[POLL] Can you live without front IO?

[Enderman]

This is the mini PC I have been working on for a while, someone mentioned they wouldn't want one because it has no front IO.

I'm considering adding front IO to future PCs.

What do you guys think?

 

 

A: With no front IO

 

B: with front IO (just an example, could be USB C or other)

[Helpful Tech Witch]

front io doesnt have to have asthetic downsides.

put it at the top and make it all black like my meshify c and it doent look bad at all.

 

plus front IO at the top front is more useful imo

[GuiltySpark_]

I have no use for front I/O personally but if you're going to do it on there, i'd put it on the side or top.

[RONOTHAN##]

I have front IO on my case, I just have a keyboard with a USB passthrough so I basically never use it. I never use more than Type A on the front, so a single Type A passthrough is about all I really need. 

[Enderman]

2 minutes ago, Helpful Tech Wiard said:

front io doesnt have to have asthetic downsides.

put it at the top and make it all black like my meshify c and it doent look bad at all.

 

plus front IO at the top front is more useful imo

Sounds good, thanks for the tip.

Not all configs are black though, I'm making a variety of materials such as concrete, marble, wood, etc

 

2 minutes ago, rickeo said:

I have no use for front I/O personally but if you're going to do it on there, i'd put it on the side or top.

Alright that's a good idea, side would be less visible for sure!

 

1 minute ago, RONOTHAN## said:

I have front IO on my case, I just have a keyboard with a USB passthrough so I basically never use it. I never use more than Type A on the front, so a single Type A passthrough is about all I really need. 

Thanks :)

[Helpful Tech Witch]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

Not all configs are black though, I'm making a variety of materials such as concrete, marble, wood, etc

 

fair, but im sure you can find ports that would match.

[Enderman]

Just now, Helpful Tech Wiard said:

fair, but im sure you can find ports that would match.

I mean the port would just be a rectangular or circular hole, if you mean the little plastic piece inside the USB port that's always blue for USB 3.0 or higher...

[gamagama69]

I use them all the time. Headphones, fingerprint reader, usb drives, connecting my phone, xbox 360 controller.

 

I can't imagine not having them, but also I have a mid tower so I don't really make a ton of compromises.

[MultiGamerClub]

Almost never use front io, couldnt care less.

 

Its only when i need a quick cable or need to format/make iso windows 10 pro or 11 that it is handy.

USB-C is kinda cool too.

 

Sadly the back io usb's are almost all used up now

[OhioYJ]

Am I reading #3 wrong, or is it backwards? If aesthetics were first, wouldn't there be no IO, like Image A? Wouldn't Image B and having front IO be the Convenience?

 

With the rate USB ports are disappearing from motherboards, I need all the ports I can get. I have two powered USB hubs sitting on my desk right now.

 

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, MultiGamerClub said:

Almost never use front io, couldnt care less.

 

Its only when i need a quick cable or need to format/make iso windows 10 pro or 11 that it is handy.

USB-C is kinda cool too.

 

Sadly the back io usb's are almost all used up now

Part of the reason I went with no front IO was also that the PC is so small it's super easy to just grab it and turn it around to plug something in

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, OhioYJ said:

Am I reading #3 wrong, or is it backwards? If aesthetics were first, wouldn't there be no IO, like Image A? Wouldn't Image B and having front IO be the Convenience?

 

With the rate USB ports are disappearing from motherboards, I need all the ports I can get. I have two powered USB hubs sitting on my desk right now.

 

Haha yes thank you  fixed!

 

And yes I agree about needing more ports, so what I did is reroute the front IO to the back so no IO is lost

[Helpful Tech Witch]

19 minutes ago, Enderman said:

I mean the port would just be a rectangular or circular hole, if you mean the little plastic piece inside the USB port that's always blue for USB 3.0 or higher...

no its not

im sitting here looking at my usb 3 port (which is also the metal part btw), and its usb 3.0- and its a peice of black plastic.

and the standard usb 3 color is a green/blue, not just a blue like normal 3, for 10gbps iirc

[amberisvibin]

I'd prefer to have a headphone jack at the very least. Having a USB port is handy for game controllers and the occasional pen drive as well. My case has 2 USBs and a headphone jack and it's more than enough.

[poochyena]

My laptop actually has 1 usb port on each side, so actually, yea, I could live without it.

[Moonzy]

I prefer to have front io

But in your render, I definitely would prefer not to have it because it's ugly lmao

Would get a USB hub instead

[Senzelian]

I think this is a rather strange poll.

 

I use the front I/O regularly and most of the time it's for USB flash drives or external harddrives.

That makes my answers for the 1. and 2. question rather obvious.

 

But even tho I use it so frequently, I'd still say that I'd prefer to not have any front I/O if I wanted to buy your particular case.

Your case is clearly meant to look clean and simple, which is why front I/O would destroy that look. It is also quite small and therefor I could probably just turn the case around and access its I/O that way.

 

And that is why I think this poll is rather strange:

Yes I would want to have front I/O, but not on your case.

 

Edit: If you decide to put fron't I/O into that little box, put it at the top. Makes it easier to plug and unplug stuff with one hand, cause then you've got a surface to push against.

[adarw]

a headphone jack and a power button would be optimal, maybe even throw in a usb c port since most mobos dont have them,

[Vishera]

Where is the airflow?

I would never use a hotbox like this,

The poor PC will be tortured.

[mariushm]

It could be a laser cut rectangle centered at the bottom ... add some mechanism, for example push button (like on ball point pens) ... you press on the wood rectangle and it clicks out giving you access to the usb ports.

Or instead of push button action , push and slide into a hidden compartment,slide and release to close.

[Be Rock]

This is just my opinion but I think the idea of having to choose between aesthetics and functionality is a bit far fetched.

The example you are showing is of a very tiny PC - not unlike one Intel's NUCs or any other system in that form factor. I have a lot of experience with such devices and while I am certain that there are plenty of consumers that find them attractive, 100% of the NUCs I have installed for clients were done in schools, who use them not because they are aesthetically pleasing, but because their tiny form factor means they can be tucked away either behind the display (VESA mounts) or mounted under a desk. This helps them stay outside the reach of young children, and prevents accidental drops.

I think this all comes down to how you use your tiny PC. If your system is "out of sight and out of mind" than your IO is probably fixed and isn't going to be used much. If your system sits on your desk at all, regardless of how it looks, you're likely to interact with it and its IO.

[Heliian]

Regardless of the case design, I rarely use front io.  However, I need front io for the ports.  I hate hubs because they're just another loose part and half the time don't work well. 

 

I also need to have ports on my laptop, tablet and phone.  Again, most of the time it's wireless but there are just times I need it. 

 

I also keep my pc sideways, to the right of the monitor so I can access the rear io easily.  It also puts the glass panel in full view, it's the best side to look at. 

[Nayr438]

I personally use the Front IO on my system very frequently. If I however happened to obtain a case where this wasn't present, I would personally just mount a USB hub under my desk.

If I had the choice between the 2 Cases you have shown, I would pick the one without.

[OhioYJ]

16 minutes ago, adarw said:

a headphone jack and a power button would be optimal, maybe even throw in a usb c port since most mobos dont have them,

If the motherboard doesn't have a USB C port it likely doesn't have a internal header for a front USB C port. 

[Enderman]

19 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

I think this is a rather strange poll.

 

I use the front I/O regularly and most of the time it's for USB flash drives or external harddrives.

That makes my answers for the 1. and 2. question rather obvious.

 

But even tho I use it so frequently, I'd still say that I'd prefer to not have any front I/O if I wanted to buy your particular case.

Your case is clearly meant to look clean and simple, which is why front I/O would destroy that look. It is also quite small and therefor I could probably just turn the case around and access its I/O that way.

 

And that is why I think this poll is rather strange:

Yes I would want to have front I/O, but not on your case.

 

Edit: If you decide to put fron't I/O into that little box, put it at the top. Makes it easier to plug and unplug stuff with one hand, cause then you've got a surface to push against.

Thanks for the feedback
That was my though when designing this, it's small enough to just reach around or pick up and turn it to plug stuff in.

 

19 minutes ago, adarw said:

a headphone jack and a power button would be optimal, maybe even throw in a usb c port since most mobos dont have them,

I have the power button on the back currently, and it's quite easy to reach without looking at it or moving the PC

 

18 minutes ago, Vishera said:

Where is the airflow?

I would never use a hotbox like this,

The poor PC will be tortured.

Big vents at the back, plus it's only a 15W CPU so temps are below 80C.

 

16 minutes ago, mariushm said:

It could be a laser cut rectangle centered at the bottom ... add some mechanism, for example push button (like on ball point pens) ... you press on the wood rectangle and it clicks out giving you access to the usb ports.

Or instead of push button action , push and slide into a hidden compartment,slide and release to close.

Thta's a cool idea

A little complex but worth considering