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This beast is almost 9 inches long and weighs 1.8 pounds. Every port has a power switch and a bright blue LED indicator. You can turn ports on and off individually, and the light will tell you what’s powered and in use. It’s plug-and-play compatible with PC, Mac, and Linux systems. It has a built-in surge protector to keep all your devices and the hub safe and secure from electrical failures.
Similar to the Sabrent HB-U3CR, the Atolla delivered 1.2 amps at 4.8 volts on our power test and it charged our phone at 4.78 volts and 1.35 watts. The Atolla hub also offered similar performance to other hubs; we detected no slowdowns when copying files with our test SSD. Looking for other home-office gizmos and gadgets? We've got a number of guides that can help, like our Best Work-From-Home Gear, Best USB Flash Drive, and Best Portable External Storage Drives roundups.Some USB-C hubs go further by incorporating USB-PD passthrough. Here the idea isn’t so much to power the connected devices as to power the laptop the hub connects to, so that you just connect the laptop to the hub, and it charges as you use it without the charger taking up the spare USB-C port. The key thing here is how much power the hub can supply. Most will deliver 80W or more when used with a 100W charger, which should more than cover any laptop. However, with some you’re looking at 50W or less, which might mean missing out on fast-charging modes on some of those laptops that support them. USB-C and USB-A data ports provide file transfer at speeds up to 5 Gbps, while an HDMI port supports media display at resolutions up to 4K@30Hz.
If the number of ports is your biggest concern, the Acasis 16-port USB hub is one of the biggest. All 16 ports are USB 3.0, and they all support fast charging up to 2.1A and data transfers up to 5Gbps. There are no compromises, no ports left behind—just full functionality across the entire unit. There are also seven- and ten-port variants if you want something slightly smaller. USB Network Gate: Windows, Linux, or Mac host device. Most powerful, setup isn't complicated. Made by same developer as FlexiHub, so you can use the FlexiHub interface on top of this. Secure with 256-bit encryption.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. 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. But with the power switches, I just turn off my USB speaker and turn on the wireless headphone dongle, or vice versa. 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. Find out more about how we test.
When buying a hub, consider where you will use it and what devices you plan on connecting through it. If you aim for the maximum mobility of being able to plug a bunch of devices into your laptop wherever you are, then you should opt for a bus-powered hub.
Ethernet, 2x SFP+, 24x USB, 2x PSU, 2x fan, user, 2x WWAN (if CORE module is inserted), Wi-Fi (on Wi-Fi models)
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