USB Hub VS PCIE USB expansion?

[scavbaby]

I have been reading around and have seen people recommend USB hubs and they said it’s fine for sim racing. But some people also said they can cause some power issues etc.

Interestingly, someone suggested PCIE expansions. But I could’t really find a comparison between the two for sim racing.

I am just worried that the PCIE expansions cards could damage my PC. Because the ones I have found locally can cost low as $3 and an average price of $8-10. I may be paranoid.

 

[Michael Krone]

Atm I use neither as I dont need them however.....
Ive used both. Youre not paranoid. Be careful with the PCI cards. Ive had one set fire, and two melt the power wires, and one that just smelled burnt after about a month of use.

Those 4 experiences have drove me away from those type forever. Ill use a hub if I ever have a need for more ports.

 

[scavbaby]

Atm I use neither as I dont need them however.....
Ive used both. Youre not paranoid. Be careful with the PCI cards. Ive had one set fire, and two melt the power wires, and one that just smelled burnt after about a month of use.

Those 4 experiences have drove me away from those type forever. Ill use a hub if I ever have a need for more ports.

That is very interesting, the worst I thought of was potentially damaging your motherboard, not a chance of burning your house down. Were they specifically USB expansions or something else?

I actually have a usb hub at my office, but mostly used for charging and wireless mouse and keyboard. It’s from Phillips too, and it has its own power source as well. But it sometimes acts weird with it not detecting some of the ports. I don’t know if I got unlucky with a faulty one or thats just the nature of hubs. Which is why I am skeptical of which to use.

I am building a new proper sim rig that probably need 5+ usb ports just for the racing stuff.

 

[Tom_Hampton]

It depends on your needs. I use both. Buy good cards from reputable sources.

If you have high connectivity needs, and low bandwidth...then a hub will be the better choice. One USB cable going from the rig for all the little usb gaming devices. If you've got a high-bandwidth need, such as a VR headset or a streaming camera, etc....then a dedicated connection to the PC is highly recommended, though a separate USB controller. Sometimes motherboard USB ports will share a single USB controller. So, it isn't always clear how the MB USB ports are sharing USB bandwidth. In that case a dedicated PCIe card is the best solution.

Halt and catch fire should not be a significant concern. Again, buy quality cards from reputable sources. If it seems too cheap to be true, it probably is.

 

[blekenbleu]

I use PCIe cards for USB, SATA and NVMe expansion, acquired from Amazon or Newegg,
avoiding any with recent strings of poor reviews.
Be aware that PC motherboards may have more USB controllers
than are cabled out to case jacks, so may be available by adding appropriate cabling.
I favor cases with 5.25 drive access, both for DVD and adding USB ports.
Although more crucial with USB 2 controllers, distributing high bandwidth USB devices
across multiple USB controllers is one consideration against funneling everything thru a hub.

I own some older USB devices that work better via USB 2 hubs than directly to USB 3 sockets.

 

[Moxley6969]

This might help clear up some things on USB in general

 

[Elaphe]

I have this USB hub in my cockpit with a 1,5 m cable and male connector. In my motherboard I have another 1,5 m cable, this one with a female connector. When I want to use my cockpit, I unroll the cable and plug both ends (together with 2 audio cables for my bodyshakers). I have everything connected to the hub (steering wheel, pedals, shifter, handbrake, button box, controllers, etc.). I only had problems once, but I found out the problem was with one of the cables. After replacing it, it has always worked flawlessly.

 

[Tom_Hampton]

This might help clear up some things on USB in general

Yep. That's a good summary. Once upon a time, I spent several years as a BIOS Engineer in the HP Workstation division. It has always been a mess... sometimes with MB ports all cascading from the same 1 or 2 root hubs. Device manager can sometimes help sort out what connects where, if you use the "view devices by connection" instead of the default "...by type".

 

[blekenbleu]

This might help clear up some things on USB in general

Just be aware that specifically suggested (StartTech 4-port with dedicated controller) card has issues
* horizontal sockets provoke mechanical collisions
* X299 chipset incompatibility
* Oculus Rift and Linux problems

The even more expensive Sonnet Allegro Pro works around those issues

 

[Michael Krone]

Were they specifically USB expansions or something else?

Yea, USB expansion card with molex power connector. It seems others in this topic can point you in the right direction as far as quality ones but personally, I wont go near the things again.

 

[scavbaby]

This might help clear up some things on USB in general

Thanks for sharing the video. Helped a lot with the problems and concerns that I had. Now just needing to find the correct hardware in my location is going to be a huge problem.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I've had great luck with this. It has a decent power supply to handle any power concerns.

Amazon.com: Anker [Upgraded Version] USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 10-Port Hub Including a BC 1.2 Charging Port with 60W (12V / 5A) Power Adapter [VIA VL812-B2 Chipset and Updated Firmware 9081] AH231: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Anker [Upgraded Version] USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 10-Port Hub Including a BC 1.2 Charging Port with 60W (12V / 5A) Power Adapter [VIA VL812-B2 Chipset and Updated Firmware 9081] AH231: Computers & Accessories

www.amazon.com