4 ms·

I'd take a simple monitor and an external hub, in place of a monitor+hub integration, any day of the week. We put two things one inside the other and call it pr

by dmos62 6y ago

I'd take a simple monitor and an external hub, in place of a monitor+hub integration, any day of the week. We put two things one inside the other and call it progress, but that's less maintainable, sometimes less portable, more expensive, and, most importantly, less modular.

ztjio 6y ago
More wires more mess more ugly, not everyone has the same priorities.
- smichel17 6y ago
  Isn't it the same number of wires, since you still need to run a usb cable from the computer to the monitor? So then really all you get is not needing a separate box for the hub. That's admittedly nice -- I have a Dell monitor with usb ports and I use it, mostly because I'm not going to buy a standalone hub when I don't need it -- but if the monitor had a way to mount the external hub on the back, I think that would be the best of both worlds.
  - frosted-flakes 6y ago
    One cable rather than two. Some monitors have integrated USB hubs, but you need to connect a separate USB-A to USB-B cable, in addition to HDMI/DVI/VGA. Newer, high-end monitors will transmit video and USB over a single USB-C cable, as well as power in the other direction (to charge a laptop).
    - smichel17 6y ago
      Interesting. It basically turns your monitor into a docking station. I could imagine adding an eGPU (if that doesn't already exist), too. Personally I prefer modular components that I can swap out and upgrade separately, but I can see the appeal.
  - JshWright 6y ago
    USB and video can share the same cable.
- wolrah 6y ago
  Attach the hub to your monitor's VESA mount points and you gain a lot of long-term flexibility at the cost of a single short wire that'll be hidden behind your monitor. Otherwise functionally identical to an integrated hub/monitor, but you can upgrade or replace the individual components on their own schedule. A good monitor can last through generations of computer hardware, it doesn't make sense to combine directly with other components that have much shorter lifespans.

by dmos62 6y ago

ztjio 6y ago

More wires more mess more ugly, not everyone has the same priorities.

smichel17 6y ago
Isn't it the same number of wires, since you still need to run a usb cable from the computer to the monitor? So then really all you get is not needing a separate box for the hub. That's admittedly nice -- I have a Dell monitor with usb ports and I use it, mostly because I'm not going to buy a standalone hub when I don't need it -- but if the monitor had a way to mount the external hub on the back, I think that would be the best of both worlds.
- frosted-flakes 6y ago
  One cable rather than two. Some monitors have integrated USB hubs, but you need to connect a separate USB-A to USB-B cable, in addition to HDMI/DVI/VGA. Newer, high-end monitors will transmit video and USB over a single USB-C cable, as well as power in the other direction (to charge a laptop).
  - smichel17 6y ago
    Interesting. It basically turns your monitor into a docking station. I could imagine adding an eGPU (if that doesn't already exist), too. Personally I prefer modular components that I can swap out and upgrade separately, but I can see the appeal.
- JshWright 6y ago
  USB and video can share the same cable.
wolrah 6y ago
Attach the hub to your monitor's VESA mount points and you gain a lot of long-term flexibility at the cost of a single short wire that'll be hidden behind your monitor. Otherwise functionally identical to an integrated hub/monitor, but you can upgrade or replace the individual components on their own schedule. A good monitor can last through generations of computer hardware, it doesn't make sense to combine directly with other components that have much shorter lifespans.