Inateck HB4103 Three-Port USB 3.0 / Ethernet Hub Review

TweakTown's Rating: 88%

The Bottom Line

At the given price, Inateck's HB4103 may be the highest quality and performing option for a three-port hub with gigabit ethernet that we've seen.

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Inateck is a vendor that appears to dabble in many markets including storage and networking to an extent. The solution sent over for today's review is a three-port USB 3.0 hub but setting it apart from your standard hub is the addition of gigabit Ethernet.

Inateck for the most part came on as an Amazon vendor and to this point provides affordable options in many markets including USB, Bluetooth, and PCIe Expansion cards. The product I have today, the HB4103, is part of the USB 3.0 Hub lineup and more specific a three-port hub with a side of gigabit Ethernet.

This device is a plug and play solution needing no drivers while supporting both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. With all of this device's functionality, Inateck is pushing this towards Ultrabook and tablet devices that often are missing a wired Ethernet interface.

The MSRP of the Inateck HB4103 comes in at $39.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Packaging is quite simple with a sticker on the front of the box offering information on the hub.

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Taking a look at the hub, we have three USB 3.0 ports on top followed by a power LED at the top.

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On the bottom edge is the RJ45 Ethernet port and LEDs on each side.

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At the end of the cable, we have a Type-A USB 3.0 connection.

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Running the Inateck device through a rough performance test with my Intel 730 SSD, I was quite happy with this hub. I found no loss in performance running my SSD through the hub.

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On the networking side of things, impressive was this small hub's Ethernet controller, reaching very close to full gigabit speeds, topping out somewhere around 960 Mbps.

I was quite impressed by the Inateck HB4103. Not only did it provide a solid device physically, the build quality is quite good thanks to the thick aluminum shell, but the performance too is good. In my testing, I did not lose much more than 1 MB/s when placing this hub between my PC and the Intel 730 SSD.

Adding to this device is the gigabit Ethernet port, which from my testing is coming from Realtek and on this device offers up 960 Mbps consistently. In my own personal use, I was quite happy the claims of plug and play functionality were true both on my late 2013 MacBook Pro and desktop test system you see in the specs below for both the USB 3.0 connectivity and the Gigabit Ethernet port.

With all of the above considered, the Inateck HB4103 is a great device for its target audience of Ultrabooks, MacBooks and notebooks etc., but for those of you wanting a hub for desktop use, the included cable will be way too short.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Z170 Premium - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: Intel Core i5 6500 - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: Klevv CRAS 16GB (4x4) DDR4 3000 - Read our review
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS Storage: Intel 730 480GB SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Secondary Storage: Intel 750 400GB U.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: Thermaltake P5 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200 - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 - Buy from Amazon