I spend a significant part of my working day on my laptop, and I am a big fan of anything that makes my desk setup easier. I use my mobile a lot, so being able to plug that in to charge is great. I also us a dongle for my wireless mouse, keyboard and headphones. I like screens. The more screens the better. When I was given the Belkin Connect 5 Port USB C Hub with 4K HDMI to review, I thought it would fit quite nicely into my existing office setup. As it turned out, it didn’t. But that actually highlighted something fairly important about buying a hub like this. You really need to look at how your existing setup works and not just how many ports a hub gives you.
My work setup consists of a laptop, docking station, two external monitors used daily and a third to connect as needed. The problem is my laptop only has one USB C port, which is normally used by my docking station to run my additional screens. I tried connecting the docking station through one of the Belkin’s USB C ports instead, but my laptop didn’t recognise it. I couldn’t connect my screens directly to the Belkin either, as my setup requires two HDMI connections and the Belkin has only one.
Testing the Belkin Hub on an Older Laptop
Rather than let a perfectly good hub sit unused on my desk, I handed it over to my sister to try with her laptop. Her situation was quite different to mine. She has an older HP laptop that she bought back in 2017, and this is where the Belkin became considerably more useful. It basically gave her old laptop a new lease on life. Well, almost. Obviously, plugging in a hub isn’t going to make an older laptop suddenly run faster, but it did give her laptop more capability and made it much more convenient to use.
At work she was able to connect external monitors, giving her some very welcome extra screen space, and she also connected her wired headset. The HDMI connection worked really well for connecting her laptop to a larger screen. Her laptop supported the required video output, which is something you will need to check with your own device if adding a screen is one of the reasons you are considering the Belkin.
She also liked not having to constantly plug and unplug different things from her laptop. Once you start using several accessories with a laptop, having somewhere convenient to connect everything makes a surprising difference.
The Belkin is sleek and unobtrusive, the cords however could be tidied up!
Belkin Connect 5-Port USB-C Hub Features and Ports
The Belkin has five ports in total, consisting of four USB C ports and one HDMI 2.0 port. One of those USB C ports is a dedicated Power Delivery port that can charge the host device while transferring data.
The HDMI connection supports displays up to 4K at 60Hz, while data transfer speeds are up to 10Gbps. Belkin says this is twice the transfer speed of USB 3.0.
The Power Delivery port supports up to 100W pass through charging, although there are a couple of important catches. The hub itself uses 15W and your actual charging performance will depend on your charger, laptop and what else you have connected.
The three other USB C ports share 12W of output, so I would think of those more as data and accessory connections with some charging capability rather than replacements for dedicated fast chargers.
For MacBook users, Belkin does promotes its charging capabilities, but neither I nor my sister own a MacBook so this wasn’t something I was able to test.
USB-C Charging and Power Delivery
Multiple screens removed and down to just the one, I also tried out the Belkin. I particularly like is the ability to connect my phone and charge it while using my laptop.
It sounds like a fairly minor thing, but these are often the features that make accessories useful in everyday life. If you are travelling, moving between workspaces or simply don’t want multiple chargers and cables spread across your desk, having that extra charging capability is handy.
Compact, Portable Design
The Belkin is slim and compact, measuring approximately 10.4cm long, 5cm wide and 1.5cm thick and weighing 86 grams. It isn’t something that is going to take up much room on your desk and it can easily be thrown into a laptop bag when you are heading out. Despite being small, it feels solid and well made, which is what I would expect from Belkin. I also like that the housing is made with recycled plastic.
Slim design supports four USB C ports and one HDMI 2.0 port
Compatibility with Newer Laptops and Devices
While my sister found the Belkin particularly useful for adding functionality to her older HP, the specifications certainly aren’t stuck in 2017. Support for 4K at 60Hz displays, up to 10Gbps data transfers and up to 100W Power Delivery means there is plenty of capability here for newer devices as well.
It is compatible with USB-C enabled laptops, tablets and smartphones, as well as Thunderbolt 3, 4 and 5 ports, and supports Windows, Mac and Chrome OS.
For someone working from a laptop with limited connections, this one small hub improves productivity, particularly if you regularly connect monitors, storage, webcams or other accessories.
Five-Point Safety System
There is also a bit going on inside the Belkin that you don’t necessarily see. It incorporates a five point safety system with overload protection, overcurrent protection, over temperature protection and short circuit protection, along with fire resistant materials. Those aren’t exactly the exciting features you show your friends when demonstrating your new tech, but when you’re using something to connect and charge multiple devices, they are reassuring features to have.
It also comes with a two year warranty.
Is the Belkin Connect 5 Port USB-C Hub Worth It?
My experience with the Belkin was a little unusual because it wasn’t compatible with my normal multiple screen work setup. However, when I tried it with a more limited screen setup, I found it worked really well. Connections were reliable, charging was fast and data transfers were quick. I wasn’t left waiting around for things to connect or transfer. It was really just my particular docking station and screen configuration that prevented me from using it as part of my everyday desk setup.
For my sister, it was great. With her older HP laptop, the Belkin added external screens, gave her somewhere to connect her wired headset and reduced the constant plugging and unplugging of accessories. It didn’t make her old laptop any faster, but it certainly made it more capable and convenient to use.
And I think that’s probably the best way to look at the Belkin.
It’s a small, sleek and capable hub that can turn one USB C connection into a much more useful workstation, but only if its combination of ports suits what you actually need.
The Belkin Connect 5 Port USB-C Hub with 4K HDMI has an RRP of $69.95. At the time I checked Amazon, it was advertised at $45.71, a 35% discount from the RRP.
At that price, I think it offers good value for the right setup.
Thanks to Belkin for providing the Hub for testing. Just need some cord organisation now for the sibling.
