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New Mac Pro USB Hub recommendations

A

AppMann

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 16, 2013
56
0
Ireland
Hi,

I am a graphic designer, I ordered my Mac Pro but wont be here till February. :( But I am looking for a USB Hub to keep my desk free of cables. I have two or three drives connected to the Hub.
I have thinking off this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-7-Port...669&sr=1-2&keywords=Anker®+USB+3.0+7-Port+Hub

But I am not fully sure will it be compatible with OS X Mavericks, any recommendations will be grateful.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
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Spinland said:
I just looked over the one you already mentioned and I don't see any reason it wouldn't work fine for you. It's just a USB hub, no drivers or anything, you should have no trouble. Here's the link for it at Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker®-Uspeed-7-Port-Adapter-Chipset/dp/B006TTA75Y/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388280927&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=iDsonix™+Uspeed+7+Port+USB+3.0+Hub
Click to expand...

I forgot I have the cinema display, with three extra ports, so do I really need the USB hub, would you think.
 
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AppMann said:
I forgot I have the cinema display, with three extra ports, so do I really need the USB hub, would you think.
Click to expand...

The Apple Cinema Display is going to expand one of your nMP USB 3
ports into three USB 2 ports. If you only have USB 2 drives to connect to it then that might be fine, but if you need USB 3 you won't want to go that route.

ETA: besides, do you really want all your display USB ports taken up by drives? Personally I run a Cinema Display also, but those ports are already taken up by my wired keyboard, my Wacom tablet, and the small USB 2 hub I keep on my desk for quick thumb drive access and suchlike.
 
I understand, see I don't want to take the risk off buying the one I all ready linked incase it does not work. At present I am using a Windows desktop, as I sold my iMac to purchase the Mac Pro. So I can't even test the Hub, if I had a Mac running 10.9 I would be buy it and try it. But at present I don't have one.
 
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wrx09md said:
Read the first post
Click to expand...

Great :) so would you recommend it. I will be powering 2 drives( more in the future). Also when the Mac goes to sleep and then awakens again does the drives show or do u have to wait a minute or two.
 
AppMann said:
Do u have the Mac Pro already?

----------



Do u have the Mac Pro already?
Click to expand...

Yes, I received it yesterday. All drives seem to be staying mounted continuously. The system is very responsive - everything is lightning fast compared to my 2008 quad core Pro.

The only strange thing is the video. Spanning does not function normally-I cannot spread an application window across 2 monitors. Also, there apparently is still no Displayport 1.2 support.
 
Rock Hound said:
Yes, I received it yesterday. All drives seem to be staying mounted continuously. The system is very responsive - everything is lightning fast compared to my 2008 quad core Pro.

The only strange thing is the video. Spanning does not function normally-I cannot spread an application window across 2 monitors. Also, there apparently is still no Displayport 1.2 support.
Click to expand...

What configuration did you get.
 
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Rock Hound said:
That should do the trick. The main difference between that and the one I got is the configuration of the ports. Mine is front and back, whereas that one is front and sides.
Click to expand...

Cool thanks for that. Just wondering what was the estimated shipping on your Mac Pro. I ordered mind the 19th, but had to cancel due to a problem with my card. Apple told me to reorder and my order was pushed back to February from January.
 
I got this one because it looked most "Apple-like" and I've had good luck with Plugable stuff in the past. I don't have my nMP yet though so can't comment on how it actually works.
 
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AppMann said:
Cool thanks for that. Just wondering what was the estimated shipping on your Mac Pro. I ordered mind the 19th, but had to cancel due to a problem with my card. Apple told me to reorder and my order was pushed back to February from January.
Click to expand...

Mine originally said ships Dec. 30. It actually shipped on the 23rd, and I received it on the 27th. Apple's estimated ship dates tend to be worst case scenario. If there are no significant problems on the assembly line, I suspect people will receive them much earlier than expected.
 
Just make sure what ever hub you are getting has the "VIA VL812 Rev B2 Chipset and updated firmware v9081". Otherwise your nMP will only sees it as a USB 2 hub.
 
Einz said:
Just make sure what ever hub you are getting has the "VIA VL812 Rev B2 Chipset and updated firmware v9081". Otherwise your nMP will only sees it as a USB 2 hub.
Click to expand...

So would this hub do the job.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B006TTA75Y

The firmware is the same but the chipset is not is the the VIA VL812
 
In my opinion/experience you need to look at the power provided. If you want to charge and iPad, power a superdrive none of these will work, we'll ignore that for now. The hub the OP linked has 7 ports with a 3A power supply. USB 2.0 is .5A per port. So you'd need 3.5A of power to power all 7 ports at USB 2.0 specs. You'd need 6.3A power supply to power all ports at USB 3 specs. Granted, not everyone uses that much power all at once but you can see the shortfall. I may not plug 7 USB 3 SSD's into my hub at once but I want the option.

The nicest hub linked so far in my opinion is the 4A model.

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Alum...8297166&sr=1-3&keywords=pluggable+usb+3.0+hub
 
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In my opinion, the best choice tends to be a usb 3.0 hub with its own power adapter. As every mac user has known as a common sense, ipad charging absorb large volume of juice from the power supply. Generally average usb 3.0 bus-powered hub has no capability to power it, especially when added another devices on other ports. Every choice should based on this principle.
 
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