Suggestions needed - USB C Multiport Hub for HP Victus Laptop

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prime

prime

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Hi guys,

I recently bought a HP Victus laptop and use it mostly as a space saving desktop with external monitor through HDMI port, RJ45 Ethernet cable, a USB cable to USB Hub for other devices (printer, wireless keyboard+mouse, USB DAC, etc.).

So now if I have to carry laptop to other room, I have to remove:

1. Power Adapter
2. Ethernet cable
3. HDMI cable
4. USB Hub

So, I need a USB C Multiport Hub so that I remove just power and one USB 3.0 (multiport) cable and take the laptop to a different location.

Please suggest me a USB C Multiport Hub which has:

1. Ethernet cable
2. HDMI cable
3. USB Port (minimum 3, more better)
4. External power???

These days, I see USB hubs / multiport hub that does not need external power. Is source USB C power sufficient for all the devices we connect?

My laptop's USB C port is USB 3.2 Gen 1. USB port's specification is "SuperSpeed USB Type-C® 5Gbps signaling rate (DisplayPort™ 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge)"

Will this work? I read the reviews and it gets hot. Anything better?

Thanks.
 
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I think your best bet is to go with the CableCreation ones if you are looking for VFM, but probably this one instead of the one linked by you. I think you will find heating to be a common problem with things getting a lot worse as you connect more devices, with the shared bandwidth causing a lot of issues for the onboard microcontroller.

The Dell one is good, but it is quite over-priced. I think the Anker ones are priced even worse locally. You can also look for docking stations that have more cooling overhead.

In terms of power, it will depend as to how much power your laptop uses. The USB-C port in the hub will support USB-PD. Most cheap ones will support 65W and it will go up to 87W or 100W for more expensive models. The latest standard supports 240W but I suppose your laptop will not support it. If you have an external GPU, then forget about having your laptop being powered by the hub.

Also, most laptops have the external GPU wired to USB-C, so you will certainly lose more battery life that way. Also, the hubs only support power through the USB-C port, so it will not carry any data.

TLDR; Deal with the heat and don't connect too many things at once.
 
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Look at this

And this

See if either of them suit your requirements.
If you plan to use this setup long term, then go for Belkin. It's a good company and you'll have peace of mind.

I had bought The CableCreation one linked by @t3chg33k . The first ond arrived. The USB-C connector was so tight, I had to push it in with a lot of force and yank it out to remove. I feared it might damage my laptop. So I got a replacement. The second one was loose and kept disconnecting on its own. This time I got a refund. I didn't have the budget for anything more expensive, so I didn't buy another.

prime said:
These days, I see USB hubs / multiport hub that does not need external power
Click to expand...
Most of them also have USB-C power delivery, which means the laptop charger will be connected to it, which will power the hub as well. That's my understanding. But USB-C PD doesn't go over 100 watts, your laptop seems to need a 200 watt charger. Not sure how it will work in your case.
 
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t3chg33k said:
I think your best bet is to go with the CableCreation ones if you are looking for VFM, but probably this one instead of the one linked by you. I think you will find heating to be a common problem with things getting a lot worse as you connect more devices, with the shared bandwidth causing a lot of issues for the onboard microcontroller.

The Dell one is good, but it is quite over-priced. I think the Anker ones are priced even worse locally. You can also look for docking stations that have more cooling overhead.

In terms of power, it will depend as to how much power your laptop uses. The USB-C port in the hub will support USB-PD. Most cheap ones will support 65W and it will go up to 87W or 100W for more expensive models. The latest standard supports 240W but I suppose your laptop will not support it. If you have an external GPU, then forget about having your laptop being powered by the hub.

Also, most laptops have the external GPU wired to USB-C, so you will certainly lose more battery life that way. Also, the hubs only support power through the USB-C port, so it will not carry any data.

TLDR; Deal with the heat and don't connect too many things at once.
Click to expand...
Thanks, CableCreation suggested by you is indeed a better one. But concerned about heating issues. And I am not willing to spend more than 3K on this. I think I will have to continue using my laptop as it is.

I don't need to connect HDDs and don;t need to do data trnasfer between disks through such multiport hub....only ethernet, hdmi, printer, wireless keyboard dongle and USB DAC/Sound card. Not sure if it will heat that much or not.
gourav said:
Look at this

And this

See if either of them suit your requirements.
If you plan to use this setup long term, then go for Belkin. It's a good company and you'll have peace of mind.

I had bought The CableCreation one linked by @t3chg33k . The first ond arrived. The USB-C connector was so tight, I had to push it in with a lot of force and yank it out to remove. I feared it might damage my laptop. So I got a replacement. The second one was loose and kept disconnecting on its own. This time I got a refund. I didn't have the budget for anything more expensive, so I didn't buy another.


Most of them also have USB-C power delivery, which means the laptop charger will be connected to it, which will power the hub as well. That's my understanding. But USB-C PD doesn't go over 100 watts, your laptop seems to need a 200 watt charger. Not sure how it will work in your case.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Valuable suggestion indeed. Let me see if I can increase my budget. Not willing to buy CableCreation anymore because of heating issues.
 
If you have budget, go for Dell USB C dock. We have these in office and it connects to laptop on type C port. Absolutely reliable and has lot of port options.

All laptops that can charge over type c would get charging, dock can drive a 2K resolution display as well.
This is the one that we have I believe. There is a newer 4Kdisplay and 130W usb PD dock.

 
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gourav said:
Yeah, these things are very expensive, doesn't seem value for money at all. 6-8k for a hub is quite a bit.

You can get something like this, it will do everything except display for quite cheap. It's a middle of the road solution.

Click to expand...
Yeah, right. These things are convenient, but expensive . And nearly all of them have bad reviews, either on Amazon or YouTube.

Problem with non-display solutions is that display is the main thing that doesn't work well wirelessly and cheap. Headphone, keyboard, mouse all have good cheap wireless options.
 
kiran6680 said:
Yeah, right. These things are convenient, but expensive . And nearly all of them have bad reviews, either on Amazon or YouTube.

Problem with non-display solutions is that display is the main thing that doesn't work well wirelessly and cheap. Headphone, keyboard, mouse all have good cheap wireless options.
Click to expand...
Yes, exactly.

I use my laptop with external monitor. So I wanted a solution to quickly switch between my personal laptop and work laptop. The problem was that work laptop had only one USB-C port which is also the charging port. So I got one with PD. But there were so many issues apart from the product as well. I discovered that my personal laptop doesn't do display over USB-C. Till then I was under the impression that it is a standard feature, but then I realised it's not. My personal laptop also doesn't charge over USB-C.

I have an NUC as well, which does display over USB-C, but the USB-C port doesn't power it.

There's a long way to go before these things become viable. At least the following things are needed:
  1. All monitors should start having USB-C input
  2. All laptops should move to USB-C charging ports
  3. All laptops should have at least one USB-C port with display out capabilities
  4. USB Specifications need simplification and proper naming to indicate capabilities. Right now their naming is a confusing mess and gives no indication of what is what unless you dive deep.
  5. Laptop manufacturers need to be clear about the capabilities of their hardware
Unfortunately, there's no way all this is going to happen any time soon. Laptop manufacturers will keep hiding the limitations under mounds of fluff, USB specifications are going to continue to become messier, and HDMI and DP specs will walk down the same path. Charging and powering components is going to continue to remain non-standard for the foreseeable future.
 
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kiran6680 said:
Yeah, right. These things are convenient, but expensive . And nearly all of them have bad reviews, either on Amazon or YouTube.

Problem with non-display solutions is that display is the main thing that doesn't work well wirelessly and cheap. Headphone, keyboard, mouse all have good cheap wireless options.
Click to expand...
Hey, this is 10/100 mbps and USB 2.0.

Please suggest me something with gigabit lan and preferrably USB 3.0.
 
I am using this with my chromecast and LG Gram.

This has HDMI (60hz with some laptops), Gigabit LAN, card reader and USB 3.0 ports. The USB C female port is PD pass through only, i.e. it can be used to charge your laptop while simultaneously using the Hub.

Avoid unbranded Chinese stuff, and brands like Vention/Ugreen are very costly. Bought it for Rs.2750 During Sale
 
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bigbyte said:
I am using this with my chromecast and LG Gram.

This has HDMI (60hz with some laptops), Gigabit LAN, card reader and USB 3.0 ports. The USB C female port is PD pass through only, i.e. it can be used to charge your laptop while simultaneously using the Hub.

Avoid unbranded Chinese stuff, and brands like Vention/Ugreen are very costly. Bought it for Rs.2750 During Sale
Click to expand...
Thanks.

Does it heat a lot while using LAN, HDMI and USB ports?

My laptop (HP Victus) does not charge through USB C but if we give input power through USB C, does that make it a powered hub?
 
prime said:
Thanks.

Does it heat a lot while using LAN, HDMI and USB ports?

My laptop (HP Victus) does not charge through USB C but if we give input power through USB C, does that make it a powered hub?
Click to expand...
The hub is connected to my Chromecast and remains ON 24/7. I am not touching it to see if it is very hot, but it doesn't malfunctions and that's enough for me. I'm using only LAN and USB though.

I am surprised to know that HP Victus doesn't supports charge via USB -C. In any case you'll need to connect a USB-PD compatible power brick and USB C to C cable to make it a powered hub. Normal USB power brick may not work.


Edit:

Just found this in HP Manual for Victus 16 e-0000 series. However, I won't be sure until it is verified.

1644303101858.png
 
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prime said:
Hi guys,

I recently bought a HP Victus laptop and use it mostly as a space saving desktop with external monitor through HDMI port, RJ45 Ethernet cable, a USB cable to USB Hub for other devices (printer, wireless keyboard+mouse, USB DAC, etc.).

So now if I have to carry laptop to other room, I have to remove:

1. Power Adapter
2. Ethernet cable
3. HDMI cable
4. USB Hub

So, I need a USB C Multiport Hub so that I remove just power and one USB 3.0 (multiport) cable and take the laptop to a different location.

Please suggest me a USB C Multiport Hub which has:

1. Ethernet cable
2. HDMI cable
3. USB Port (minimum 3, more better)
4. External power???

These days, I see USB hubs / multiport hub that does not need external power. Is source USB C power sufficient for all the devices we connect?

My laptop's USB C port is USB 3.2 Gen 1. USB port's specification is "SuperSpeed USB Type-C® 5Gbps signaling rate (DisplayPort™ 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge)"

Will this work? I read the reviews and it gets hot. Anything better?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Are you trying to drive a 4K monitor ? Or lower res

I had to set two similar setups for my home offices .. I eventually ended up going the thunderbolt route but have tested plenty of USB hubs along the way
 
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superczar said:
Are you trying to drive a 4K monitor ? Or lower res

I had to set two similar setups for my home offices .. I eventually ended up going the thunderbolt route but have tested plenty of USB hubs along the way
Click to expand...
It's a 1080p monitor.
 
prime said:
It's a 1080p monitor.
Click to expand...
That makes your task quite easy then.
USB C struggles with managing 4k/60 along with USB peripherals

For 1080p, you can get away with pretty much any decent USB C hub.
The only thing you would want to test is this. Most USB C hubs will peak out at 60W PD.

Under normal load, no modern laptop will draw anything more than 25-30W but some manufacturers impose artifical limitations on the minimum wattage required via PD.
Test 45W or 65W PD chargers with your laptop to see if it works as expected - very likley it should

Once you have done that, go ahead with any reliable make. Ugreen is generally considered to be good among the cost effective options
 
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I checked out reviews of many hubs today and everyone, right from the 3-in-1 1000 bucks one to Belkin 6k ones seem to have a lot of bad reviews, especially when it comes to longevity of the product. I was actually looking to access the 'Desktop' mode of my LG G8X and the cheapest 3-in-1 options from PiBox India and Portronics would be good enough for me. I don't even need to use passthrough charging. Just need to use the HDMI and the USB. Could probably get away with just using the HDMI port, if I can find a cheap Bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo. I am going to connect it to a 4k TV, but from the 'Developer Options', I can select the resolution as 1080p, if that helps in better functionality. There is an Anker Type - C to HDMI adaptor, that seems to have better reviews, but buying that would again, depend on finding a cheap bluetooth mouse /keyboard combo, as stated above.
 
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prime said:
These days, I see USB hubs / multiport hub that does not need external power. Is source USB C power sufficient for all the devices we connect?
Click to expand...
Yes. USB C power is enough to run ethernet, hdmi ports. I have one 5 in 1 hub running fine on a usb c port, no ethernet though. Why would you need external power source just to run some ports?
 
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lol, for 1080p buy the cheapest hub and you are done, portronics one on amazon is decent.
as rightly mentioned, 4k 60 is a challenge, everything else is easy peasy.
another recommendation - get a BT mouse, i find a usb c hub and a BT mouse [ without ergonomic changes ] keeps the setup portable when reqd. the puny usb adapters are a pain to pull in and out. this is very helpful if you are not a trackpad ninja
rdst_1 said:
I checked out reviews of many hubs today and everyone, right from the 3-in-1 1000 bucks one to Belkin 6k ones seem to have a lot of bad reviews, especially when it comes to longevity of the product. I was actually looking to access the 'Desktop' mode of my LG G8X and the cheapest 3-in-1 options from PiBox India and Portronics would be good enough for me. I don't even need to use passthrough charging. Just need to use the HDMI and the USB. Could probably get away with just using the HDMI port, if I can find a cheap Bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo. I am going to connect it to a 4k TV, but from the 'Developer Options', I can select the resolution as 1080p, if that helps in better functionality. There is an Anker Type - C to HDMI adaptor, that seems to have better reviews, but buying that would again, depend on finding a cheap bluetooth mouse /keyboard combo, as stated above.
Click to expand...

i personally imported stuff pre covid.
needed 4k60 plus hdmi pass through, am a network guy so ethernet port helps play with routers,since my work laptop is a non ethernet jack model with touch screen.

honestly a good BT Mouse and KB should suffice. dont expect indian models and even the ankers in india which are generally older models plus duties added prices to work flawlessly.
anyways if the hub works for 3 yrs you are good enough, at the rate at which we tinker with our laptops monitors etc 2-3 yrs is good.
 
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