- How much weight can zStand hold?
- zStand is constructed of steel to safely support up to 50 lbs (22.7 kg)
- How big of a monitor can I put on it? What are zStand's dimensions?
- The top of zStand is 12" x 8" which is plenty of room for the feet of most monitors, and zStand is 3.5" tall.
- What is the size of the opening? Will it hold my external hard drive?
- While optimized for the Mac mini, the opening, which is 6.75" wide by 2.1" tall with no restriction on depth, will easily hold most external hard drives, media card readers, and more.
- Will zStand work with my G5 iMac?
- While some hubs have difficulty with the firewire ports of the G5 iMacs, zStand uses the same electronics as our PaperHub family which has been tested with three different iMac G5 computers and five different G5 towers. In all tests, our hubs performed flawlessly. The Apple ADC Compatibility Labs in Cupertino were used for these tests. Plus, you can set your iMac on zStand; just try putting your 25lb. 20" iMac on a plastic boxy hub and see what happens!
- What data speeds are supported by the USB side of the hub?
- The USB hub supports low, full, and high speed data transfer (480 megabits per second). Since each USB port has its own transaction translator, each of your peripherals will operate at the fastest speed it's capable of (assuming you've connected your zStand to a high speed, USB 2.0 port on your computer). If your computer does not support USB 2.0, neither will zStand - your peripherals will operate at a slower speed as a result, and your computer will (depending on your operating system) notify you of this fact.
- What data speeds are supported by the FireWire side of the hub?
- zStand supports data transmission rates of 100, 200, or 400 megabits per second on the FireWire connections.
- My computer doesn't have FireWire or USB 2.0. Can I add either?
- Yes. If you have a laptop with an empty PCMCIA slot, you can buy a card that provides either USB 2.0 or FireWire, or one that provides both. Most desktop PCs can be upgraded with inexpensive PCI cards.
- Do I need to connect both the USB and FireWire side to my computer?
- No, but functionality will be limited if both connections are not made (see below).
- If I don't have USB on my computer, what functionality will be provided if I only connect to my computer via FireWire?
- You may connect up to four FireWire peripherals to your zStand. Any USB peripherals you connect will not be able to communicate with your computer and will not receive any power.
- How much power is provided to peripherals at each port?
- Each USB port is provided with up to 500mA @ 5V, and each FireWire port receives up to 300mA @ 12V.
- What is the difference between USB and FireWire? Why do I need both?
- While there are electrical differences between the two, what really matters is that a device designed for connection via USB cannot be connected via FireWire, and vice-versa. Hence zStand supports both standards to provide the utmost flexibility and performance.
- If I don't have FireWire on my computer, what functionality will be provided if I only connect to my computer via USB?
- You may connect up to four USB peripherals to your zStand. Any FireWire peripherals that you connect will not be able to communicate with your computer. However, power will still be provided to each FireWire port (this can be useful for charging some battery-powered FireWire peripherals).
- The zStand is great, but I have too many peripherals and need more ports, what can I do?
- It's easy to connect multiple hubs such as zStand (hint hint wink wink) together, this is known as 'daisy chaining' them. Connect one hub to the other, and so on, until you have enough empty ports for all your peripherals. See the Features section to your left for more information.
- What warranty is included with zStand?
- zStand comes with a one year warranty.
- How difficult is it to set up zStand?
- Very, very simple. There's absolutely NO special software to install. Three cables need to be connected - one USB going from zStand to your computer, one FireWire going from zStand to your computer, and the power cable, leading to the external power supply (which you then plug into an electrical outlet). That's it.
- I have a question that wasn't answered here!
- Please email our customer support reps by clicking the button on the left and we'll do our best to help you!
