# Why would you need so many onboard USB ports?



## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## FuryRosewood (Sep 17, 2012)

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


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

FuryRosewood said:


> 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?


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> 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.


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## voyagerfan99 (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

voyagerfan99 said:


> 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.


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

JohnJSal said:


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


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



voyagerfan99 said:


> 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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> 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?


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## voyagerfan99 (Sep 17, 2012)

JohnJSal said:


> 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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> 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.


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> 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.


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> 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?


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> 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.


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

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.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> 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?


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## kdfresh09 (Sep 17, 2012)

when it says that it has 8 internal usb ports, or the like, it is saying that the motherboard has 4 headers, that support 2 usb devices each, for a total of 8 ports.  these are whats used to plug in things such as the usb ports that are on your case, a memory card reader, ect ect. when the description says "rear panel prts"  it is talking about the back plate of the board, where you can actualy see the usb ports, video out (if supported) and audio outputs.  so if it says 8 usb undet this section, it refering to 8 actual ports that you can see.  if its under the description that says "internal i/o connectors"  it is refering to the usb headers on the motherboard, in which you will plug a usb header from the device that you are anting to use, such as a card reader, or yur cases usb ports.  if it says 8 usb under this section, its refering to the 4 usb headers on the motherboard, which mind you, support 2 usb ports each, for a total of 8


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

those are likely the Onboard USB ports in the I/O area.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

kdfresh09 said:


> when it says that it has 8 internal usb ports, or the like, it is saying that the motherboard has 4 headers, that support 2 usb devices each, for a total of 8 ports.  these are whats used to plug in things such as the usb ports that are on your case, a memory card reader, ect ect.



I think I understand now. For a while I was thinking if it said 12 ports there were somehow really only 6 to use, but now I think I understand the difference between a header and a port.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> those are likely the Onboard USB ports in the I/O area.



the ones on the back of the motherboard are listed as external ports


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

okay. well it is harder to know exactly what you mean without looking at the board specs myself. 

But anyway, yes. The header powers up to 2 USB ports.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 17, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> okay. well it is harder to know exactly what you mean without looking at the board specs myself.
> 
> But anyway, yes. The header powers up to 2 USB ports.



I linked the two boards in my original post.


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## wolfeking (Sep 17, 2012)

I will go look at them later and see what they have.


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## ayan (Sep 17, 2012)

You must be kidding me.. 
-External cooler,
-mouse
-keyboard
-power source for your non-professional speakers
-power source to charge phone/mp3/4
-on-desk small lamp
-usb stick
-external hard drive

And I've already got 8. Search google for USB devices, and you'll find many more.


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## Hyper-Threaded (Sep 18, 2012)

> -power source for your non-professional speakers


You got a laptop so there better then yours.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 18, 2012)

ayan said:


> You must be kidding me..
> -External cooler,
> -mouse
> -keyboard
> ...



I'm not sure if you've missed the point of my question, or if I am missing something obvious. What I am asking about are the INTERNAL USB ports that are located on the motherboard. NOT the EXTERNAL USB ports that are located on the back of the motherboard that stick out of the computer.

Obviously all of the things you listed can be plugged into these external ports, but how do you plug a mouse or keyboard or USB stick, etc. into the internal ports once the PC is built and the case is closed?


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## kdfresh09 (Sep 18, 2012)

jon...ha ha...what is it that you still dont understand.  the headers on the motherboard are there for your cases usb ports, and if you have a card reader or something.  you plug thse thihgs into the header on the motehrboard, and then you plug your devise, (flash drive ect) into the port, which is the usb port on the case.  so on the outside of your case, you see usb ports.  when youlook on the inside of the case, you see wires coming from the usb ports.  this is the plug, that plugs into your header on the motherboard.  now, tell me what y ou dont get?


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## JohnJSal (Sep 18, 2012)

kdfresh09 said:


> jon...ha ha...what is it that you still dont understand.  the headers on the motherboard are there for your cases usb ports, and if you have a card reader or something.  you plug thse thihgs into the header on the motehrboard, and then you plug your devise, (flash drive ect) into the port, which is the usb port on the case.  so on the outside of your case, you see usb ports.  when youlook on the inside of the case, you see wires coming from the usb ports.  this is the plug, that plugs into your header on the motherboard.  now, tell me what y ou dont get?



I understand all that. What I was saying in my last reply is that I don't understand why people are responding to my question (about why you'd need so many internal USB ports) by giving the examples of mice, keyboards, USB sticks etc. as things you can use. How can all of these things be used with the INTERNAL ports?


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## kdfresh09 (Sep 18, 2012)

because, the internal ports get connected to a wire which runs to the front of the case, where your usb ports are, making the cases usb ports functional.  by the sounds of it you still have no clue as to what im talking about.  if your not getting it now, your not going to get it till  you build yourself a computer.  this thread should be closed admin.


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## JohnJSal (Sep 18, 2012)

kdfresh09 said:


> because, the internal ports get connected to a wire which runs to the front of the case, where your usb ports are, making the cases usb ports functional.  by the sounds of it you still have no clue as to what im talking about.  if your not getting it now, your not going to get it till  you build yourself a computer.  this thread should be closed admin.



yes, I get that. But my question was why would you need 8 or 12 of these internal ports? What could you possibly connect that many internal ports to?


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## Geoff (Sep 18, 2012)

JohnJSal said:


> yes, I get that. But my question was why would you need 8 or 12 of these internal ports? What could you possibly connect that many internal ports to?


Let's say 4 ports for the case, you add an internal card reader which uses another one, or perhaps you get a multifunctional device that sits in the drive bay which uses 1-3 USB headers.  They also make add-on cards that sit in an empty expansion slot that lets you add additional USB ports by connecting them to the internal headers.


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## Hyper-Threaded (Sep 18, 2012)

> Obviously all of the things you listed can be plugged into these external ports, but how do you plug a mouse or keyboard or USB stick, etc. into the internal ports once the PC is built and the case is closed?



You can buy them, the fit on a pci slot, and you plug them in on the motherboard. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158163 

Wrxguy beat me


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## Virssagòn (Sep 18, 2012)

WRXGuy1 said:


> Let's say 4 ports for the case, you add an internal card reader which uses another one, or perhaps you get a multifunctional device that sits in the drive bay which uses 1-3 USB headers.  They also make add-on cards that sit in an empty expansion slot that lets you add additional USB ports by connecting them to the internal headers.



Yep, cardreaders (with usb, sd,...)  can require 1-5 usb connection on the mobo. (Also firewire conections and other stuff)


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## JohnJSal (Sep 18, 2012)

Thanks guys. That's what I didn't know which prompted me to ask the question in the first place. I wasn't thinking of things like all the additional hardware you can manually add to the front of a case that needs yet more internal ports. 12 internal ports just struck me as excessive, not that I would complain.


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## Fira (Sep 18, 2012)

JohnJSal said:


> 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
> ...



People do use many USB ports so he or she or they can use stuff like flash drives (including more than one), to insert flash drive part of camera to upload data, put in flash drive look like internet router (or whatever it is called) etc.


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## Geoff (Sep 18, 2012)

Fira said:


> People do use many USB ports so he or she or they can use stuff like flash drives (including more than one), to insert flash drive part of camera to upload data, put in flash drive look like internet router (or whatever it is called) etc.


Yes, because we all put in flash drive to look like internet router.


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## Motorcharge (Sep 18, 2012)

Fira said:


> People do use many USB ports so he or she or they can use stuff like flash drives (including more than one), to insert flash drive part of camera to upload data, put in flash drive look like internet router (or whatever it is called) etc.



No.


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## Russ88765 (Sep 19, 2012)

I got webcams, digital cameras, external drives, flash drives, wifi connector, gamepads, etc. Those ports definitely get some use believe you me.


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