USB 3.0 motherboard headers are terrifying, has anyone found a good solution?

[Agall]

Has anyone found a good solution to the problem of terrifyingly fragile USB 3.0 motherboard connectors? I've considered getting a low profile angled one that should allow the thick and janky default header that most cases come with to safely reside in the back. Has anyone tried anything like this out?

 

 

This janky fragile POS that I've busted or bent pins because of multiple times.

 

 

This is something I've thought of doing just so I can safely stash the actual connector in the rear and not worry about torquing the heck out of it to get a seamless run. I've had dozens of scenarios over the years where this has been a problem, just never thought to actually fix it.

[Blqckqut]

they are so janky once i tried to puill it off safely and the entire blue thing [black on my psu] came off and got stuck on my motherboard

[Agall]

5 minutes ago, Blqckqut said:

they are so janky once i tried to puill it off safely and the entire blue thing [black on my psu] came off and got stuck on my motherboard

I've had all types, bent pins, removed female connectors, sheared pins over the years. I'd like to see a flat right angled connector that can safely hide and migrate the thick part to the rear of the case for that very reason.

 

Ideally this connector just doesn't exist anymore, its genuinely the worst connector I've ever dealt with.

[gen_angry]

USB 3.0 headers were clearly designed by engineers that don't actually assemble any PCs. I can't wait until they're phased out entirely... if that ever will happen.

 

I just plug them directly in the board as the very last thing to do. When taking them out, you can bend them very slightly to release the clip and pull them out but it is a delicate operation. Them pins are so tiny.

 

I haven't tried any angle connectors like those myself, mainly because I'd be more worried about accidentally bumping/pulling it up when moving cables around and bending the pins that way. But assuming you get one that's reasonably well built, plan around it, and don't actually open your PC to work on it afterwards - they should be fine.

 

 

[johnt]

This is usually a set it and forget wire for me. I've never had an issue with it other than it's cumbersome to cable manage. I think the 90-degree adapter you found is a good solution if you're using an ATX case. I don't think this would work in a mini ITX.

[Agall]

9 minutes ago, johnt said:

This is usually a set it and forget wire for me. I've never had an issue with it other than it's cumbersome to cable manage. I think the 90-degree adapter you found is a good solution if you're using an ATX case. I don't think this would work in a mini ITX.

I think it depends on the layout entirely. My x670e aorus master fortunately puts both USB 3.2 headers at the bottom of the motherboard, so its not sticking out the right side and is somewhat concealed and braced by the case.

 

Potentially even a flat connector would be better, that can be molded easier to form a tighter bend. Recently rebuilt my brother's PC into the ROG Z11 which was a nightmare with this connector since that case was specifically designed around the x570 Impact (mind you that I have) but his build uses another Asus B450-i board where the USB3.0 header was exceptionally difficult to manage.

 

Just thinking about unplugging this connector makes me anxious.

[mariushm]

They weren't designed .... it's just a side effect / consequence of natural progression...

Motherboards used 0.1" headers for jumpers and for various things (front panel header, audio, com/serial and parallel ports and so on... so they just reused it for USB 2.0 (2 x 5 pin header) and when USB 3 came along, they naturally just extended it to 2x10 pin header.

 

They changed it with the new 10/20/40 gbps headers because at that point the actual quality of connector and even length of pins starts to matter.

 

[Agall]

16 hours ago, mariushm said:

They weren't designed .... it's just a side effect / consequence of natural progression...

Motherboards used 0.1" headers for jumpers and for various things (front panel header, audio, com/serial and parallel ports and so on... so they just reused it for USB 2.0 (2 x 5 pin header) and when USB 3 came along, they naturally just extended it to 2x10 pin header.

 

They changed it with the new 10/20/40 gbps headers because at that point the actual quality of connector and even length of pins starts to matter.

 

So what it seems to be is that everyone just puts up like I have with the inferior nature/design of this connector?

 

What we probably need is for companies to stop including this header on motherboards and just include adapters from type-c headers or such instead. Type-c headers also take up half the space on the board. It looks like you can adapt it either way, just going from USB 3.x type-a header to type-c just requires some logic in the adapter.

 

Here's what I've found (on newegg specifically):

 

Low Profile Header USB 3.0 19/20 Pin Internal Extension Male to Female Adapter Flat Cable for Motherboard -Solve the problem that the USB port is blocked by graphics card - 6 inches - Newegg.com

-Flat connector that should provide easier cable management off the motherboard, basically adapt the header to something easier to work with.

 

Motherboard Internal USB 3.0 20Pin/19P Header to Type-E A-Key USB 3.1 20 Pin Adapter for Type C Front Panel Chassis Bracket (Straight Type) - Newegg.com + Chenyang USB 3.1 Front Panel Header to USB 3.0 20Pin Header Extension Cable 20cm for ASUS Motherboard - Newegg.com

-This is the real gamer move, adapt it to usb 3.1 'type-c' header then back to usb 3.0  . In this case, you could always just use a spare USB 3.1 'type-c' header if you have a spare.

[Mark Kaine]

No, never had an issue with those.

 

Now the whole 24pin or whatever from the psu tho... its always like glued on and pushing the latch is a major pain and barely does anything 

[mariushm]

1 hour ago, Agall said:

So what it seems to be is that everyone just puts up like I have with the inferior nature/design of this connector?

 

What we probably need is for companies to stop including this header on motherboards and just include adapters from type-c headers or such instead. Type-c headers also take up half the space on the board. It looks like you can adapt it either way, just going from USB 3.x type-a header to type-c just requires some logic in the adapter.

 

 

Yeah, good luck with that.

You have motherboards released without some basic heatsinks on the VRM because an extruded aluminum heatsink costs half a dollar in big quantities and increases the shipping costs by a few cents per board.

 

A shrouded 20 pin header is like less than 10 cents in volume, while that new header while tiny, it's still more complex and heavier and more difficult to handle, don't see it cost less than maybe 50 cents in volume.

Also the case manufacturers wouldn't be happy - you lose two usb 3 ports on front case, to make one type c connector work in either direction? And pay maybe half a dollar to a dollar more on the internal cable that goes to the case?

[Agall]

4 hours ago, mariushm said:

Yeah, good luck with that.

You have motherboards released without some basic heatsinks on the VRM because an extruded aluminum heatsink costs half a dollar in big quantities and increases the shipping costs by a few cents per board.

 

A shrouded 20 pin header is like less than 10 cents in volume, while that new header while tiny, it's still more complex and heavier and more difficult to handle, don't see it cost less than maybe 50 cents in volume.

Also the case manufacturers wouldn't be happy - you lose two usb 3 ports on front case, to make one type c connector work in either direction? And pay maybe half a dollar to a dollar more on the internal cable that goes to the case?

I'd spend more on a motherboard that had no USB 3.0 header and instead had more USB 3.1 headers but included a USB 3.1 to 3.0 adapter. 

 

There's a lot of things I'd spend more on a motherboard to include, this is just a new item on the list if possibilities. Sounds like higher profit margins for them since I'd gladly spend another $20 to get that.

 

4 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

No, never had an issue with those.

 

Now the whole 24pin or whatever from the psu tho... its always like glued on and pushing the latch is a major pain and barely does anything 

ATX 24 pin is just tough to plug in, its not tough to seat right and easy to break like a USB 3.0 header.

 

Just even built a new system today for work, R5 7600 in a FD define mini C. iGPU rig so I went with Gigabyte's mATX B650 DS3H since it has triple display outputs. At least on this board in that case, the USB 3.0 is angled and works perfectly with the way FD designs the right side I/O. Went with a Thermalright Assassin King becuase its hard to argue with $22 120mm tower cooler. 

 

Even with such an optimal setup in this case+motherboard, I still had to make sure I was careful when managing the USB 3.0 since even a little bit of torque can damage that fragile connector.