Why does the latest mobos still come with ps2 port(s)? Any reasons?

[Osandakj]

Hi,

My question is as straightforward as the title itself.

Why even most high end motherboards (such as maximus viii formula, msi godlike) still have a ps2 port?

Is it there for any particular reason? Please explain.

 

 

Apart from that, certain companies advice that they've optimized few ports for peripherals.

Are they just marketing tricks or they did make a "noticeable" difference in real world gaming?

 

 

Please help. Thank you.

 

 

 

[Nacho Marco Segui]

For troubleshooting if you cant use the usb ports for the keyboard or a mouse

[Paralectic]

Because it's better than USB sometimes.

When in the BIOS for example, I had situations where my mechanical boards  (USB) didn't function at all, and the PS2 ones did.

[Crowes]

"It's better than USB" doesn't quite cut it.

 

PS2 doesn't require drivers. USB 2.0 doesn't require drivers; USB 3.0 does. Most modern motherboards are growingly lacking USB 2.0 ports and only having USB 3.0, so PS2 is great for getting into your BIOS/UEFI and actually installing Windows.

[BrightCandle]

Ps2 is lower latency, a number of gamers still use it for that reason.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

On Skylake Intel dropped EHCI support in favor of XHCI.  Win7 doesn't have XHCI support out of the box, so the USB ports won't work during the Win7 installation. 

This means you'll either need to insert a special driver into the .iso file / stick / dvd or will need to use the PS2 port.  So it makes perfect sense to have at least one such port.

[Dabombinable]

I can't name 1 situation where a PS/2 port didn't work when installing an OS. With USB ports on the other hand...... BTW PS/2 keyboards consume less power as well-which is why they are used with PS/2 trackpads in laptops.

[TroubleKlef]

Isn't there also a key press limitation for USB keyboards? Maybe those Star Craft players press those keys too rapidly

[Curufinwe_wins]

Isn't there also a key press limitation for USB keyboards? Maybe those Star Craft players press those keys too rapidly

Not anymore, although the way in which mice and keyboards function via PS2 is fundamentally different than USB.

 

USB polls the device at a certain frequency and detects what keys are pressed then sends that data along.

 

PS2 updates the computer only when a key stroke is fired.

 

In theory this tends to make PS2 keyboards superior (although 1k polling rate and n-key roll over has killed much of the desire these days) while having much inferior mice.

 

Plus IBM Model M keyboards are still a thing.

[Bulgarian004130]

Because it's good? What's your problem with PS/2?

[cragger89]

Because in some situations, it is better.

[BrightCandle]

The trade off with PS/2 is it uses more CPU time to run the keyboard and it gets an IRQ direct into the CPU. USB on the other hand is all generic interrupt based and the polling all happens in the chipset. But it also increases delay. Given the option now its a tough choice, but I know some gamers who swear by PS/2 and its lower latency. Personally I am not at the skill level where I notice.

[MacAlisterL]

truobleshooting without usb

[Dabombinable]

Not anymore, although the way in which mice and keyboards function via PS2 is fundamentally different than USB.

 

USB polls the device at a certain frequency and detects what keys are pressed then sends that data along.

 

PS2 updates the computer only when a key stroke is fired.

 

In theory this tends to make PS2 keyboards superior (although 1k polling rate and n-key roll over has killed much of the desire these days) while having much inferior mice.

 

Plus IBM Model M keyboards are still a thing.

Those keyboards will always be a thing.

[Jumper118]

Hi,

My question is as straightforward as the title itself.

Why even most high end motherboards (such as maximus viii formula, msi godlike) still have a ps2 port?

Is it there for any particular reason? Please explain.

 

Apart from that, certain companies advice that they've optimized few ports for peripherals.

Are they just marketing tricks or they did make a "noticeable" difference in real world gaming?

 

 

 

Please help. Thank you.

it is the most important thing on a high end board. overclockers are normally heavily involved in the development and lots of early bioses dont have the fancy gaming keyboard support so the ps2 is the best way to insure maximum compatibility 

[Nena Trinity]

PS/2 is better for many things and reliable!