Question USB Splitter?

[Nersciple]

I'm currently building a new gaming PC, something I do every 10 years or so. My current build is coming along nicely but I've run into one annoyance. My case, Thermaltake Tower 500, has four USB 3.0 cables but my motherboard, Asus ROG Strix Z690-F, only has one USB 3 header. I've searched about the Internet for a solution and have come up with one solution that I'm not even sure is a solution. I could only have two working USB ports on the front of my PC but I really do hate the thought of having four ports but two don't work. The solution I found is a USB 3.0 splitter. After much reading I'm conflicted. Some say it doesn't work, others say it only allows for power only and not data and others have issues with keeping the cables connected. I only found two cables, the one I'm looking at is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CGL4K96/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1L0CC1FACMFXH&psc=1

I did see the option of a PCIe card I don't think I'd be happy with the results when it comes to cable management. I'm trying to keep the entire PC aesthetically pleasing.

Has anyone had any experience with a USB 3.0 splitter? I just wanted to ask around from people in the know before I ordered anything.

 

[hotaru.hino]

A splitter doesn't work because the header only supports two ports, and as far as I know, that cable doesn't have something like a USB hub in the middle. Unfortunately I can't find a USB 3.0 internal hub. I see a lot of internal USB 2.0 hubs though.

 

[Misgar]

Fit a PCIe x 1 USB 3.0 card like the one below and you can use the second pair of USB3 Type-A 5Mbps ports on the front panel of the Thermaltake 500. The first pair go to U32G1_89 on the mobo.

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com...&sprefix=usb+3.0+pcie,electronics,174&sr=1-80

Don't buy a card with an old fashioned 4-way Molex power connector if your PSU doesn't have the appropriate outputs. The auxiliary SATA or Molex power input on the card is used to augment the DC supply from the PCIe slot, to provide 4 x 900mA for the four USB 3 ports.

I assume youve already connected the front panel Type-C port on the case to U32G2X2_1 on the motherboard for 10Mbps.

You'll end up with five USB 3 front panel ports, four Type-A and one Type-C.

 

[Nersciple]

Fit a PCIe x 1 USB 3.0 card like the one below and you can use the second pair of USB3 Type-A 5Mbps ports on the front panel of the Thermaltake 500. The first pair go to U32G1_89 on the mobo.

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-5-Port-PCIe-Card-USB/dp/B09BD9HJC8/ref=sr_1_80?crid=2119V3PBYFPOE&keywords=usb+3.0+pcie&qid=1687944143&s=electronics&sprefix=usb+3.0+pcie,electronics,174&sr=1-80

Don't buy a card with an old fashioned 4-way Molex power connector if your PSU doesn't have the appropriate outputs. The auxiliary SATA or Molex power input on the card is used to augment the DC supply from the PCIe slot, to provide 4 x 900mA for the four USB 3 ports.

I assume youve already connected the front panel Type-C port on the case to U32G2X2_1 on the motherboard for 10Mbps.

You'll end up with five USB 3 front panel ports, four Type-A and one Type-C.

I was trying to stay away from this for cable management purposes but you've given me an idea. To get a PCIe card but look for a thinner and more manageable cable extender so I can better hide the USB cable.

 

[Misgar]

I agree the bulk of typical USB3 internal front panel cables makes them difficult to hide. Unfortunately, the 19 individual wires bundled inside the cable have a greater cross-sectional area than those in a 9-way USB2 cable. Dispensing with the plastic outer sheath covering the 19 wires would reduce overall volume, but I haven't checked to see if such "bare" cables exist.

I've had problems in the past with long (3ft/1m) poorly made thin USB3 cables causing data corruption, when transferring files from card readers and external hard disks. Changing to thicker shorter (1ft/0.3m) external cables fixed the problem, as did direct connection to USB3 ports on the rear panel, to shorten the overall cable length.

I regard the 1.5ft/0.5m internal cables from the motherboard to the front panel as a necessary evil (because of increased capacitance and crosstak) but they do make USB device connection much easier. However, when backing up files to external 3.5in hards disks, I use USB3 rear panel ports with the shortest USB lead possible.

It's not always obvious when data corruption has occurred during USB3 transfers over long cables, until you try to open the copied files. For critical USB3 file transfers, I perform a byte-by-byte comparison between the source files and destination files using FreeFileSync. This doubles the total time, but gives added confidence that no data corruption occured during the copy process.

if you do find thinner USB3 cables and bundle them with other data cables in a cable loom, you might increase "crosstalk" between adjacent cables. Crosstalk can be reduced by using screened cables, but this increases cable bulk. EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) from adjacent cables is unlikely to affect USB3 data integrity, but in extreme cases you might encounter an occasional glitch. IMO, short thick cables = good. Long thin cables = bad.