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Tools / USB port planner

USB port planner

Which device goes in which port: capture cards and cameras first, each on a port fast enough for it, then audio, then everything that can share a hub.

Updated October 17, 2026 · No account needed. Your answers are worked out in this browser.

Example: a laptop with two 10 Gbps ports and one 5 Gbps port, streaming a console with a webcam, a USB microphone and a Stream Deck. Type over any field and the plan redraws.

Ports on your computer

Count by speed, not by plug: a USB-C socket can be any of these. The spec sheet or manual names each port’s speed.

What you plug in

Not listed? Choose the closest model of the same kind, and check its speed on the maker’s page.

? Fits, then test

Everything fits: 3 of 3 ports, one with a hub

  1. 10 Gbps+ port 1Elgato Facecam MK.2made for 5 Gbps
  2. 10 Gbps+ port 2Hub
  3. 5 GbpsElgato Game Capture Neoneeds 5 Gbps
  • Fits: Elgato Facecam MK.2 is made for 5 Gbps and gets 10 Gbps.
  • Fits: Elgato Game Capture Neo needs 5 Gbps and gets 5 Gbps.
  • Fits: The powered hub in the USB 10 Gbps or faster port 2 carries Elgato Wave:3 MK.2 and Elgato Stream Deck MK.2: they share that one port’s 10 Gbps, and neither sends video.
  • Check: Elgato Facecam MK.2 and Elgato Game Capture Neo each send video. Ports can share one controller inside the computer, and neither the plug nor its colour shows which: use ports far apart (on a laptop, one on each side) and test them running together.

Plug in the device at the top first and prove it alone, then add the others one at a time. Why USB devices that fit can still drop out.

How the plan is made

Video goes first. Capture cards and webcams each get a port of their own, never a hub, starting with the one that needs the most: each takes the slowest port that is still fast enough, so the faster ports stay free for what needs them. Audio comes next, on the ports left; a device that asks for more power than a USB 2.0 port gives is moved to a faster one. Stream controllers and lights come last, and go on the hub when the ports run out.

Each device’s speed and power come from its maker’s own pages, through its profile here. Where a maker publishes no USB speed for a camera, the plan says so rather than guess. Two devices that send video get a reminder to test them together, because ports inside a computer can share one controller and nothing on the outside shows which; USB bandwidth for cameras and capture explains why a device that fits on paper can still drop out.

Speed is in the port, not the plug

USB-C is a plug shape, and it carries every USB speed, USB 2.0 included, as well as Thunderbolt. The same speed has also been sold under several names:

SpeedNames on spec sheets
480 MbpsUSB 2.0, High Speed
5 GbpsUSB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 3.2 Gen 1, SuperSpeed USB, USB 5Gbps
10 GbpsUSB 3.1 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, SuperSpeed+, USB 10Gbps
20 GbpsUSB 3.2 Gen 2x2, or USB4 at its lower rate
40 Gbps or moreUSB4 (80 Gbps in USB4 Version 2.0), Thunderbolt 3 and later

Most devices made for 5 Gbps still work in a USB 2.0 port, more slowly: a camera often loses its fastest modes there, and a capture card whose maker asks for 5 Gbps may not work at all. The cables and ports guide covers the plugs.

How much power a port gives

The USB standard sets what a device may draw from a port once it is set up: 500 mA from a USB 2.0 port, 900 mA from a 5 Gbps port and 1.5 A from a single-lane 10 Gbps port, all at 5 volts. USB-C ports with USB Power Delivery can give more. A device that asks for more than its port gives can disconnect under load even when its data fits; audio interfaces that draw 900 mA, like the Scarlett 2i2, belong on a USB 3 port or one rated for more.

What a hub can carry

Every device on a hub shares the speed of the one port the hub plugs into. A hub with no power supply of its own also shares that port’s power, and by the USB standard it promises each of its ports only one unit load, 100 mA (150 mA on a 5 Gbps hub); a hub with its own supply gives each port full power. That is why the plan keeps cameras and capture cards off hubs, and puts microphones, controllers and lights there only when the ports run out.

Questions

Can I plug a webcam into a USB hub?

It can work, but it shares the hub’s one port with everything else on it, so it is the first thing to move when the picture freezes. Give cameras and capture cards their own ports and put the low-data devices on the hub.

Why does my capture card disconnect when the webcam starts?

The two may share a controller, or the port may not give enough power. Move one of them to a port on the other side of the computer and test again; the disconnecting guide goes through it step by step.

Does a USB 3 microphone need a USB 3 port?

Most USB microphones send little data and run on USB 2.0. Power is the exception: if the maker states a draw above 500 mA, give it a USB 3 port or a powered hub. One mixer, TC-Helicon’s GoXLR MINI, is made for USB 2.0 ports: its maker warns that USB 3 ports can cause audio dropouts.

Sources

Wikipedia’s pages read 13 October 2026. Each device’s speed and power come from its maker’s pages, listed on its profile.