Question regarding USB / USB Hub

[aolsuxs]

I thought that if I had a USB 2.0 Hub and plugged it into a 1.1 controller that anything plugged into the hub would run at 2.0 speeds however it seems that I am getting a message that says it will be running at 1.1 speed. So I was completly wrong right? Is there a hub / switch I could plug my current USB 1.1 and get 2.0 speeds? I do not wish to buy another motherboard or USB 2.0 card that fits in my PCI slot...whatever those are called.


EDIT:

Also the hub comes with a power supply but it runs perfetly with out. Is there a situation in which I do need to run the power supply to the hub?

 

[tomstevens26]

The devices can only run as fast as the controller on the PC. All the hub does is let you turn one port into multiple ports. The PC still has to communicate to the devices using the controller, which in your case would still be limited to USB 1.1. I don't know of any solution other than the two you said you don't want to do.

As for the power supply, my experience has been that it depends on the device itself. I hooked a hub up for a friend and his gaming devices worked just fine on the hub without it being powered. His smartmedia card reader, however, would only work if he plugged in the power supply to the hub.

Tom

 

[gibbsman]

What you need to do is buy a USB 2.0 add-in card. This would give you the 2.0 speeds. The USB hub comes with a power supply because USB can only output so much power without a power supply. Without getting too techincal, there are two different types of hubs. A powered hub and unpowered hub. If you use the hub as unpowered you will be limited on the number of devices you can connect to it due to the amount of power it can draw from the motherboard. It's usually best to just plug the hub in unless you don't have somewhere to plug it in or you don't have a lot of devices to use in it.

 

[Anubis]

it will runn as slow as the slowest part, USB 2 on a USB 1.1 chip runs at 1.1, and USB 1.1 on a USB 2 chip runs at 1.1

im selling a PCI USB 2 ad in card, works great 3 external and 1 internal connection,

see link in sig