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Each month here on HardwareLogic, we select the best user submitted guide or review and publish it on our main page. In addition, the kind folks at Newegg kick in a $50 gift certificate to the winner, and this month, we're awarding Mike "Screwballl" Kaiser" for his Ultra 7-Port Buddy Hub review. Bear in mind that the following write-up does not necessarily represent the opinion of HardwareLogic, and are the sole opinions of the author. We've edited the review for clarity only, and not for content.
Finally, if you're interested in participating in our monthly user review/guide contest, please register for our forum (if you're not already a member) and read the stickies in our User Guides/Reviews sub-forum. In addition to possibly being published and the $50 Newegg gift certificate that's up for grabs, this is your chance to give readers an end-user's perspective. We welcome any PC related guides or reviews, and they need not be ground breaking material. - HardwareLogic
One thing that has become a standard and something we cannot live without in the computer world has been the USB connection. Everything from the basics, like a mouse and keyboard, to the exotic, like digital cameras and sushi thumb drives, and all sorts of devices have been created to use this USB connection. It is getting to the point where the standard 2-4 connections on the rear and 2-4 on the front is just not enough. Some users have opted to crack open their case and add in a card for another 2-6 ports. If you do not have the experience to do this or if you would like some USB ports away from the case, many companies have USB hub offerings, to allow 4 or more devices to connect to a singe host port.
Another arena that is barely explored and has its own niche in the USB market is the need to share multiple USB devices among multiple computers. What we had to do before was unplug the USB device from one PC and plug it into another. Usually this is a real PITA since, on some computers, the only available USB ports could be in a very hard to reach spot.
This is where the Ultra 7-port Buddy hub comes in very handy. Plug the 2 cords into the back of 2 different computers (marked as PC/A and PC/B) and the hub is now shared. Plug in your USB device, make sure the selector switch is set for the computer you are working on and it is ready to go. When it is time to use it on the other computer, press the button and it goes to the other computer.
Testing
Ed. Note: The unit Mike "Screwballl" Kaiser received is an older version limited to USB 1.1 compliance. Ultra now offers an updated 7 Port Buddy Hub compliant with USB 2.0 with noticeably faster transfer speeds. To ensure you're getting the latest version, we recommend purchasing directly from Ultra.
Windows XP detects it automatically and no hassles swapping the device between PCs. Any OS Windows 2000 on up should pick it up automatically each time without any trouble. This is where a possible bug comes in. During my usage, there was a random occurrence where Windows would not pick it up after a minute or so. I would switch it back to B, wait until the windows sound plays (indicating it was disconnected) and then switch it back to A. I did however, try the A slot on a different PC and it worked perfect. So, at this point I have been unable to determine if it's a PC problem, a hub problem or compatibility issue involving both. For now I will give the hub the benefit of the doubt.
With my setup, I needed to share a keyboard and mouse between 2 computers, I just used a standard KVM switch for the video (which also has PS/2 ports but not being used). So when I need to switch to the other computer I hit 3 different buttons, Port 1 with the keyboard, Port 2 with the mouse and the KVM for video. Pretty simple, although it would be nice to have a "switch all" button. But this is a minor complaint since I don't have to hassle with unplugging and plugging in all three devices.
I regularly use a small flash drive between multiple computers. This is where another small issue comes into play. The hub is only USB1.1 compliant, not 2.0. So transferring large amounts of files over the 1.1 interface was much slower compared to 2.0. Copying a single 47.5MB file from the flash-based SanDisk Cruzer 512MB through the 1.1 hub took almost 54 seconds (53.74). Plugging the same thumb drive into a USB 2.0 port on the front of this computer, copying the same file took less than 4 seconds (3.85). On a side note, I did hook up my HP Photosmart 7350 printer to the hub as well and had no issues with several small and large printing jobs, testing the same prints from both computers. This is a bit older printer so it may be 1.1 based anyways. With newer 2.0 based printers you may see a bit slower transfer time.
After several days, this has worked very well for me: 2 towers, one monitor, keyboard and mouse. I play my Counter Strike: Source with this keyboard and mouse and do not have any problems compared to the items being plugged in directly into the USB2.0 ports (most are likely 1.1 spec items anyway). Any file transfers I have done have been fairly small so typically less than a minute transfer time. If I need that extra speed or larger file transfer, I can reach down and plug it directly into the front of the case. As long as you do not continuously need the faster speeds for file transfer or transferring files from digital camera/memory card to the PC, it works beautifully. Normal items that are USB1.1 based should not pose any issues and even USB2.0 items that do not require the higher speed will work great. Bottom line is, if you are tired of having to swap devices between 2 different computers in close vicinity, this is the perfect hub for the job.
Pros
- Share devices from multiple computers
- Easy setup
- Looks sleek
- Ports, ports, ports!
Cons
- Slow 1.1 transfer speeds (make sure you pick up the new 2.0 compliant version)
- Pricey