Reddit reviews Anker 4-Port USB 3.0 Unibody Aluminum Portable Data Hub with 2ft USB 3.0 Cable for Macbook, Mac Pro / mini, iMac, XPS, Surface Pro, Notebook PC, USB Flash Drives, Mobile HDD and More

USB is a very well understood standard at this point. Cheapo splitters shouldn't really be giving you an issue, in most cases. The problem could be with the Surface 3, perhaps not having enough power to drive everything you're plugging in.

Regardless of the price of the splitter, it will suck the same amount of power out of your Surface 3. Your phone will demand enough power to charge every single time. Regardless of the device used (Surface Pro vs. Surface 3 vs. PS4 vs. Macbook Pro and etc), the hub will perform the same. My suggestion is not at all device specific, I have a Surface Pro 2, not a Surface 3 and primarily use this Anker Hub. I usually use this hub with my Nintendo Switch anyway, so even further removed from your experience.

But, considering your requirements, you might want to look into a powered USB hub. A powered hub will supplement the power of your Surface's USB port with power from a wall outlet.

[This hub is powered by Micro-USB, like the Surface 3 itself](https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Ultra-Slim-Portable(-Adapter-Notebook/dp/B0192LPK5M/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538541500&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=anker+4+port+usb+3.0+hub&dpPl=1&dpID=41-z2A-nISL&ref=plSrch). That might be convenient for you, and could yield battery savings and greater compatibility

I use this one, it's small, metal (strong/not cheap) and has USB 3.0 on all ports.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O0KISQE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

I have two of my three sensors plugged into this USB hub and I have no tracking issues. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the hub is plugged into my motherboard's USB 3.1 port, which is supposed to be able to handle a much larger data load than standard USB 3.0.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P.

You would need the power brick, yes. Get one of these instead - small enough to always keep in your bag without issue.


Anker 4 port USB 3.0 Hub (nice and thin. I own this one. Ten dollars!)


Anker 4 port USB 3.0 Hub (bigger, nicer to put on desk, think it is long enough to not "hang" off the usb plug on the SP)

I had similar issues (also XPS). I picked up this usb 3 dock and have it plugged into the laptop directly: Anker 4-Port USB 3.0 Unibody Aluminum Portable Data Hub with 2ft USB 3.0 Cable for Macbook, Mac Pro / mini, iMac, XPS, Surface Pro, Notebook PC, USB Flash Drives, Mobile HDD and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O0KISQE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ljCoDbDT7DWKR

I no longer have usb headphone issues, but occasionally the mouse will have some difficulty.

Awesome, glad to hear that you're studying the suggestion.

I would probably suggest that you buy a simple USB 3.0 hub. I assume that you need this for external storage?
You can buy USB 3.0 PCI-e cards as well, but this eats up an expansion slot. I highly recommend to just buy a wired hub. You'll lose one port on the rear of the motherboard and get 4 or more in return.
With easy access as well!

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It's actually not difficult at all. Of course, nothing is when you know what to do.

Building a PC is pretty much building something with lego, with a couple extra wires.

I personally can build a system in 20 minutes time, if I don't care too much about it being tidy.
But I recommend that you take a Saturday or Sunday afternoon for it. It will probably take you around 3 to 4 hours.

If you watch my "how to build an Intel PC" guide. You'll be able to see everything that needs to be done. It's a fairly long video because it goes into detail for pretty much everything. Including installing windows. Nothing really changed since 2013, I would even argue that it got easier.

If you want me to help with building. I could probably make some time free to go into detail for your exact build. I've written step by step guides for friends before in Word.

All you really need is time, a (magnetic) screwdriver and preferably a laptop so that you can watch the build guide and follow along.

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Edit: ow.. Right, I didn't post my guides yet! Sorry, I'll post it when I'm done with work later tonight.
Couple hours hopefully.

If you can't wait, click on my name. You'll find my post history, where you can scroll down a bit.
Eventually you should find an other suggestion where I've posted my guides as well as other videos that explain common questions.

I'm using a 4 port hub to plug in a usb drive and a charging cable on the passenger side front usb port. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O0KISQE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. $18.

Why use the TB => USB-3 adapter when the 2014 Mac Mini has USB 3.0 natively? Not all of the USB devices can possibly be using max USB 3.0 bandwidth right? Take the low bandwidth USB 3.0 devices and put them on a USB 3.0 Hub.

This is the one I used for my laptop: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-4-Port-Portable-Aluminum-2-Foot/dp/B00O0KISQE/ref=pd_sim_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00O0KISQE&pd_rd_r=489QEWG9DFFXEM0F6PWJ&pd_rd_w=usKGN&pd_rd_wg=cAAL4&psc=1&refRID=489QEWG9DFFXEM0F6PWJ

Idk about the one you were looking at personally, but I can vouch for the one I just put up there. However, I have since switched from laptop to tower gaming and have been using this one since the power adapter didn't matter to me: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQFGH80/ref=twister_B00FB50S0Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I have never tried an extension of the USB cable, but I have actually used a longer HDMI cable. You could potentially get a longer HDMI cable to plug your laptop into a central location or a location near your chairs and then plug the controllers in that way. Unfortunately I have no experience with USB extensions so I don't want to misguide you with any guesses.

Sorry for late response was studying. I actually have a lot of compressed air just laying around so that won't be a problem. But I actually was going to get a USB pass through just a smaller one since I don't need too many ports and the strip I have has USB charging ports on it. And I was going to wait on the headphone hanger to see if it should be on the desk or underneath depending on how crowded the desk is. Thank you so much for your reply!

Yeah, that's understandable. I was just trying to think of a second best since I'm not sure what you are looking for exist. At least those readers would be cheap to replace and it's cool to be able to take one on the go (not sure what kind of work you do with them). Maybe you can figure out a decent looking setup on your desk with something like this. I've used a bunch of Anker products and they have been pretty good. Good luck with the search otherwise!

Well 1. if it attacked your monitor, you should get it to stop. 2. If that's the case, why not get a little usb hub so the cable is down on the actual table instead of going in the air.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-4-Port-Portable-Aluminum-2-Foot/dp/B00O0KISQE/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499803013&sr=1-8&keywords=USB+hub

Problem solved...put it right next to you monitor. Now on to world hunger.

PS that's a USB 3.0 for faster connection speed ;)