http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123007
$17 shipped.
I thought it looked nice, it was cheap, it had 7 ports, did USB 2.0, and even had external power.
I get it, and find out the thing is a fucking lightshow. I can’t stand the constant flashing it does. I’m probably going to break it apart and tear out the LEDs.
If you like brightly flashing stuff, this may be fine. For me though, it’s giving me a headache.
UPDATE
I finally brought the thing to work with me.
It’s a piece of shit. Pure shit. USB standard says 500 mA per port. This can’t provide that even with the external power supply plugged in. The unit itself pulls up to 500 mA from the system, and the power supply provides an additional 1000 mA. Seven ports will pull up to 3500 mA though.
There was *no way* I was using anywhere close to 3.5 A on this device. I tried plugging in an external hard drive, mouse, two thumbdrives, and a USB WiFi adapter.
Half of the stuff I plugged into it wasn’t recognized by Windows. With just 5 items plugged in, NOTHING worked. With one device, because it was getting so little power, it’s drivers actually crashed Windows on me.
My external hard drive wouldn’t work at all. Even when the hard drive was plugged into an external power supply itself, it couldn’t pull anywhere near 500 mA from it, so Windows couldn’t see it. Even if it was the only item on the USB Hub, it still wouldn’t work.
It seems to work ok when I have JUST a mouse and a thumb drive plugged in – but what the hell is the point of buying a hub with a lot of ports if I can’t use them?
Pure crap, stay away from this product. It’s ugly and doesn’t work right.
DOUBLE EDIT
Since it doesn’t work right, I went through the RMA process at Newegg.
The item cost $12 w/ $5 shipping. Obviously I wouldn’t get the $5 back, but $12 isn’t so bad.
The Newegg automated RMA said there would be a $2 restocking fee – which is dumb, because if it doesn’t work, why restock it?
But that was ok, I’d still get $10 back.
Newegg had something for me to click to get a UPS label to send it back. UPS wanted $8 to ship it.
I’d end up getting $2 back then.
Well crap, if I’d only get $2 back, I may as well keep it and not go through the trouble of sending it back. After all, not having the $2 but having a sorta-working hub sounds like a deal.
I called up Newegg, and mentioned the crazy cost of things – they told me they would just give me my money back! They understand that going through all the time and effort and cost to send it back just isn’t worth it.
To recap, Newegg rocks!
Give them a visit and buy something! Newegg.com
TRIPLE EDIT
Since Newegg basically told me to throw it away after giving me a full refund, I decided to try and “alter” it a little.
I pulled the 8 LEDs off of it, and put one of the dimmer LEDs back in the middle where the flashing one was.
If you have one of these ugly things, it’s not too hard to do. Just use a flat-headed screw driver and kinda wedge the LEDs up until they pull out. You can then plug them into different locations.
This makes the device less painful to look at, and possibly reduces the power consumption of the device, allowing more for the actual USB devices.