Which USB ports?

[PoorOldSpike]

Hi, PC dummy here again- I only accidentally found out recently that some of the USB ports on our PC's are better than others, so how do we know which ones to plug our mouse,keyboard and other stuff into for best performance?

[terminator]

Different types of USB ports :
- USB 2.0
- USB 3.1 Gen 1
- USB 3.1 Gen 2

[bebro]

Hi, PC dummy here again- I only accidentally found out recently that some of the USB ports on our PC's are better than others, so how do we know which ones to plug our mouse,keyboard and other stuff into for best performance?

Often they have different colors. If that is the case it should be described somewhere which is which, or maybe ask where you bought/ordered it.

[CoolDTA]

Hi, PC dummy here again- I only accidentally found out recently that some of the USB ports on our PC's are better than others, so how do we know which ones to plug our mouse,keyboard and other stuff into for best performance?

USB 3 ports are blue (it is in the specs). They are much faster than USB 2, but since not much data is transferred when you use a mouse or keyboard, there is no benefit. Storage devices such as flash drives, external hard drives and portable SSDs on the other hand benefit a lot so those you should definitely connect to USB 3 ports.

[PoorOldSpike]

Thanks guys I've got 4x blue USB ports on my PC and a couple of black ones, so l might as well use the blue ones at all times as they're the fastest.
This raises the question- Why don't PC manufacturers make ALL the ports blue?

[zakblood]

here you go,

Code: Select all

https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-usb-port-818166

[bebro]

This raises the question- Why don't PC manufacturers make ALL the ports blue?

Dunno about the manufacturers, maybe it's a cost thing. But for some purposes you don't need the fast ports.

They are most important when you transfer large data or files. For example, if you want to shuiffle lots of stuff onto a USB stick or external HD, like for a backup or so.

Otoh keyboard or mouse do well on standard ports, so you usually do not need to "waste" a 3er USB for this (if you have lots of stuff to connect).

[CoolDTA]

This raises the question- Why don't PC manufacturers make ALL the ports blue?

USB2 costs less is probably the #1 reason. It also takes less space on motherboard and uses less power and bandwidth. Like I said and also Bebro noted, with many peripherals there is no need for better than USB2. Modern PCs should have more than enough USB 3.x ports anyway. Even my over four yrs old rig has six (+ eight USB2s), albeit they are only 3.0.

[PoorOldSpike]

Thanks guys you've cleared up the mystery of USB's..
Can I now ask you to do the same with the other ports in these screenshots of the back of my PC and the underside of my monitor?

1- I've red-circled the two HDMI ports on the PC, are they both exactly the same and can I use any?

2- What's the green-circled port on the PC for? It's labelled 'DP' whatever that means, and it's not quite the same shape as the HDMI ports.

3- On the monitor shot, the yellow-circled port is labelled DP, so I presume it's exactly the same as the green-circled one, but what's it for?
(The red-circled port on the monitor is the HDMI of course)
Thanks

[CoolDTA]

Thanks guys you've cleared up the mystery of USB's..
Can I now ask you to do the same with the other ports in these screenshots of the back of my PC and the underside of my monitor?

Certainly.

This is your new PC, right? Anyway, here goes:

1) The port in the upper pic is connected to the crappy integrated graphics chip of you PC. The one in the lower pic is for your dedicated graphics card. Definitely use that one.

2) It is a DisplayPort connector.

3. Yes, it is the same. You can use it to connect your graphics card and monitor instead of HDMI. Actually it is often the preferred choice. You need an appropriate cable of course. More of the subject for instance in this short article: https://www.pcgamer.com/displayport-vs- ... y-monitor/.

[PoorOldSpike]

Thanx guys, that about answers everything (and incidentally the pics I posted are of my old PC but the ports are exactly the same on my new PC)
Can I just toss the following important question into the playpen?-
There's only one HDMI port on my monitor (below), so I have to keep switching the HDMI cable from one PC to the other, depending which PC I want to use.
(I use the old one for general surfing and stuff, and the new one for games and flight sims)
Is it possible to buy an adapter or something at the monitor end that would allow me to buy a second HDMI cable so that I could keep both cables plugged into the monitor so I wouldn't have to keep switching?

[CoolDTA]

Is it possible to buy an adapter or something at the monitor end that would allow me to buy a second HDMI cable so that I could keep both cables plugged into the monitor so I wouldn't have to keep switching?

Yep. You just need an HDMI Switch. There are many, many models available. Another possibility is to use DisplayPort for you new PC and HDMI for the old one since your monitor has both.

[PoorOldSpike]

Thanks for the recommendation CoolDTA, so I've just ordered the exact same switch from Amazon as the one in your pic..

PS- to digress, a poster said he liked my PzIVF2 avatar a few days ago (I forget which thread), but I see the forum software has now changed it to what looks like a few guys having a wimpy barbecue, grrrr, so I apologise to the guy but there's nothing we can do about it because our avatars automatically change every time we hit a certain number of posts (sniffle)

[PoorOldSpike]

There's only about 12 inches between my two PCs and monitor (below) which is fine, but my HDMI leads are 5 feet long and what with all the other leads it looks like a plate of spaghetti back there, so I've been googling for "short HDMI leads"..




and these 30cm 4K ULTRA HD HDMI CABLE jobs look okay, what do you think, and does "Ultra HD" mean anything?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SHORT-15cm-HDM ... =8-16&th=1

PS- I also need a tiny dual junction box (if that's the right word ) to plug speaker leads from both PC's into so I don't have to keep unplugging / plugging the speakers from one PC to the other. Can you recommend such a box?

[CoolDTA]

and these 30cm 4K ULTRA HD HDMI CABLE jobs look okay, what do you think, and does "Ultra HD" mean anything?

It means the cable supports up to 3,840 x 2,160 pixels resolution. Looks good. A short cable like that certainly reduces the clutter in your lab. I don't want to even think about the spaghetti behind my table...

PS- I also need a tiny dual junction box (if that's the right word ) to plug speaker leads from both PC's into so I don't have to keep unplugging / plugging the speakers from one PC to the other. Can you recommend such a box?

Hmmm..., not a recommedation per se, but I think you mean sthg like this :
https://www.amazon.co.uk/STEREO-Manual- ... B073GWCRP3



I guess a simple Y-cable would do the trick also (audio stereo y splitter).

[PoorOldSpike]

Thanks, i'll order some of those short HDMI cables..
Meanwhile about my speakers (below), let's see if I've got this right-
Do I have to buy a junction box (blue) to plug my green L-shaped speaker plug into,
then buy two more leads (one from both computers), each with an L-shaped plug on the PC ends, and plug them into the box?
What type of plug needs to be on the box end?

PS- you mentioned a Y-lead instead, it certainly sounds easier and cheaper, but there's nowhere to plug it into on the speakers as far as I can tell.

[CoolDTA]

Yes, you need two more leads with a regular 3.5mm plug. There are many to choose from here.

[PoorOldSpike]

Yes, you need two more leads with a regular 3.5mm plug. There are many to choose from here.

Thanks, I'll go into a mad flurry of ordering a magic box and cables etc..