Can I utilize my front USB 3.0 ports for my MOBO?

[wjsprowler]

Hello all, I recently posted on here for some expert help on selecting a gaming build and I am towards the end of building it.

I was suggested to get a Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 MOBO, and the Rosewill Challenger midATX case.

Anyway, there are 2 USB 3.0 ports on the front of the tower, and the motherboard does not have any internal spots for that plug to go (it has 10x2 = 20 pins). The MOBO only has extra USB 2.0 slots but not 3.0.

So what am I to do? I would very much like to use those front USB slots for convenience. Is there some way to convert the USB 3.0 plug to be able to plug them in the USB 2.0 slots (and by slots i mean 9 pin connectors meant for USB 2.0) on the MOBO? I must say I am a bit dissatisfied with the advice I was given on getting this MOBO and that case ><

 

[danraies]

Yeah, someone misled you there. I guess in defense of tomshardware it's easy to miss because so many mobos come with a usb 3.0 header these days. Also the Challenger did not have usb 3.0 until very recently. However, the whole point of these forums is to run those things by experts. Those are two parts that are very popular and are recommended often but that's a pretty big conflict.

The best solution I found is this expansion card:
http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Express-Internal-Connector-EC01/dp/B005A2RKC4
It goes in an empty pcie slot and has an internal usb 3.0 header. It looks like it needs molex power, though, which is kind of annoying. It should work, though.

 

[wjsprowler]

Yeah, someone misled you there. I guess in defense of tomshardware it's easy to miss because so many mobos come with a usb 3.0 header these days. Also the Challenger did not have usb 3.0 until very recently. However, the whole point of these forums is to run those things by experts. Those are two parts that are very popular and are recommended often but that's a pretty big conflict.

The best solution I found is this expansion card:
http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Express-Internal-Connector-EC01/dp/B005A2RKC4
It goes in an empty pcie slot and has an internal usb 3.0 header. It looks like it needs molex power, though, which is kind of annoying. It should work, though.

Hmmm... so I would get the additional USB ports on the back as well as the 20 pin slot that I need to connect to my two front USB Ports?

EDIT: Nevermind it is just an internal connection. Thanks for the post, I am pretty desperate for a solution so I will most likely end up doing that if I can't find something better. Thanks a lot!

 

[danraies]

Yeah, it would be way better if it also had external ports - not sure how that wasn't an obvious part of the card. Maybe it's a bandwidth thing or something.

 

[wjsprowler]

Yeah, it would be way better if it also had external ports - not sure how that wasn't an obvious part of the card. Maybe it's a bandwidth thing or something.

Yeah but it's all good. I will sleep a lot better tonight knowing this problem can be solved - returning the case/mobo wasn't a very desirable option and neither was leaving those 2 ports dead.

Many thanks