The number of USB inputs located on the case of the card reader or hub (see "Type"). The number of USB ports that you will have at your disposal after connecting the device depends on this parameter. "Pure" card readers and combined models, usually, have 1,
2 and even
3 USB inputs, while hubs have
4 or more ports.
This paragraph refers to the USB connector interface. The main difference between the interface versions is speed. It is worth noting that the speed of the input connector does not yet indicate the overall throughput, since the simultaneous connection of
flash drives,
phones, memory cards slows down data transfer, which anyway is limited by the interface for connecting the device itself to a PC or
laptop(item "Connection interface").
- USB 2.0. The outdated version 2.0 provides data transfer rates up to 480 Mbps. Found only in USB A ports.
- USB 3.2 gen1. The previous names of the USB 3.1 gen1 and USB 3.0 standard (they know how to confuse). This version provides 10 times the maximum speed (4.8Gbps) as well as higher power supply, which allows you to connect power-hungry devices and large splitters.
- USB 3.2 gen2. Further improvement of the USB 3.2 gen1 standard (and, as is customary, the previous name USB 3.1 gen1 and simply USB 3.1, which was renamed more than once), made it possible to achieve a maximum speed of 10 Gbps and even higher power for external devices.
The purpose
of the DisplayPort digital port is similar to HDMI — to connect an additional monitor through the appropriate connector.
The presence of a VGA output in the design of the device.
VGA is an analogue interface originally designed for CRT monitors; it supports resolutions up to 1280 by 1024 and does not include audio. Today, this standard is considered obsolete; nevertheless, it is still found both in some monitors and in various specialized video equipment (in particular, projectors). The presence of a VGA output allows you to use the hub as an adapter for connecting a VGA device to a computer or laptop that does not initially have such an output. However, such a need arises infrequently, and hubs with a VGA output are not widely used.
