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Sitecom CN-386 USB-C Hub 4 port | USB-C male to 3x USB-C 3.1 + 1x USB-C Female Power Delivery Ports - Aluminum Hub

£34.995£69.99Clearance
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About this deal

A hub usually combines multiples of the same type of port—for example, old-school USB-A connections—but often collects a few different ports in a compact form, frequently with a power supply. Where once DisplayPort 1.4 was superior to HDMI, HDMI 2.1, as seen here, is as powerful if not more so than the top DisplayPort. This does make it reasonably hefty but still much easier to travel with, and is perfect for laptop professionals often on the move and working on location. While it's great that devices are now slimmer and lighter for convenience, it means that the number of ports that are available to users has dwindled.That means a USB-C hub is now a vital part of your setup to restore that flexibility. In fact, we at TechRadar rely on them ourselves for our daily work, which means we know which ones are worth the money and which ones are not. They are also the best way to add an external display or two to your more mobile computer, plus Gigabit (or faster) Ethernet for wired Internet access.

USB-C to 4-Port USB-C Hub | Belkin US Connect USB-C to 4-Port USB-C Hub | Belkin US

The minimum requirements for USB 4 are much lower at 20Gbps, while Thunderbolt 4 is at 32Gbps. Likewise, the minimum power requirements for Thunderbolt 4 are double those of USB 4 at 15W versus 7.5W.

4-in-1 USB-C Expansion

It beats most similar Thunderbolt 4 hubs with its 85W laptop-charging power (compared to 60W elsewhere). That said, its total 100W external power supply feels a little light given the potential 67.5W power drain if all the ports required charging simultaneously. You don't have permission to access "http://www.argos.co.uk/browse/technology/computer-accessories/usb-hubs/c:30063/ports:4/" on this server. The latest connection standards are Thunderbolt 4 and USB4, which are both based on the neat reversible USB-C connector seen on most new computing devices.

USB hubs - Cheap External USB hubs Deals | Currys External USB hubs - Cheap External USB hubs Deals | Currys

The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub comes from one of our favorite manufacturers and the build and design are premium. Yes, it’s slim (less deep but a little longer than the Caldigit Element Hub) and its Thunderbolt 4 ports are all present with a speedy USB-A port at the front—offering faster device charging than most (10W compared to 7.5W). It doesn’t consider swapping a TB4 port for HDMI or DisplayPort, instead allowing you to choose either a direct USB-C display—or one of the other video connections via a third-party adapter. Caldigit has sacrificed one of the TB4 ports for a dedicated DisplayPort, which is fine if you need that video port but not as flexible as leaving three downstream TB4 ports with which you can add adapters for external displays.

It has a 110W power supply, which is all you should need for the number of ports on offer, and it can charge a laptop at up to 60W. The Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter is there for anyone who needs to have all Apple products. It's pretty good, to be fair, thanks to being lightweight and matching the tone of all things Apple.

USB hub 2023: Improve your laptop’s connectivity for less Best USB hub 2023: Improve your laptop’s connectivity for less

Not everyone needs the Anker 11-in-1 USB-C Hub but if you want seemingly every port possible, you'll like it. It has an impressive array of ports that are all easily accessible. Offering 100W power delivery is a particularly nice bonus, while there's dual monitor support with one HDMI and one DisplayPort. That aside, the US-4VPD is a tempting offer, with 2.5Gb Ethernet future-proofing for fast wired network access as it becomes more mainstream. It is priced the same as the Caldigit Element Hub, which is still our favorite Thunderbolt 4 hub, with its four 40Gbps/18W Thunderbolt 4 and four 10Gbps/7.5W USB-A ports. However, if you own a large power-hungry laptop, the Belkin’s 96W USB PD charging will impress.

The 4-Port USB-C Hub

Thunderbolt 4 (TB4) and USB4 require manufacturers to comply with all the technology’s benefits (such as 40Gbps bandwidth) to be certified, which makes TB4 much more trustworthy to PC users than TB3.

USB-C hub deals in October 2023 | TechRadar The best USB-C hub deals in October 2023 | TechRadar

All four Thunderbolt 4 are rated at 40Gbps bandwidth and 15W charging, and one USB-A 3.2 Gen.2 (10Gbps and 7.5W) port. The TB4 ports can be used for adding SSDs and other USB-C, TB3 or TB4 devices or external displays, depending on your needs. It sullies its Pro title, however, with a couple of the ports being rather average, and the power supply could do with being higher, but it is otherwise well equipped.

All the USB (5x USB-A, 3x USB-C) and Thunderbolt ports (3x TB4) are super fast and offer impressive device charging—at the front, there’s a USB-C port with 20W power. It costs around the same as the OWC Thunderbolt Hub, reviewed above, and matches that hub on ports, with the only difference being that the OWC’s 10Gbps USB-A port can charge a device at 7.5W, while Plugable’s USB-A port is equally fast but doesn’t offer device charging. For that, OWC’s hub wins our best budget recommendation. The OWC Thunderbolt Hub delivers with an upstream Thunderbolt 4 port, three downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, and an extra USB-A port thrown in for good measure. A multi-format adapter adds different kinds of ports, usually in a very portable format that can either draw power from the host computer or channel pass-through power delivery via a USB-C port and your USB-C charger.

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