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    USB 3.1 Gen 1 vs TB for USB/TB Hub?

    Discussion in 'Accessories' started by zakazak, Jan 4, 2019.

  1. zakazak

    zakazak www.whymacsucks.com

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    Hello everyone,
    I have a Thinkpad X1 Extreme which comes with 2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 and 2x TB (full lanes if I understand correctly).

    The two usb ports arent enough for me (and the TB ports maybe at some point arent enough either). So I planned on getting a hub with usb/tb ports.

    But should I connect the hub to the USB 3.1 or the TB port?
    Are there any performance differences?

    Thanks!
     
    zakazak, Jan 4, 2019
    #1
  2. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    It depends. Thunderbolt is only necessary if you're going to connect a lot of high-bandwidth devices (4K/5K monitors, eGPU, ultra-high-performance external storage). For most things, a standard USB hub will be fine.
     
    saturnotaku, Jan 4, 2019
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  3. zakazak

    zakazak www.whymacsucks.com

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    Well I soon want to get a external NVME PCI SSD with TB connection.
    At somepoint I might also want to connect a 144Hz external display via TB.

    But for that I would probably prefer a direct TB connection instead of putting a hub in-between?
    On the other hand a USB 3.1 Gen1 hub will probably be the bottle neck for my external NVME PCI SSD?
     
    zakazak, Jan 4, 2019
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  4. pete962

    pete962 Notebook Evangelist

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    I get up to 3.5 GB/s reading speed on my internal NVME SSD so yes, in theory 10Gb/s USB 3.1 could be bottleneck, but I don't know how that would translate into real life and if you could tell the difference.
     
    pete962, Jan 6, 2019
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  5. Starlight5

    Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?

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    @zakazak @pete962 don't forget the overhead of USB. You definitely want that TB3 bandwidth.
     
    Starlight5, Jan 6, 2019
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  6. zakazak

    zakazak www.whymacsucks.com

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    Well, the problem is that there aren't any proper TB hubs out there.
    Atleast I couldn't find any.

    They all come with a TB connector but end up being USB 3.1 Gen1.
    If anyone can point me to a portable TB hub with 2-4 USB 3.1 ports + 1-2 TB ports.. that would be nice :eek:
     
    zakazak, Jan 6, 2019
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  7. Starlight5

    Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?

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    @zakazak define portable. If you'd be satisfied by a device that has to be carried in a backpack and plugged into an outlet, there are things like Thinkpad TB3 Dock and Dell TB16. If you want something the size of typical 3.0/3.1 USB hub, which can go in your pocket or same sleeve as a laptop, I don't know of any .
     
    Starlight5, Jan 6, 2019
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