 2.5" notebook HD such as the WD Scorpio draws the
2.5 watt (500mA at 5 V) max allowed via the USB port, and the startup current
required for a Seagate 7200 is 1.1 amps, more than twice the limit.

However, all USB HDs I've used have their own external power supplies, so it
probably won't make any difference.

On Fri, 04 May 2007 15:54:35 -0400 'kony'
posted this onto alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt:

>On Fri, 04 May 2007 19:55:58 +0100, hummingbird
><hummingbird@2die4.com> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 04 May 2007 16:22:54 GMT 'Talal Itani'
>>posted this onto alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt:
>>
>>>I need more USB2 ports on my PC. Is an internal PCI card a better choice,
>>>than an external Hub? I want to connect up to 7 or 8 USB2 drives to the PC
>>>and transfer data to the drives in batch. Thanks.
>>
>>Apart from the bandwidth contention mentioned by ano poster when
>>using a USB hub, it's also the case that small USB plug-in devices
>>(eg digital cameras and MP3 players etc) draw their power from the
>>USB hub without the hub needing its own power supply. But external
>>HDDs would definitely need a hub with its own power supply ...so I'd
>>go for internal USB card(s) which can draw power from the PCI bus.
>
>
>Unless the USB drives are notebook (2.5" or smaller) they
>have their own power source, supply, do not require
>significant power from the hub in most cases.

My own external WD HDD has its own power supply. But there are USB
drives which don't. The OP made no mention of which type he plans to
use and attaching eight external drives through a USB hub looks like a
Heath Robinson affair to me, hence my comments.