These days, PC owners have come to expect USB ports on their PCs, as they are a quick and easy way to connect a peripheral.

However, if you have an older PC it's quite likely that you'll have to make do with slow serial and parallel ports. Today though, even USB is considered a bit slow. To counter this, USB 2 was developed.

Trust has just released its 5 Port USB 2 Upgrade Kit and Hub. This provides two ports at the rear of the PC and three on the front panel.

Fitting the kit involves opening your PC and fitting the PCI card, with its two rear ports. A cable is also provided that attaches to a connection on the card and is threaded through the body of the PC to a spare front drive bay.

A three-port unit is then fitted to the spare front bay and secured using the fixing screws provided. All that remains is to install the drivers and the upgrade is complete.

Trust recommends that any drivers that relate to any installed USB devices are first removed to avoid any potential conflict problems and reinstalled after installation. Full details are given in the excellent manual that comes with the kit.

If you haven't got any USB 2 devices yet, don't worry, as USB 2 ports accept the same plug as USB and will support any USB device.

Devices that are USB 2-ready are springing up all the time so that users can take advantage of the 40-times faster data transfer that they offer over standard USB.

This is a neat upgrade kit that adds the convenience of front- mounted USB ports to your PC.

If you have a spare PCI slot and a drive bay in your computer and you don't mind opening up your PC, this is a great upgrade.

DETAILS
Contact: Trust Products 0845 609 0036
www.trust.com