D-Link DUB-A2 Worth A Second Look

Given that USB 2.0 is 40 times faster than its 1.1 predecessor and 20 percent faster than FireWire, the DUB-A2 is an appealing offering for customers using or eyeing bandwidth-hungry peripherals such as Webcams and high-capacity storage systems.

The DUB-A2 also supports hot-swapping, can run multiple speeds on the same bus and is backward-compatible with legacy USB 1.1 devices. Each USB 2.0 port transfers data at 480 Mbps.

CRN Test Center engineers installed the DUB-A2 in a desktop using a 1.2GHz AMD Athlon processor and running Microsoft Windows XP. The system also had a 30-Gbyte ATA100 hard drive from IBM, 256 Mbytes of PC 2100 DDR RAM, an nVidia GeForce2 graphics card and a GA7DX motherboard from Gigabyte Technology.

After a problem-free installation, engineers used an external TEAC USB CD-RW to test the DUB-A2 for backward-compatibility and hot-swappability. The card passed both tests without a hitch.

D-Link's upgrade can pay dividends for virtually any solution provider or white-box builder. Channel players whose customers rely heavily on data transfer can offer the DUB-A2 as a means of increasing productivity, speeding up data transfer and, ultimately, cutting down on transfer miscues.

Otherwise, solution providers can offer the upgrade as a way for customers to increase the value of their desktop systems down the road, should the need for increased bandwidth or higher-speed data access arise.

PRODUCT: DUB-A2 two-port USB 2.0 PCI adapter
PRICE: $39.99 (MSRP); $19 (street)
AUTHORIZATION REQUIREMENTS: None
DISTRIBUTORS: D&H, Ingram Micro, Synnex, Tech Data
COMPANY: D-Link Systems
Irvine, Calif.
(949) 788-0805
(800) 326-1688
www.dlink.com