Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
I have an Antec 300 Illusion case. There are two USB 2.0 connector
ports on the front. I'm thinking that I may want to upgrade them to USB 3.0. Has anyone upgraded USB 2 ports on a chassis to USB 3? I'd like to get some idea of what would need to be done. I could, of course, add a USB 3.0 hub instead, but it'd be nice to keep down the amount of clutter on my desk. Thanks, John |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
On Fri, 8 Jun 2018 17:57:32 -0000 (UTC), "Yes"
wrote: I have an Antec 300 Illusion case. There are two USB 2.0 connector ports on the front. I'm thinking that I may want to upgrade them to USB 3.0. Has anyone upgraded USB 2 ports on a chassis to USB 3? I'd like to get some idea of what would need to be done. I could, of course, add a USB 3.0 hub instead, but it'd be nice to keep down the amount of clutter on my desk. Thanks, John An extension cable for the 4 more signal pins than USB2. Presuming the KISS principle and a couple backplane ports. https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-.../dp/B00NH12O5I You'll need a MB equipped with USB3 headers to cable a similar setup, similarly dangling out of where your case USB2 headers, if not a replacement then presently used on front USB3 paneled cases. I'd figured for the first but hadn't looked it up. For my purposes 3M is far too long, suspecting Ebay may have something in my range for a tenth the price. Clutter as horror is subject to relevancy given peculiar viewpoint. I personally like consoles, for instance, with a long gangway and a chair to roll around Command Central. Nothing being no more secured or tightened down than it really need be, most of all then for easy accessibility plucking, of course, where one other than Maintenance actually matters. |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
Yes wrote:
I have an Antec 300 Illusion case. There are two USB 2.0 connector ports on the front. I'm thinking that I may want to upgrade them to USB 3.0. Has anyone upgraded USB 2 ports on a chassis to USB 3? I'd like to get some idea of what would need to be done. I could, of course, add a USB 3.0 hub instead, but it'd be nice to keep down the amount of clutter on my desk. The problem is getting the case mounting ports that fit that case. The USB port may not have its own bracket with tangs to snap into a hole in the case. Rather it will be soldered onto a PCB that is positioned behind the case. http://i53.tinypic.com/2ik886t.jpg My guess (since I couldn't find an inside view of that spot inside the case) is there is one PCB that has the USB ports, audio jacks, and LED soldered onto it and the wires run from the PCB. Do you have any spare drive bays? If so, you can get a drive bay hub that has one, or more, USB3 ports, like: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16820223120 That adds 2 USB3 ports, 4 USB2 ports, an eSATA connection, and a card reader. This one only had an average rating so you might want to hunt around for other choices. If you have no spare SATA ports on the mobo then the eSATA connector in this drive hub would be dead. Same if you don't have any spare USB2 headers on the mobo. Sometimes there are USB2 headers on the mobo that are unused. You could connect those to this drive bay hub along with the USB3 header on the mobo. If your mobo only has USB2 headers then the mobo has no USB3 support which means you'll have to add a USB3 daughtercard. Some USB3 cards have an internal USB3 connector you could use to go to the USB drive hub; however, often the internal USB connector is shared with one of the external USB ports on that card. You mention the case but not the motherboard, so no idea what you'll have to do to add USB3 support. No mention of what USB headers are already used on the mobo. If the mobo has it, run an unused USB3 header on the mobo to the USB drive hub. If not, you'll have to add a USB3 daughtercard which will already give you USB3 external ports on the backside. If you get one with a USB3 internal port then you can move one of the backside (shared) USB3 ports to the front-facing USB drive hub. |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
Yes wrote:
I have an Antec 300 Illusion case. There are two USB 2.0 connector ports on the front. I'm thinking that I may want to upgrade them to USB 3.0. Has anyone upgraded USB 2 ports on a chassis to USB 3? I'd like to get some idea of what would need to be done. I could, of course, add a USB 3.0 hub instead, but it'd be nice to keep down the amount of clutter on my desk. Thanks, John Since you want your new USB3 ports on the front, you will need a USB 5.25" tray for the front of the computer, plus the extension cable that leads to a 20 pin header on a USB3 add-in PCI Express card. This is a picture of a USB3 card and chip, where the chip supports four USB3 ports. The bandwidth is shared, so if all ports are used at the same time, the bandwidth on each is 1/4 of 5Gbits/sec. They refuse to make all the ports internal ones, and by buying a four port card, we get two internal ports to use. https://cc.cnetcontent.com/inlinecon...f/original.jpg Now, on the part facing you, are two connectors. The SATA 15p on the left, optionally provides +5V power to the ports. Even though a PCIe card has 3.3V and 12V pins on the edge card, it's still able to deliver a small amount of DC power as +5V to the ports on its own. Adding the SATA 15p increases the total amps available. Most likely, you could only "charge stuff" via this port, while the computer is running. If you plan on running really heavy loads on the ports, connect up a SATA 15p for additional power. The connector on the right, is the internal wiring header. The USB3 defacto standard is a 20 pin header carrying two USB3 ports. The actual USB3 connector has 9 contacts, and the tenth contact could be an extra ground or something. The 20 pin "pin header" has room for two USB3 interfaces. The normal practice in the industry, is to use one pin location as a "key" so the connector cannot be installed wrong. So if one pin is missing or blocked, that's its purpose, to provide keying for alignment. Now, on the front of the computer, we need something like this, only the "tray version". https://www.amazon.com/Kingwin-Split.../dp/B010NTIGNU That's a female USB3 20 pin internal, to two USB3 nine pin connectors. The cable on that one, is delightfully short. One problem is, the "extra margin" designs. They want to throw a hub chip into the tray, so they can raise the price. So as soon as you see four ports on a tray, there's an extra hub in the path. It uses one of the ports on the 20 pin, and forks that to four connectors. https://www.amazon.com/4-Ports-Metal...dp/B013QSTWIS/ This one is cheap, but still isn't a tray mount. This looks like "good starting materials" for a home-brew tray design. https://www.amazon.com/MMNNE-20-pin-.../dp/B01MXGQZFI I'd probably make a fake tray with a chunk of plywood and a couple computer case sliders, then bolt that crap bracket to the front of it. Note that the bracket in that case, does have two screws. And if you remove the bracket, you'll find an assembly that can be bolted to a sheet metal tray you assemble yourself. For example, I have a metalwork "nibbling tool" I got at RadioShack years ago, which can be used to cut nice clean rectangular holes in bodywork aluminum. So I could make a clean looking tray solution with stuff in the shop. Paul |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
On Fri, 08 Jun 2018 18:49:18 -0400, Paul
wrote: Yes wrote: I have an Antec 300 Illusion case. There are two USB 2.0 connector ports on the front. I'm thinking that I may want to upgrade them to USB 3.0. Has anyone upgraded USB 2 ports on a chassis to USB 3? I'd like to get some idea of what would need to be done. I could, of course, add a USB 3.0 hub instead, but it'd be nice to keep down the amount of clutter on my desk. Thanks, John Since you want your new USB3 ports on the front, you will need a USB 5.25" tray for the front of the computer, plus the extension cable that leads to a 20 pin header on a USB3 add-in PCI Express card. Or you could get something like this https://www.amazon.com/Mailiya-Expan...dp/B01G86538S/ and have the ports at the back. |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
Peter Johnson wrote:
On Fri, 08 Jun 2018 18:49:18 -0400, Paul wrote: Yes wrote: I have an Antec 300 Illusion case. There are two USB 2.0 connector ports on the front. I'm thinking that I may want to upgrade them to USB 3.0. Has anyone upgraded USB 2 ports on a chassis to USB 3? I'd like to get some idea of what would need to be done. I could, of course, add a USB 3.0 hub instead, but it'd be nice to keep down the amount of clutter on my desk. Thanks, John Since you want your new USB3 ports on the front, you will need a USB 5.25" tray for the front of the computer, plus the extension cable that leads to a 20 pin header on a USB3 add-in PCI Express card. Or you could get something like this https://www.amazon.com/Mailiya-Expan...dp/B01G86538S/ and have the ports at the back. Quite true. But I read the request as being the addition of USB3 to the front of the computer. For that, you use either the 20 pin pin header standard (carries two USB3), or, if you can find it, some trays use standard USB3 connectors for the extension cable, and then you need a USB3 card with standard USB3 connectors on the inside of the computer. I didn't see any examples of those when looking, and looping cables through an open slot on the back of the computer is an ugly solution. I added a card just a couple days ago, as you suggest, to my other machine, but I can do that because the machine is on a table, and the front and back connectors on the computer are equally accessible. I don't need a tray solution as a result. Many people have computer setups where only the front top area is accessible, and any back I/O are well under a desk. I always keep my computers on tables (to avoid ingesting stuff at floor level). Paul |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
Paul wrote:
But I read the request as being the addition of USB3 to the front of the computer. Me, too. For that, you use either the 20 pin pin header standard (carries two USB3), or, if you can find it, some trays use standard USB3 connectors for the extension cable, and then you need a USB3 card with standard USB3 connectors on the inside of the computer. I didn't see any examples of those when looking, and looping cables through an open slot on the back of the computer is an ugly solution. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA1DS0DV6321 (I've not used this brand) Has a 20-pin (only 19 pins needed and provided) for the doubled USB 3 port on the backside (internal) of the card, along with the 2 rear USB3 ports. However, just a PCI-e 1x card. The OP has not yet mentioned if he has any free PCI-e slots. |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
VanguardLH wrote:
Paul wrote: But I read the request as being the addition of USB3 to the front of the computer. Me, too. For that, you use either the 20 pin pin header standard (carries two USB3), or, if you can find it, some trays use standard USB3 connectors for the extension cable, and then you need a USB3 card with standard USB3 connectors on the inside of the computer. I didn't see any examples of those when looking, and looping cables through an open slot on the back of the computer is an ugly solution. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA1DS0DV6321 (I've not used this brand) Has a 20-pin (only 19 pins needed and provided) for the doubled USB 3 port on the backside (internal) of the card, along with the 2 rear USB3 ports. However, just a PCI-e 1x card. The OP has not yet mentioned if he has any free PCI-e slots. That's a good point. I didn't even ask what kind of motherboard this is. The computer case is 9 years old (some time in 2009), PCI Express Rev.2 came out in the year 2007, so it's possible the motherboard has PCIe. Wiki says Rev.1 came out in the year 2003. If you absolutely had to use a PCI slot for this, chances are you wouldn't be able to get the internal connector for running to a tray. And then you'd need to loop a cable from outside the machine, back inside to the back of the tray. There aren't a lot of bridged cards like that, because the companies designing them, won't sell a lot, and after they make a single lot, they likely stop making them. Paul |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
Paul wrote:
VanguardLH wrote: Paul wrote: ... and then you need a USB3 card with standard USB3 connectors on the inside of the computer. I didn't see any examples of those when looking, and looping cables through an open slot on the back of the computer is an ugly solution. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA1DS0DV6321 (I've not used this brand) The OP has not yet mentioned if he has any free PCI-e slots. That's a good point. I didn't even ask what kind of motherboard this is. The computer case is 9 years old (some time in 2009), PCI Express Rev.2 came out in the year 2007, so it's possible the motherboard has PCIe. Wiki says Rev.1 came out in the year 2003. If you absolutely had to use a PCI slot for this, chances are you wouldn't be able to get the internal connector for running to a tray. And then you'd need to loop a cable from outside the machine, back inside to the back of the tray. There aren't a lot of bridged cards like that, because the companies designing them, won't sell a lot, and after they make a single lot, they likely stop making them. I could look again but the last time (several months ago) when I got interested in addeding USB3 to an old Acer mobo that only had USB2 and with all its PCI-e slots used up (either the PCI-e 1x slot was obstructed by the fat video card or a card in that slot would obstruct airflow for the GPU's fans), a PCI (non-express) USB3 card ran around $70, or more. Uffda! No thanks. I only remember the high price for a PCI USB3 card, not if any had internal USB3 ports (which wasn't what I was looking for, anyway). |
Upgrading USB 2 to USB 3 ports on a computer case
VanguardLH wrote:
Paul wrote: VanguardLH wrote: Paul wrote: ... and then you need a USB3 card with standard USB3 connectors on the inside of the computer. I didn't see any examples of those when looking, and looping cables through an open slot on the back of the computer is an ugly solution. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA1DS0DV6321 (I've not used this brand) The OP has not yet mentioned if he has any free PCI-e slots. That's a good point. I didn't even ask what kind of motherboard this is. The computer case is 9 years old (some time in 2009), PCI Express Rev.2 came out in the year 2007, so it's possible the motherboard has PCIe. Wiki says Rev.1 came out in the year 2003. If you absolutely had to use a PCI slot for this, chances are you wouldn't be able to get the internal connector for running to a tray. And then you'd need to loop a cable from outside the machine, back inside to the back of the tray. There aren't a lot of bridged cards like that, because the companies designing them, won't sell a lot, and after they make a single lot, they likely stop making them. I could look again but the last time (several months ago) when I got interested in addeding USB3 to an old Acer mobo that only had USB2 and with all its PCI-e slots used up (either the PCI-e 1x slot was obstructed by the fat video card or a card in that slot would obstruct airflow for the GPU's fans), a PCI (non-express) USB3 card ran around $70, or more. Uffda! No thanks. I only remember the high price for a PCI USB3 card, not if any had internal USB3 ports (which wasn't what I was looking for, anyway). The bridged boards used to be about $20 more than the non-bridged boards. But since the company making the bridges got bought out, it's anyones guess as to whether the new owner pricing will encourage usage of stuff like that or not. There is at least one PCIe to USB3 card which is as expensive as your example card. But the claim to fame on that add-in card, is it has two USB3 chips for better bandwidth on two different ports, at the same time. You could then run, say, two USB3 cameras at full rate, one connected to each chip. You can arrange your devices so there is no "sharing". Paul |
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