Can someone explain all this USB talk to me?

[JohnJSal]

I'm looking at the specs for the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H, and under the USB section it says this:

Chipset:
Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (available through the internal USB headers)
Up to 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)

Chipset + 2 VIA USB Hubs:
Up to 8 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
* In Windows XP, the Intel USB 3.0 ports and VIA USB HUB can support up to USB 2.0 transfer speed.
* Due to a Windows 7 limitation, please connect your USB device(s) to the USB 2.0/1.1 port(s) before the Intel USB 3.0 controller driver is installed.

I have no idea how to read this. According to the specs on Newegg, the board has 2 USB 2.0 ports on the back panel, and 4 USB 3.0 ports on the back panel.

On the motherboard itself (onboard ports), it has 6 USB 3.0 ports and 4 USB 2.0 ports. Now, does the above-quoted information translate into this? All I need to know is that I will have 6 external ports and 10 internal ports, but the way this is all worded on Gigabytes' spec page makes me feel like there's something I'm not getting, like you'll only have a certain number of ports available, and if some are used, others are unusable, or something to that effect.

Thanks.

 

[johnb35]

On the back IO panel you have 2 usb 2.0 ports and 4 3.0 ports.

On the motherboard itself, you have 2 usb 2.0 headers capable of 4 ports max, and then you have 2 usb 3.0 headers capable of 4 ports max I believe.

If you are installing windows 7 then it says to use the 2.0 ports until the driver gets installed.

Edit - just found a 3rd usb 3.0 header so its capable of 6 ports max.

 

[JohnJSal]

What you're saying is what the specs on Newegg say, and I understand that. But I still don't understand how to read the quoted specs from the Gigabyte website. I'm not asking you to take the time to spell it out for me, but I honestly think in order for me to understand what it's saying, I need to go through it line by line, like this:

Chipset:

First off, why does it divide the specs into "Chipset" and "Chipset + 2 VIA USB Hubs"? What do each of these mean?

Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (available through the internal USB headers)

According to Newegg, there are 6 internal USB 3.0 ports. Why does this say 2? Even if it means 2 headers and thus 4 ports, that's still not as many as the Newegg specs.

Up to 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)

This is the only line that makes sense. There are 2 USB 2.0 ports on the back panel, and 4 USB 2.0 ports on the board, for a total of 6. I understand this part!

Chipset + 2 VIA USB Hubs:

Huh?

Up to 8 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)

There are 4 USB 3.0 ports on the back, and according to Newegg 6 internal USB 3.0 ports. The above seems to say that there are only 4 internal ports.

I suppose Newegg has the specs wrong, and that could explain my confusion. I'm trying to square the Newegg specs with the Gigabyte specs, and maybe they just aren't the same.

 

[JohnJSal]

I think I might get it now. Instead of analyzing each line separately, it seems like what I needed to do was combine the information in the first line (Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (available through the internal USB headers)) with the information in the third line (Up to 8 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)). That makes a total of 10 USB 3.0 ports spread out across the back panel and the board itself.

I guess I was just confused why they divided it up into two different categories (Chipset and Chipset + 2 VIA USB hubs).