PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Self Building, Upgrading & General Hardware Help => Topic started by: Simon on January 05, 2003, 22:03
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I've just ordered a 4 port USB Controller Card, which in addition to my existing USB ports, will make a total of 10 external USB ports. I don't envisage using all of them, but I was just wondering if there actually is a limit to how many USB devices can be plugged in at the same time?
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I seem to remember the number 127 popping up somewhere Simon. I can't remember whether this is 127 in total or 127 per controller though ::)
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WHAATTT??!!! Oh well, I have nothing much to worry about then! ;D
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You may have a problem if you run them all as self powered from the ports Simon,your ADSL modem is 495ma so if you get a few more taking up to the max 500ma per port you may end up overloading your power supply and /or bus :-*
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You're right Adept ... 127 but can't think how someone will use that many :o ::)
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Well, at the moment I have my Keyboard, Scanner, Digital Camera, and ADSL Modem on USB. The camera is obviously only on some of the time, and the scanner is self powered (i.e. plugged into the mains), so at the moment, the only components that are powered from the ports are the ADSL modem, and the Keyboard. What I potentially may wish to add is a new printer, which would be USB, as they all seem to be now, and possibly a front panel display, but you never know what else might come along! ;) ;)
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As long as you bear in mind Simon that 120 devices drawing 500 ma each adds up to 60 amps so even if you had a 400 watt power supply you couldnt run all the devices at once even without the drives and other flashing lights you'll be adding to your PC over the next few months ;)
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I have 2 usb ports on my keyboard. My mouse is in one and I plugged my digital camera into the other one. HP told me not to do that as it could cause problems. What's the point of having 2 if you are advised to use only one of them ???
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Theyre probably just covering themseves lona.If you had something like your mouse and a low consumption device attached it would probably be ok but may not work too good running a printer or scanner :-*
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Rather than having all these ports hanging out of the back of your machine, why not get a USB hub?
The advantage of these is that they are self-powered, making the load on your motherboard and PSU lighter and can take some of the wiring away from the back of the PC, making your cabling somewhat neater.
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Did you get a USB 2.0 or a USB 1.1 Card?
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As long as you bear in mind Simon that 120 devices drawing 500 ma each adds up to 60 amps so even if you had a 400 watt power supply you couldnt run all the devices at once even without the drives and other flashing lights you'll be adding to your PC over the next few months ;)
This is getting confusing - where does 120 devices come into it - I've only got 2 that are powered from the ports, the printer I may be adding would be self powered (by my definition, that means by a mains plug, yes?), so the only other thing might be a front display panel.
Sorry, Sandra, I'm not well up on amps / watts etc! ::) :-[
Rather than having all these ports hanging out of the back of your machine, why not get a USB hub?
I've heard that some devices don't work very well with hubs - or was I dreaming? ???
Did you get a USB 2.0 or a USB 1.1 Card?
It's a USB 2.0 card, DualBoy.
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Ah tres cool. I have USB 2.0 on my system but not sure what I want to buy for it yet. Ever think about some of those External Hard Drives for USB 2.0 or Firewire and there are USB 2.0 Scanners which have increased scan speed. But there really are not too many other USB devices which can make use of the 480Mbit rate yet. What about USB networking It would be interesting to see an increased market in a 480MBit network standard instead of teh 10/100 but I expect that the Gigabit networking will catch on in the next 3 to 5 years.
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I expect that the Gigabit networking will catch on in the next 3 to 5 years.
Maybe quicker than that :o I notice there are a few mobos out there with Gigabit networking built-in 8)
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You're right there Sean, the one I got has it built in ..as does the Asus nForce board, although you have to get the more expensive one. Boards also come with 6 USB2.0 ports aswell, which can't be bad ;D
I'm thinking about making use of the Lan feature sometime, just for a bit of fun ... gawd knows why ;) ::)
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My board has Gigabit Network in it also. But I assume 10/100 will stay dominant for several years to come. Because it requires replacing all hubs and routers with gigabit versions. No reason for gigabit when on highspeed internet since your getting between only 1 to 8mbit. Plus gigabit does require a different CAT cable than CAT 5. I believe CAT5 is maxed out at 200 or 400Mbit if that. But I would love if the world was connected by gigabit everythign and gigabit highspeed at home.
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Ahh but the mighty Microswamp would only write software to make even that slow down ;) ;)
We'd just want more speed :P :P >:D
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Doesn't Gigabit work over Cat5e DualBoy? Or am I confusing it with Cat6 ?
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It does work on Cat5 but not to full capacity of the gigabit network card. You need gigabit cable and gigabit hubs/routers
example:
here (http://www.asantestore.com/frien5metgig.html)
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I think I'm going to have to do some reading-up;)
Thanks for that DualBoy :D
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I cant remember the transfer speeds now,I had a look at this a few weeks ago. I think it said it wouldnt work with win 98 and did but with dificulty on win 98 SE, no problems on the rest.Is this the future ?
Description
EPoX Bluetooth Dongle is a low power USB, wireless Personal Area Network product to connect easily to other PC's and handheld devices such as headsets, PDA, Pocket PCs, Printers and CF cards.
Bluetooth Profile
General Access
Service Discovery Application
Dial-up networking
File transfer
Object Push
Serial Port
Lan Access
Fax
Operating system supports
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Hardware Specifications
Supply Voltage : +5V
Power Features : Host wake-up on the module
Frequency Range : 2.400 ~ 2.497 GHz.
Antenna : Build-in
Receive Sensitivity : Typical -80 dBm
TX Power : 4 dBm maximum (class 2)
Range : 30 Meters (Line of sight) at 4dBm TX
Radio : Compliant with Bluetooth spec. 1.1
Pico Net : Point to Point and Point to multi-point capabilities
Operating channels : 79 channels of 1 MHz BW
Security : Full support of Bluetooth security provisions including hardware support for full length 128 bit encryption keys
Certifications : CE, FCC class B
Compliant : BQB
Physical Specifications
Interface : USB specification version 1.1
Size : 13 X 30 X 83 mm
Connection : USB connector
Available for £28-95 inc.vat from:
http://prices.cclcomputers.co.uk/pricenav/retailframe.htm