This has been a gripe of mine for a long time. Even if they came up with a standard pin layout, it is still almost impossible to ensure you connect the correct cable connector to the correct pin - not to mention it is almost impossible to see what you are doing when your own hand is in the way. Doesn't help when, in my case, my eyes are ancient.
The problem is getting all the major case makers and all the major motherboard makers, along with the ATX consortium to get together and agree on a standard. But clearly, it would be great if all the cases used a standard connector (even if some of the pins are not used - not all cases have Reset buttons for example) and if all the motherboards used the same "keyed" (so it only goes in one way) front panel header.
My Gigabyte board came with a really nice little
adapter/guide thingy that made it simple. You can hold this adapter/guide outside the case and in a good light, connect all the front panel wires, then plug the adapter/guide into the board. Pretty sure most other makers do something similar - at least with their better boards.
Wishful thinking. The problem is, they don't have a common enemy any more. Way WAY back in the day, all the major hardware makers got together and, led by Intel, created the AT Form Factor standard. This was the predecessor to the ATX Form Factor standard for PCs we have today.
This standard is what made it possible to put a Brand A motherboard, using Brand B processor and Brand C RAM and Brand D graphics card into a Brand E case and power it all with Brand F power supply and be certain it all will physically fit, use the correct voltages and support the same OS and other software.
But back then, all these competitors had a common enemy; IBM and the IBM PC. So they were willing to work together for a common goal.
Plus, none had invested much on their own standards so they were willing to compromise and come to a consensus.
Once the "IBM clone" industry took off and kicked IBM off the PC throne, everything changed. The ATX Form Factor standard stuck around because it was already here and working. But agreeing on new standards meant someone had to concede and give up on their own. This is EXACTLY why there is no ATX type standard for laptops. And it is the consumer who suffers as we are stuck with higher priced, "proprietary" products.
Coming up with a standard motherboard front panel connector would mean ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, Foxconn, ASRock, and other motherboard makers would have to agree on one standard and perhaps give up their own standard they had already heavily invested in.
At the same time, CoolerMaster, Fractal Design, Lian Li, and the other case makers would then have to do the same. And then the case maker group and the motherboard maker group would have to get together and agree.
The world is just too divided for that to happen, regardless how much sense it makes, or how much easier it would be for EVERYONE once fully implemented.
(as seen on power led+ / power led - on the picture)
