Modern laptops are becoming more and more compact, with no more than two USB ports. If you want to connect multiple IT peripherals via USB, such a limited number of USB ports may not be enough.
There are two main types of USB hubs: active and unpowered. These two types work differently. Active USB hubs have an external power supply, while unpowered USB hubs are bus-powered. Bus-powered here means that the USB hub draws power from your PC or laptop to operate.
When you only need an extension to connect low-power peripherals such as USB flash drives, keyboards, mice, or game controllers, there is no need to use an active USB hub. A unpowered USB hub is sufficient for such devices. However, suppose you need to connect multiple external hard drives to your PC at the same time to perform a lot of data transfer work. Well, in this case, you will need a powered USB hub. External hard drives require more power than keyboards and mice. So, to connect many hard drives at the same time, you need something that can power them while reading and writing data.
USB hubs are not limited to USB ports. Modern powered USB hubs offer more ports for external connectivity, including LAN, USB-C, HDMI, card readers, VGA, and audio.
Powered vs. unpowered USB Hubs - What's the Difference?
Powered and unpowered USB hubs are not the same. There are some good reasons to differentiate between the two types.
1. Power: Powered USB hubs come with their own AC adapter and can run on external power. They do not draw any power from the laptop. Whereas, unpowered USB hubs draw all power from the laptop or PC.
2. Power output: Powered USB hubs have a maximum power output of 2.5 watts per USB port. This means that each USB port can provide a maximum current of 500mA (0.5 amps). This much power is enough to power external hard drives, SSDs, and optical drives. However, in a unpowered USB hub, the power output of a single USB port is distributed across the entire hub. For example, if a unpowered USB hub has four ports, each USB port can provide a maximum current of 100mA. However, multiple unpowered USB hubs can provide you with 1 or 2 USB ports capable of providing 500mA while keeping the current cap of the remaining ports at 100mA.
3. Number of connection ports: Active USB hubs are powered by an external power supply and support multiple connection ports. Take the 7 or 12-port active USB hub as an example. Therefore, you can have an active USB hub with more ports, while unpowered USB hubs are usually limited to 7 ports.
4. Price: Active USB hubs are more expensive because they provide more features to connect different large or small devices. unpowered hubs are cheaper because they have limited power and connections.
