Would a second USB-C hub cause issues?

[ryan101]

Hi, I have a 14" M1 Pro. I bought an Anker USB-C hub following recommendations by forum member on here. I have no regrets on that. It's a good product so far, but a bit expensive for what it does. Anyway, I got rid of my old iMac and using my MB Pro as my main machine using monitors. I was wainting for the Mac Studio M3 - which isn't happening apparantly!

I am out of USB C ports on my MB because the Anker device came with 4 USB-C ports and one is used to connect to the mains, and another is from the hub to the MacBook, which leaves 2 and the two left on the MacBook.

I need a second USB-C hub, preferably one that has mains power so that I can connect a few more devices.
Would having another mains powered USB-C cause any problems?

If the answer is no, is there a good USB-C hub you can recommend with plenty of USB-C ports. I am okay about not having HDMI and other ports. I mainly need USB-C ports. Thank you.

 

[Alameda]

Hi, I have a 14" M1 Pro. I bought an Anker USB-C hub following recommendations by forum member on here. I have no regrets on that. It's a good product so far, but a bit expensive for what it does. Anyway, I got rid of my old iMac and using my MB Pro as my main machine using monitors. I was wainting for the Mac Studio M3 - which isn't happening apparantly!

I am out of USB C ports on my MB because the Anker device came with 4 USB-C ports and one is used to connect to the mains, and another is from the hub to the MacBook, which leaves 2 and the two left on the MacBook.

I need a second USB-C hub, preferably one that has mains power so that I can connect a few more devices.
Would having another mains powered USB-C cause any problems?

If the answer is no, is there a good USB-C hub you can recommend with plenty of USB-C ports. I am okay about not having HDMI and other ports. I mainly need USB-C ports. Thank you.

A second hub should not cause any problems. Of course, it’s possible, but not likely, especially if you use good quality devices and good quality cables. Probably better to attach it directly to the laptop instead of daisy chaining to the other hub, although you should be able to attach the second hub to the first.

Personally, I bought an OWC Thunderbolt 3 hub, leaving me with a single cable connection to my MacBook for all functions, including power and 4K monitor.

 

[bradman83]

One feature of all Apple Silicon Macs is that each USB/Thunderbolt port is on its own dedicated bus, whereas on some older Intel Macs and a lot of Windows laptops you can have multiple ports sharing a bus. (Side note: I'm not 100% sure if the USB-A ports on a Mac Mini share a bus, but that's irrelevant for this question).

If you were plugging in multiple bus-powered USB hubs to ports that shared a bus then yes you could run into problems. But because modern Macs' USB-C ports are all on independent busses (and because you're using self-powered hubs) you should be good.

 

[ryan101]

Thank you both. @Alameda I took a look at the OWC hubs out of curiosity. They are shockingly expensive, even compared to other established brands. I ordered a second hub today. I didn't go for anything expensive because it is the second hub and would be used for the extra devices which may not be needed every day. When I got the first Anker, I got the higher end one from their line. If I had not bought that, then I would have considered investing in a big one that was quality.

 

[Alameda]

Thank you both. @Alameda I took a look at the OWC hubs out of curiosity. They are shockingly expensive, even compared to other established brands. I ordered a second hub today. I didn't go for anything expensive because it is the second hub and would be used for the extra devices which may not be needed every day. When I got the first Anker, I got the higher end one from their line. If I had not bought that, then I would have considered investing in a big one that was quality.

The Anker USB-C hub is at best 10 gbps, and probably 5 gbps.
The Thunderbolt hubs are 40 gbps. That's the difference.

 

[Ben J.]

The Anker USB-C hub is at best 10 gbps, and probably 5 gbps.
The Thunderbolt hubs are 40 gbps. That's the difference.

So, OP, your MBP has three 40gbps TB4 ports. You probably have only one or two devices that needs the high speed of TB3/4, typically NVMe SSDs in TB enclosures that are used for high volume data traffic. Those are best connected to the MBP ports. Then you'd get by with a hub that doesn't have the 40gbps ports, but is much cheaper, and you could afford one with more ports. It could have USB 3.2 ports which are 20gbps, which is not bad either. You could probably use one without external power, which is nice. One less cable.

 

[Alameda]

So, OP, your MBP has three 40gbps TB4 ports. You probably have only one or two devices that needs the high speed of TB3/4, typically NVMe SSDs in TB enclosures that are used for high volume data traffic. Those are best connected to the MBP ports. Then you'd get by with a hub that doesn't have the 40gbps ports, but is much cheaper, and you could afford one with more ports. It could have USB 3.2 ports which are 20gbps, which is not bad either. You could probably use one without external power, which is nice. One less cable.

There’s more than one solution to any problem.

What I wanted was a single cable solution for my MacBook Pro.

I have a 4K60, 10-bit DisplayPort monitor. So that’s 20 Gbps right there. I have Thunderbolt card readers and a Thunderbolt SSD drive, and gigabit Ethernet. And I want full power delivery. Even without video, 10 gbps wouldn’t cut it, unless I plug lots of things into the MacBook, which I prefer not to do.

I admit, that’s just me. Not everybody needs to solve problems the way I do.

 

[ryan101]

There’s more than one solution to any problem.

What I wanted was a single cable solution for my MacBook Pro.

I have a 4K60, 10-bit DisplayPort monitor. So that’s 20 Gbps right there. I have Thunderbolt card readers and a Thunderbolt SSD drive, and gigabit Ethernet. And I want full power delivery. Even without video, 10 gbps wouldn’t cut it, unless I plug lots of things into the MacBook, which I prefer not to do.

I admit, that’s just me. Not everybody needs to solve problems the way I do.

I bought a second USB-C hub with mains power. It has been fine. No issues. I personally didn't find many hubs that would fit my needs completely. Most of them try to appeal to a broad market so have port for every type of device e.g. SD card slots and ethernet ports, I need neither. So, for me this was the only practical way of getting enough ports.

I am just frustrated that Apple destroyed the old iMacs which I used to love, by making it mediocre and making it just look pretty. And I would have gone with a Mac Studio, but I am waiting for the new release, which they have delayed.