What is an internal USB port hub used for?

[Jetscookie]

Also is getting an internal USB hub necessary in a PC or can you live without it?

 

[jimmysmitty]

I am a bit lost. There are USB headers on a motherboard which are used to give you more USB ports on a case or expansion card. Is that what you are asking about?

 

[snowctrl]

Not quite sure what you mean.... there are probably headers on your motherboard that you can plug USB ports into (for example the ones built into the front of most cases

Or if you mean the likes of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/USB-Port-Cards-Internal-I-O/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A430539031%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A1034121031

... they are add-in cards to add additional USB ports without having lots of extra wiring as you would have with an external USB port hub.

 

[dualityofone]

Internal hubs are not necessary, but can be useful for hiding wireless dongles (wifi, mouse/keyboard) inside the case. If you're going to use it for this purpose, keep in mind that you might not get the full advertised range.

 

[Solandri]

They were popular for a while when Intel and Microsoft were pushing using a USB flash drive as a cache for the HDD. You could leave it plugged in all the time without any risk of accidentally removing it. But the SSDs came way down in price.

Nowadays, the main use is probably for security dongles - a dongle that's needed for a certain program to run or function. You want them plugged into the computer all the time, and you don't want someone to just pull it out and take it. So put it inside the case, and lock the case shut.