Novoo 6-in-1 USB-C Hub with 60W PD for $28

USB-C hubs have become a part of life when you decide to buy a newer notebook. In addition to the 9-in-1 USB-C hub, the manufacturer NOVOO also offers a Novoo 6-in-1 USB-C hub, which is equipped with an additional USB-C port.

• Novoo 6-in-1 USB-C Hub
  • at AliExpress for $27.93 | Novoo for $38.98

How is the Novoo 6-in-1 USB-C hub manufactured?

Unlike other products from the manufacturer, this appears to be a generic model. The hub resembles a model from Hiearcool (never heard of it), but that does not necessarily mean anything. Of course, the logo on the top is different. Apart from that, however, they rely on an aluminum case with a permanently installed cable, which measures just under 22.5 cm. This is how it differs from Omar’s USB-C hub, for example, which is directly attached to the notebook. With a length of 11.48 cm and a width of 3 cm, it definitely fits in the notebook bag. The workmanship does not reveal any flaws in contrast to the manufacturer’s 9-in-1 hub.

During use, the 6-in-1 hub gets a bit warmer, but not “too” warm despite eight hours of use per day. This also makes the inexpensive model slightly better than the manufacturer’s larger 9-in-1 hub. According to Novoo, temperature protection is integrated, but the hub is also set against overcurrent and short-circuit. If it should still give up the ghost, they offer a 12-month warranty for the CE-certified hub.

Performance of the hub

Other manufacturers of the same hub mistakenly call it a 7-in-1 hub, but we don’t think that’s accurate. There is a USB-C port, two USB-A 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, a microSD card slot and an HDMI port on board. Thus, the adapter only has the USB-C port more than the 5-in-1 hub.

The USB-C port that the hub occupies, it reproduces in the form of a USB-C port with a power supply of USB-C pass-through with 60W. That is enough to constantly charge my MacBook Pro 13″ (M1) in my setup and charge it with the “normal” charging power of the Aukey 65W USB-C charger. For stationary use, it is rather semi-relevant, since the device is constantly charged anyway. Interestingly, the hub from Hiearcool even offers up to 100W. So, if you need more power, you should pay attention to that. Unfortunately, data transfer is not possible via the port.

The USB-A ports are USB 3.1 ports that only support 5 Gbps data transfer. Accordingly, they are USB.1 Gen 1. These ports also support charging peripherals when you charge via USB-C port. Then, a maximum output power of 7.5W per port is possible; the performance shrinks when used simultaneously. In testing, a 1 GB test file takes 45 seconds to transfer to a USB 3.1 USB stick, which equates to 22 Mb/s. This is noticeably slower than the 9-in-1 hub. Of course, this is only a guideline and depends on the file size, file quantity and the stick.

Things look a bit better with the two SD slots. Unfortunately, they cannot be used at the same time because the hub automatically prioritizes them, but the speed of just under 66 Mb/s is almost three times as fast as with the USB ports. In the test, the hub could only work with FAT32 formatted SD cards in combination with my Mac.

With HDMI connection, without 60 Hz

Especially in the home office, the HDMI port is probably one of the most important to use a second monitor. However, it only offers a 30 Hz refresh rate at a 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. During the test period, I used the hub with the Xiaomi 34″ curved gaming monitor. The only supports a maximum of 3440 x 1440p, but then 50 Hz refresh rate is possible, the use of which I would recommend. If you are using a 4K monitor and need 60 Hz, the UGREEN USB-C hub would be an option. It happened once or twice that the monitor did not respond after a longer standby, but restarting the monitor and plugging and unplugging the hub solved the problem.

Other 7-in-1 USB-C ports like my private model from iVANKY still offer an Ethernet port. Apart from that, you have to live with the fact that the HUB does not support Samsung DeX.

Assessment

So far, the manufacturer NOVOO has not disappointed us, and that also applies to the first typical “Amazon” product we have tested from them. There should be nothing different from the Hiearcool Hub (except for the 100W power). I’ve been using the Hub for a good week on my office setup and I’m happy with it. It doesn’t get nearly as warm as others, the ports are adequate for my purposes, and the build quality is good. Depending on the price, this is a good deal, the only negatives are the low data transfers and the occasional monitor dropout. I would continue to use it here if I didn’t have to occasionally use the Ethernet port on my iVANKY USB-C hub.