![]() ![]() You need high voltages to push heavy objects, but you also need enough electrons flowing to get the work done. The Voltage tells you how fast the water flows while the amperage tells you how wide the hose is.Ĭomparing amps to Volts using the comparisons in the previous section, a larger amperage allows a circuit to do more work. You can think of water running through a hose as a nice metaphor. While voltage is telling you how hard the electrons are being pulled, amperage (A) is telling you how many electrons can flow through the current at one time. When we get into electricity numbers for USB ports and hubs, you’ll see why these numbers matter. Let’s use some numbers to put all of this in context.Īn electric car battery will operate at up to 800 volts.Ī computer power supply usually operates at around 110 volts.Īn external drive is usually running somewhere between 5 and 20 volts. If we’re just talking about a single external drive, then the voltage you need is a fraction. If you’re running an electric car, it has to push electrons very hard to move the sheer weight of the vehicle.Ĭompare that to the voltage powering your computer, and the numbers are much lower. Voltage is important for understanding what kinds of work a circuit can do. Or, you could think of it as how strongly the electrons are being pulled through the circuit. That’s a very scientific term to describe how much electric force is in a circuit.īasically, the voltage is telling you how fast electrons will move through the circuit. #1 VoltsĪ volt (V) is a measure of electric potential. These three terms are related, but each has a specific meaning, and it helps to understand the differences. Largely, electricity is measured in volts, Amperes (amps for short), and Watts. When you’re looking at hubs, ports, and power requirements, you’ll need to understand a few terms. What matters is how much electricity they pull through the hub. So, a hub might be capable of certain maximum power output, but the amount of electricity flowing out of the hub at any given time will be determined by the devices plugged into it. It’s called “power draw” because the device that you plug into the hub literally draws electricity through the circuit. It’s worthwhile to emphasize the phrasing. Whether or not the hub can supply enough electricity is a pretty big deal, and this is why we look at power draw. So, an external drive will need a certain amount of electricity in order to work. We’ll get into the specifics of all of that a little later.īefore that, it will help to explain what a power draw is, how it works, and how it is measured.įirst off, this is a term that explains how much power is used by a device. The main issue you’re likely to hit when using external drives on a USB hub is a power draw. How Do You Measure Power Draw in General? (3 Terms) In this sense, you definitely can use your external drive with a USB hub, but there’s the other major issue. Once again, this is assuming you can physically plug the drive into the hub (using the right adapters to bridge connections between USB-C and the other USB types). If the hub is compatible with your operating system and your external drive is designed for USB use, then it should work fine. You can double-check the packaging information to be sure. If you have a Mac, Chromebook, or other devices (such as a PlayStation 5), your hub might not work with that operating system. That said, plug-and-play compatibility is usually designed for Windows systems. You should be able to plug in the hub, attach the external drive and have it work right away. This means that you don’t need special software to make them work. The exception here is that USB-C uses a different connector, so you need an adapter.īut, the actual digital communication works across these device types.Īdditionally, USB hubs are designed for plug-and-play use. No matter which one a device is intended to use, it can communicate with the other ports. ![]() ![]() ![]() On a modern computer, you’re likely to see USB 3 ports, but it’s not uncommon to see USB 2 or USB-C ports as well. Still, there are a few different USB formats. Typically speaking, this will be via a USB port (you can get crazy with different adapters, but let’s ignore that for the sake of simplicity). There are a lot of things to think about when plugging external drives into USB hubs.įor starters, let’s get into how the drive communicates through the hub and with the computer. 5 Does an External Drive Make Games Run Slower or Faster? How Do USB Hubs Work With External Drives? ![]()
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