Jim Thompson wrote:
I need a powered USB Hub, 7 (or more) ports.

Lots of conflicting reviews out there.

Since USB is so, um, universal it's not surprising to find a
manufacturer who keeps model numbers and prices the same but has changed
the chip(s) inside which may noticeably change performance,
unfortunately. I.e., the popular D-Link DUB-H7
(http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DUB-H7-.../dp/B00008VFAF)
has been around for at least 5 years now, and has gone through multiple
internal design revisions.

What do you fellow lurkers recommend?

I have one of these that I like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182208 --
pretty inexpensive and it "works fine for me."

Note that very few hubs -- almost none once you're above 4 ports --
comes with a power supply beefy enough to provide a full 500mA to all
ports; I've often felt that the ratio of the power supply's current
output to "number of ports multiplied by 500mA" gave at least some
indication of the quality of the design. (I.e., if they cut a bigger
corner with the power supply, they probably made bigger cuts elsewhere...)

Manufacturers do this, of course, since it's incredibly unlikely anyone
would actually have, e.g., 10 peripherals that all truly need 500mA on a
10-port hub, so they save money with a smaller power supply.

---Joel