Inateck HBU3VL2-4 USB 3.0 Hub & HBU3VL3-4 Hub Review

Setup Procedure & Testing Method

Connecting and setting up the Inateck USB hubs is as easy as plug and play, well almost. You do need to install the drivers for the Ethernet port first for the HBU3VL3-4, but that only takes a couple of seconds and only needs to be done once. Other than that, just connect it to a USB 3.0 port and start surfing through the extra LAN connection while also having extra USB ports conveniently located next to your system.

Test system:

• Supermicro C7Z97-OCE motherboard
• Intel Xeon E3-1230Lv3
• Excelleram EP3001A 2GB PC3-10666
• Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD

We would like to thank our sponsors for supplying us with the equipment needed to perform these tests.

Software used:

• PassMark PerformanceTest Suite
• LAN Speed Test
• AS SSD
• ATTO
• CrystalDiskMark

The USB and LAN ports are connections that we can test and benchmark. I will be connecting my trusty Angelbird SSD2go Pocket 512GB USB 3.0 SSD to the USB hubs and benchmark how it’s doing there. Then I’ll disconnect the Hub and connect the drive to the same USB connector on the motherboard that the hub previously was connected to. This will give us a great view on performance impact, if any, happening from the USB’s function. We should expect a minor fluctuation, but it is to be seen on the next pages how it will hold up.

The LAN port can be tested in a similar way as the USB ports. I won’t be using my SSD here, that’s a given, but rather connect the system through the LAN port on the HBU3VL3-4 and run several of my network benchmarks. I’ll disconnect the hub again once completed and connect the LAN cable to my onboard Intel LAN connector instead to run the same benchmarks. Again, this will give us a great comparison of performance impact through the conversion, if any.