We are many who never have enough USB ports, especially laptop users, for whom having 1 USB port is now considered a feature. 

So you go to buy a USB Hub to make your dream come true! You see some that work with external power and others that don’t. Which one do you need? 

You panic. Your hands start shaking. Cold sweat is running down your face. The director tells the cameraman to get a close-up of your face. 

The solution is simple! You buy USB Hubs with external power. But they are more expensive than the basic ones, and eating only pasta this week doesn’t sound ideal (Of course, you can always buy your pasta from Skroutz’s Supermarket).

How does a USB Hub work?

The USB Hub has several ports where we connect USB devices, just like our PC has. It also has a port that we connect to a USB port on our PC. Thus, the port on our PC suddenly becomes, let's say, 4 ports where these USB ports share the power from one port of the PC but at the same time we have 4 new slots to plug in whatever we want. It is an ideal solution for connecting simple peripherals, such as a keyboard, mouse, and USB Flash Drives.

Why are there externally powered ones?

As I mentioned, all ports share the power from one port. And there are devices that draw up to 100% of the power of a USB port, resulting in the other ports being rendered useless or underperforming if we connect such a device to our Hub. In this case, there are externally powered USB Hubs that use power from the Wall Adapter to supply each port individually. Devices recommended for use with externally powered Hubs include external hard drives and generally external storage units except for Flash Drives, RGB keyboards, peripherals with high Polling Rate (e.g., Mouse and Keyboards), USB microphones, USB sound cards, Adapters for wireless peripherals, or even for charging devices. Also, if you are using the USB Hub on a Laptop, a simple hub will draw power from the Laptop itself, while an externally powered one will not burden your battery. 

Externally powered USB Hubs are preferable. You have "peace of mind," but when budget is an issue, it is not necessarily the only option.