[Potentially trivial question] How do USB ports on cases work?

[MichaelMcGrade]

When I am reading PC case descriptions I constantly see that it has say for example
"2 x USB 3.0 and 2 x USB 2.0 ports on the front of the case"
And then I see the attached images which show them exactly as described.

However, if the motherboard doesn't line up exactly to fit the exact position of the ports on the case, how exactly do they work?

 

[Eximo]

They use cables.

 

[Wolfshadw]

The motherboard doesn't "line up" with the front USB ports. There are cables that run from the front USB ports on the case that connect to the USB pin outs on the motherboard.

-Wolf sends

 

[tambeshakunt]

The ports have a cable that is connected to the motherboard by something called a header. USB 2.0 headers are different from USB 3.0 headers. When you install your motherboard, you need to connect the right cable to the appropriate header. The headers are keyed, so only one connector will fit into it - you can't go wrong.


Here are the types of connectors from your case

This is the USB 3 header on the board :

This is the USB 2 header on the board:

 

[MichaelMcGrade]

The ports have a cable that is connected to the motherboard by something called a header. USB 2.0 headers are different from USB 3.0 headers. When you install your motherboard, you need to connect the right cable to the appropriate header. The headers are keyed, so only one connector will fit into it - you can't go wrong.


Here are the types of connectors from your case

This is the USB 3 header on the board :

This is the USB 2 header on the board:

Wow! Thank you for the incredibly speedy/informative response!
Does this however have an impact on performance?

 

[tambeshakunt]

You're welcome.

Connecting via cables does not change the speeds of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The cables aren't very long so the slowdown is negligible.

The speed of USB 2.0 stays up to around 480mb/s and the speed of USB 3.0 stays up to 5gbps. (these are the advertised speeds)

 

[Sc0urgeTR]

Performance is based on usb3 being faster than usb2.
Also usb devices share bandwidth. So the more usb devices connected the less bandwidth for all.

 

[MichaelMcGrade]

You're welcome.

Connecting via cables does not change the speeds of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The cables aren't very long so the slowdown is negligible.

The speed of USB 2.0 stays up to around 480mb/s and the speed of USB 3.0 stays up to 5gbps. (these are the advertised speeds)

Once again, thank you very much for your speedy response (and everyone else for your replies)!