Powered USB Hub Recommendation

[eboyce]

I've tried a number of powered usb hubs and none of them have been able to get more than 2 screens working simultaneously on Windows 7.

The most success I've had is with an Inland 7-port hub which gets 2 working consistently and 3 sporadically. The Syba 7-port USB 3.0 hub can't even get 1 working. For most of the hubs I've tried are rated for 480Mbps (minus the USB 3.0 which is 5Gbps), the AC power supplies are 5V at 2A.

What typically happens is you plug in one or two screens and they extend automatically, but as soon as you plug in another screen to the USB hub, the screen just gives you a gray screen.

Are there any hubs that reliably support 3 or more 9" LCD Screens? I've troubleshot the screens, USB ports on the PC, and USB ports on the hubs, and the hubs themselves. I've gotten up to the maximum of 6 screens running simultaneously using a combination of hubs and standard USB ports.

I've been using Doublesight DS-90U screens. I'm on a Windows 7 Enterprise Atom dual core 1.8Ghz system with a Foxconn motherboard with Intel graphics. I've tried two different versions of the Displaylink driver (including the latest).

I was thinking I might need a 3A hub--does what I describe sound like a power issue?

Can anyone recommend any hubs that they've gotten 3 or more screens working?

Thanks!

[Wim]

This does sound like a power issue. The Doublesight monitors tend to use near 2x USB power, which is why they are shipped with a double USB cable, so nearly 1 amp each. If the PSU for the USB hub is only 2A, then it would power 2 displays, and the 3rd would have problems.

Plugable not only provide DisplayLink adapters, but they also provide USB Hubs, and have good support. It might be worth asking if they can recommend anything on their website:

http://plugable.com/

Wim

[eboyce]

Thanks Wim,

I actually happened to order a 3A plugable hub to try out after posting--I was able to get 4 screens running through it without issue.

If I wanted to swap out the usb cable for a longer one, are there any characteristics I would need to make sure the cable had? Would a standard long usb cable work?

[BioXYZ]

I'm curious, which hub did you buy? I am looking to power at least 2 usb monitors. The one that I bought only supplies 1A it cannot even support one. It is telling me that it is using USB 1.1 for some reason.

This is the usb hub that I bought:
Sabrent USB-HWPS External USB Hub - 7-Port, USB 2.0, AC Power Adapter

Also, is there a way to buy a better AC adapter instead of buying a new hub? I noticed that the ac adapter that came with the my hub was the problem because it only supplied 1A.

Thanks.

[eboyce]

I bought a Plugable 3A 7-port hub (Model USB2-HUB-AG7) and it has been taking care of 3 screens with video without a problem--4 I'm not quite sure about at the moment, as it has cut out a couple times so far with 4 going at the same time.

My Inland 7-port hub (silver aluminum) has taken care of 2 screens without issue as well.

I've wondered the same thing about simply upgrading the power supply...I'm really not sure.