Why would you need so many onboard USB ports?

[JohnJSal]

I'm comparing a couple of motherboards that are roughly the same:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130660
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

and I noticed that they both have a ton of onboard USB ports (8 for the first one, 12 for the second one). Why exactly would you need so many? Aren't these just used for connecting the built-in USB ports in the case? What else uses them? It seems much more useful to have this many ports on the external portion of the motherboard instead.

 

[FuryRosewood]

for how much it costs, the msi board seems to not offer alot of SATA connectivity...

 

[JohnJSal]

for how much it costs, the msi board seems to not offer alot of SATA connectivity...

Yeah I was going to ask about SATA 6Gb/s. What currently uses that? Or what might use that in the future? I'm trying to remember how the internal connections go. I've only built this one PC and that was 4 years ago, so I'm not sure how it's all hooked up in there anymore. I have an optical drive and an HDD, and that's probably all I'll ever need, with maybe the addition of one more HDD in the future. Do these items use SATA 6Gb/s? Could my current hardware use these ports, or do they need to be compatible?

 

[wolfeking]

SATA 6Gb/s is mainly for SSDs. You can use any SATA device on a 6Gb/s port, but you will never see the speed difference at all.

 

[JohnJSal]

SATA 6Gb/s is mainly for SSDs. You can use any SATA device on a 6Gb/s port, but you will never see the speed difference at all.

In that case I'll probably really only need one port.

 

[voyagerfan99]

To the OP's original question on onboard USB, you'd be surprised how many devices one can have that connects via USB. The more the merrier.

 

[JohnJSal]

To the OP's original question on onboard USB, you'd be surprised how many devices one can have that connects via USB. The more the merrier.

For external ports, I agree that I want probably at least 6 or 8. But I don't know what devices I would need 8 or 12 internal ports for.

 

[wolfeking]

In that case I'll probably really only need one port.

They come in sets of 2 unless you get a Esata bracket.

To the OP's original question on onboard USB, you'd be surprised how many devices one can have that connects via USB. The more the merrier.

If it exists, it can be connected via USB. lol. No, really there is a endless list of USB devices. Flash keys, cameras, ipods, smart cards, card readers, printers, hard drives, Floppy drives, speakers, and keyboard lights (literally a little HID light to light up the keyboard). Those are just what I use via USB on a daily basis. Thinking of grabbing a PCMCIA USB card to get more ports soon.

 

[JohnJSal]

They come in sets of 2 unless you get a Esata bracket.


If it exists, it can be connected via USB. lol. No, really there is a endless list of USB devices. Flash keys, cameras, ipods, smart cards, card readers, printers, hard drives, Floppy drives, speakers, and keyboard lights (literally a little HID light to light up the keyboard). Those are just what I use via USB on a daily basis. Thinking of grabbing a PCMCIA USB card to get more ports soon.

But I was asking about *internal* ports. What kind of devices would you hook up to the internal ports on the motherboard itself that you would need 8 or 12 of those?

 

[wolfeking]

Internal... maybe a wireless card or keyboard port (assuming you had a plastic case. The cold rolled steel of my case would deflect the signal though.).

Are you talking about headers? If so, you plug USB ports to the headers. You get 2 ports per header. Some things go directly to them, like memory card readers, and smart card readers.

 

[voyagerfan99]

But I was asking about *internal* ports. What kind of devices would you hook up to the internal ports on the motherboard itself that you would need 8 or 12 of those?

Should you have a lot of USB ports on a case or even rear panel connectors that attach to the USB headers.

 

[JohnJSal]

Internal... maybe a wireless card or keyboard port (assuming you had a plastic case. The cold rolled steel of my case would deflect the signal though.).

Are you talking about headers? If so, you plug USB ports to the headers. You get 2 ports per header. Some things go directly to them, like memory card readers, and smart card readers.

It's referred to as "onboard USB" in the specs.

 

[wolfeking]

Those are USB headers. I have like 4 or 5 on my board. you do not have to use them. They are there for expansion should you need them though.

 

[JohnJSal]

Those are USB headers. I have like 4 or 5 on my board. you do not have to use them. They are there for expansion should you need them though.

I know, I just didn't understand why there needs to be so many. It seems like 12 onboard ports are a lot more than anyone would need.

 

[wolfeking]

Depends on how you connect them. There are 6 headers for 12 ports. If you use a card reader for example, then one is down right away, meaning 5 headers left. Assume you have a case with 4 ports up front. You are down to 3 headers. This is where you can get creative and use internal ports, or drive bay options or the like. There are millions of devices that use USB ports.

 

[JohnJSal]

Depends on how you connect them. There are 6 headers for 12 ports. If you use a card reader for example, then one is down right away, meaning 5 headers left. Assume you have a case with 4 ports up front. You are down to 3 headers. This is where you can get creative and use internal ports, or drive bay options or the like. There are millions of devices that use USB ports.

so when it says 12 onboard Usb ports, it really means you can only connect 6 things?

 

[wolfeking]

no, it means that you have 6 header to get 12 ports. Each header can do a max of 2 USB ports. Some devices use 1 header for 1 device. Most USB devices use one header for 2 ports. It all depends on how your device is meant to be connected.

 

[JohnJSal]

no, it means that you have 6 header to get 12 ports. Each header can do a max of 2 USB ports. Some devices use 1 header for 1 device. Most USB devices use one header for 2 ports. It all depends on how your device is meant to be connected.

I guess I'm confused by the terminology. What's the difference between a header and a port? From what I remember from my previous build, each of my 2 front Usb ports plugged into 1 onboard port. Either that or everything at the front of the case had a single plug connected together, and that was plugged into the motherboard.

 

[wolfeking]

the header is the port on the motherboard. It is made out of several metal pins. 10 I think, with one dead pin. But that might not be right. The port is external. It is what you plug the device into. Think of it like this. You plug your keyboard into a USB port. That port is either native to the motherboard, or connected to it by a header.

 

[JohnJSal]

the header is the port on the motherboard. It is made out of several metal pins. 10 I think, with one dead pin. But that might not be right. The port is external. It is what you plug the device into. Think of it like this. You plug your keyboard into a USB port. That port is either native to the motherboard, or connected to it by a header.

well when the specs list 8 on board Usb ports, what does that mean? Does it mean 8 different things at the front of the case or inside the case can be plugged into the motherboard?