So my iMac has only 3 USB ports on it and I have loads of USB devices and thanks to the failure of one of my external drives that also had a rather useful USB hub on the back of it I now need to purchase a new USB hub but I'm wondering on what is the best way to connect everything up so that everything runs as fast as possible.
This is what I have:
iMac with 3x USB 2 ports
1x Active 4 port USB hub
1x 1TB drive (USB2) used ALL the time. Can't be connected to a powered hub because otherwise it doesn't auto power down, passive hubs are fine
1x Scanner (USB2) I don't use this all the time but when I do I use it heavily and so I want this to be able to operate as fast as possible
1x Printer (USB2) Not often used, don't care if it runs a little slow
1x iPhone (USB2) used ALL the time, must run as fast as possible
1x CD Drive (USB2) not used often but when I do I use it heavily so I want this to operate as fast as possible
1x Keyboard (USB1) this also has two USB ports on it but these are also USB1 obviously
1x Mouse (USB1 I presume)
1x Memory Card Reader (USB 2) I use this often and so it needs to run as fast as possible
At the moment I have the mouse connected to the keyboard and the keyboard connected to 1 port on the iMac
The 1TB drive is connected to port 2 on the iMac
The hub is connected to port 3 on the iMac
Into the hub I have the CD drive, scanner, printer, & iphone
The card reader isn't currently plugged in as there's nowhere for it to go.
Now, it feels to me that the iPhone is running a little slower than when I used to connect it directly to the hub on the drive that failed. This was the only device that was connected to that drive and the drive was connected directly to the mac which makes me think that one of the other devices on the hub is slowing it down slightly but don't know which.
My gut feeling is that it's the printer based purely on the thinking that a printer being largely mechanical can only print at a certain speed anyway and that whilst the port on the printer might well be USB 2 it might not actually use the full bandwidth. Does anyone know if that might be true of printers?
As I say, I'm looking to get a new USB hub but I need it to be a passive one because I'll need to connect the 1TB drive to it and if the hub is still active it won't shut down when the iMac is shut down and the only way to turn the bloomin drive off is then to yank the cord out of it which is a bit pants. However being passive will that restrict what other devices I could connect to it and therefore how many ports should I be buying?
At present I'm thinking along the lines of:
Keyboard connected to port 1 on the iMac (mouse connected to the keyboard)
Active Hub 1 connected to port 2 on the iMac
Passive Hub 2 connected to port 3 on the iMac
iPhone, Scanner, Card Reader connected to Active Hub 1
1TB drive, CD drive connected to Passive Hub 2
But what about the printer? If I connect it to the Active Hub then it's the same as now and might be the reason the iPhone is synching a little slower but if I connect it to Passive Hub 2 then it could cause my 1TB drive to run a little slow.
Any thoughts....other than "get a life"?
