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Parallel vs Usb for printer
Name: bluejay Date: February 18, 2008 at 13:26:28 Pacific OS: Windows XP Home SP1 CPU/Ram: P4 1.5ghz 256 ram Product: Gateway
Comment:
Is there an advantage of one over the other to connect a printer using parallel or usb? Mine supports both. Bluejay
Name: citylawyer Date: February 18, 2008 at 13:41:31 Pacific
Reply:
usb is faster
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Response Number 2
Name: bluejay Date: February 18, 2008 at 13:51:12 Pacific
Reply:
Thanks, That's how I have it hooked up. It is an older printer that I had at home and I brought it to work to use after my other one bit the dust,and until the one I want is back in stock . That's when I noticed it supported both connections. Learn something every day here. Bluejay
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Response Number 3
Name: DAVEINCAPS Date: February 18, 2008 at 16:48:21 Pacific
Reply:
I doubt you would notice any difference in speed. The bottleneck in printer speed is the printer itself and not the way it receives the data.
But USB is probably going to be easier to set up. Also, with nothing hooked up to the parallel port you can disable it in cmos/bios setup and free up those resources.
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Response Number 4
Name: aegis Date: February 18, 2008 at 17:31:12 Pacific
Reply:
Yup, as far as speed is concerned, there wouldn't be any difference. Printers are incredibly slow.
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Response Number 5
Name: Bill McMinn Date: February 19, 2008 at 21:46:33 Pacific
Reply:
Using parallel to connect a printer keeps a USB port free for another device.
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Response Number 6
Name: chrisman7 (by chrisman.7) Date: February 19, 2008 at 22:25:05 Pacific
Reply:
bill said Using parallel to connect a printer keeps a USB port free for another device.
thats why in theory with the aid of usb hubs usb supports up to 137 devices
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Response Number 7
Name: DAVEINCAPS Date: February 20, 2008 at 00:18:49 Pacific
Reply:
It's not like there need be any shortage of USB ports. If you need more yeah, add a hub or at least another card. It's easier for windows to work with multiple USB devices than multiple parallel devices. That's why I think being able to disable the parallel port is more helpful. For example, it's usually easier to set up a sound card when the parallel port is disabled.
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