Mobo Rear Panel USB 2.0 Ports In 2025

[AusWolf]

Among the new X800 boards I found this, it actually surprised me. (ASRock X870 Pro RS)

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But yeah, out of 28 products, this is what I found.
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One can say anything about USB 2 vs 3, but that back panel design is just wasted space. Please no one tell me that they couldn't have squeezed a few more ports into the empty space in rows where there's only 2 USBs, or that the BIOS flashback button needed a separate row with nothing else in it.

 

[datnoz]

Unlikely. It's not as if the motherboard makers leave unused traces there for you to tap into. Not saying it's impossible, but it'll differ between each and every motherboard.
However, I have seen motherboards in the past that had pin-headers for PS/2 ports, but that was some time ago and not on your typical consumer boards, even if it was common-ish on consumer boards for a while too.

Here's a datasheet for a typical Super I/O chip from ITE.

ITE-SuperIO/IT8786E-I_B_V0.2.pdf at master · huchanghui123/ITE-SuperIO

X86 Linux ITE SuperIO GPIO Control. Contribute to huchanghui123/ITE-SuperIO development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

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Thanks, i'll try to add a mouse port on the m5a99x

One can say anything about USB 2 vs 3, but that back panel design is just wasted space. Please no one tell me that they couldn't have squeezed a few more ports into the empty space in rows where there's only 2 USBs, or that the BIOS flashback button needed a separate row with nothing else in it.

Sure, but then bandwidth would be a problem.

 

[DaemonForce]

I can guess what the issue is with that board, the GL850 USB 2.0 hub that shows up as a generic USB hub.
It's a POS, it's been causing issues for years and is the most commonly used USB 2.0 hub due to cost.

Oh I know the 2.0 hub portion has issues but none that effect my situation.
The issues are all on the USB3 portion, as in anything to the I/O plate.
This is so dumb and the troubleshooting is not worth it. It's nice when it works.

 

[Chrispy_]

Hmm, I'm a bit late to this thread but I typically seek out USB2 ports for lightweight bootloaders such as Clonezilla or Memtest86, HDMI KVMs, and wired keyboards/mice.

For the most part USB3 ports work just fine, but at least once or twice a month I'll encounter something that doesn't work properly in a USB3 port. Presumably the backward-compatibility with USB2 doesn't extend to all environments and all situations...

 

[nomdeplume]

One can say anything about USB 2 vs 3, but that back panel design is just wasted space. Please no one tell me that they couldn't have squeezed a few more ports into the empty space in rows where there's only 2 USBs, or that the BIOS flashback button needed a separate row with nothing else in it.

I'm very flexible on the wide range of related spatial/technical/manufacturing choices, but equally ready to steer things back towards anyone being able to comment on back panel USB 2.0.

Quoted to denote wider spatial/technical/manufacturing choices are separate from use cases that would be impacted by complete removal of back panel USB 2.0. Which has it's own issues to consider.

This also came in a chain of responses to suggestion just buy more (add on card) from these entities in order to restore some amount of functionality that... fully understand where you are coming from.

 

[AusWolf]

Sure, but then bandwidth would be a problem.

No it wouldn't. There's a total of 6 USB 3 ports there, and 2 USB-C ports. Every modern chipset/CPU can do a lot more than that.

 

[Ferrum Master]

What a retarded thread. USB2 has to stay even PS/2.

We barely have spare PCIe lanes for consumer to put m.2 drives, you want them them to be shared with POTENTIAL USB3 crap. You mean the CPU/SOUTH BRIDGE bandwidth is infinite? No market segregation is telling you to suffer. You just pull it like a rabbit out of the hat? More USB3s...

PS/2 even 8bit ISA is still present on any board via LPC hub, because that piece of silicon wakes up the whole board during boot and ensure basic functionality and only then south bridge wakes up. It is for free, always there.

I am not sure, why less features is more desired. There is known bandwidth limit, USB2 is basically free... so you ask to no to put anything at all at the rear I/O? I even would be happy to have COM port there still... it never has ceased to be needed even in 2024.

 

[nomdeplume]

I am not sure, why less features is more desired. There is known bandwidth limit, USB2 is basically free... so you ask to no to put anything at all at the rear I/O? I even would be happy to have COM port there still... it never has ceased to be needed even in 2024.

 

[lexluthermiester]

What a retarded thread.

Look in a mirror when you say that. Is there a particular reason you felt the need to be so insulting to the OP? WTH..

 

[DaemonForce]

I am not sure, why less features is more desired. There is known bandwidth limit, USB2 is basically free... so you ask to no to put anything at all at the rear I/O?

On full sized boards? Yeah it's completely insane. No reason for it outside avoiding really dumb combination designs but other formfactors exist and they can get real tiny.
It's unconscionable that in current year we struggle deciding what we need to include/exclude on such boards AND there are basic functionality problems among other growing pains.
We are here. This is where we're at. Can I do without max sata for more M.2? Yeah. Others probably can't.
Can I do without the amount of USB3 provisioned on my current board? Only in exchange for more USB2.
PS/2? Ready to get gone.
Audio? Virgin.
Ethernet? I main 10GbE SFP now because 1GbE Ethernet is still the default after 20 years.
If you look hard enough, there are issues everywhere.

 

[R-T-B]

Oh I know the 2.0 hub portion has issues but none that effect my situation.
The issues are all on the USB3 portion, as in anything to the I/O plate.
This is so dumb and the troubleshooting is not worth it. It's nice when it works.

Well I hate to say it but X570 and usb issues are kind of a joint experience. You often find them together...

PS/2? Ready to get gone.

You make my vintage model M cry (yes I have active adapters, but still).

 

[DaemonForce]

Well I hate to say it but X570 and usb issues are kind of a joint experience. You often find them together...

Yeah at first I was glossing over a lot of the issues on this platform and was stuck between two Mini-ITX boards that didn't have any sign of them but in the market they were over $300/ea and MIA. Had to default to the TUF and while the USB isn't ideal, I'm glad the problems are less of an issue than expected. Whatever the case, usually can be cured by a quick unplug+replug. Still hate reboots though.

You make my vintage model M cry (yes I have active adapters, but still).

PS/2 was one of the requirements in my lineup because I was still holding onto a keyboard from 2006-2007. Now I have 2xUSB mice and 2xUSB keyboards and should daisy chain them. I picked up the 15% for shortcuts and picked up the 75% because it's compact with USB features. Also to see why people get so a(u/r)tistic over mechanical. I still don't get it but cool.

In the future I'm going to have less issues with USB thanks to splitters and hubs but more issues due to low bandwidth. USB4 is NOT the answer either. I just need more USB controllers, which means more USB ports pairs but more or less the same number of ports. Can't win.

 

[Ferrum Master]

On full sized boards? Yeah it's completely insane. No reason for it outside avoiding really dumb combination designs but other formfactors exist and they can get real tiny.

You still don't get it. It is all about the bandwidth. You simply cannot have more, it is the maximum. Designers just route wiring from default ICs that are present there either way. It is the platform design. Either you put your hated USB2 that are there either way via motherboard front panel or on the rear I/O, or your hated PS/2 that is there either way and mandatory for now as long the IC provides it, just wire up the pins and expose the BIOS toggle in AMI ALASKA tool. Plan B is to screw it all and leave not connected, like in a apple device... one port for all let us pretend PS/2 is dead in 2024, yet is still is there, just not exposed by the bios and not routed on the board, and those heretic designers, how dare they use all functionality the components do still at our our age, let us write a pissed comment, how lame the engineers are...

For one USB3 zero gen you can get true 10 USB2 ports. Or two USB3 Gen1 or one Gen2? What's so hard about the math here. Our CPU have only x amount of lanes for that and that is it. There are further hardware complications filing out the specifications, also signal integrity wise, you simply cannot put it anywhere, it will not work, so space constrains still apply, especially for high speed designs, you simply cannot have anything.

 

[nomdeplume]

Look in a mirror when you say that. Is there a particular reason you felt the need to be so insulting to the OP? WTH..

Can't say I took personal offense while being reasonably sure a doubling down to gain attention would have predictable result.

 

[Solaris17]

Noticed that despite having both "blue" and "teal" USB 3 variants I've only recently started to need them. Obviously this is a singular case involving legacy 2.0 era devices that didn't like however the USB 3 spec was implemented on a particular board. It goes much further with kbm (wired) and various sporadically used pluggable devices habitually used in what are both most accessible and offer longest cord reach USB 2.0 ports located on the topmost row. There is also the issue of tranceivers overheating more easily in higher power/bandwidth ports.

Would be curious to hear others thoughts on their continued existence. Current crop of mobo about to be succeeded have a very defined split between full rank of four USB 2.0 in highest position or complete absence of them anywhere on the back panel.

I echo this. I mean installers, live environments etc iv all had issues with when it comes to USB 3 controllers.

I also think like anything else this is just a transition period. Atleast in my case eventually drivers for such things will slowly improve as the environments are replaced and those issues will eventually go away.

Atleast as far as those particular use cases we just aren’t there yet.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Can't say I took personal offense while being reasonably sure a doubling down to gain attention would have predictable result.

Fair enough. Seemed like an undeserved personal jab.