Any recommendations for a budget case (under $70) with a 3.1 Gen 2 port in the front panel? I was looking at this case which I really like but it has only 3.0 (3.1 Gen 1) ports..
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1165518-REG/nzxt_ca_s340gr2_s340_mid_tower_desktop.html
Not sure why there is such slow adoption towards 3.1 Gen 2, most of the devices are see still use the slower 3.0
Cases and the like have long production cycles (and shelf life - the time from a case is manufactured till it's sold can be
long), and it takes years for them to catch up to new I/O standards. Implementing a new standard at the very least requires redesigning the front IO of the case - which is only relatively simple if it's a discrete module and not, say, cut directly into the metal of the case (which would then require retooling the case panel production line). Then the manufacturer needs to clear out their stock of now-outdated I/O hardware so as not to be stuck with unsellable stock. Then new SKUs need to be added to sales and distribution systems, and distributors need to clear out old stock before buying significant amounts of a marginally updated model that's no doubt more expensive. And so on and so on. People don't replace their cases often, so this is a market with slow turnover rates.
Not that there is really any physical difference between a USB 3.0, 3.1G1 or 3.1G2 type-A port, so they should in theory be compatible. On the other hand, you have manufacturers like Asus who claim to see too much interference from 3.1G2 when using standard 3.0 motherboard connectors for this, and thus have launched an alternative/non-standard connector. I don't know of a single case using this connector, though. For motherboards with standard front panel USB 3.0 ports, these
should be compatible with 3.1G2 as long as the motherboard uses the standard connector. Though it seems YMMV. As for USB type-C, I've seen a case or two launched with that (whether it's labeled as 3.0, 3.1, or any variation thereof is another question again), but again, this stuff takes years.
On the other hand, what do you need front panel 3.1G2 for? The only thing approaching that kind of speed for a single device is dual SSD RAID cases, which have infinitesimal adoption rates due to crazy costs per GB. We're a long ways away from memory sticks even saturating 3.1. And for anything faster than that, Thunderbolt 3 seems to be an even better solution (which we'll likely never see front panel solutions for outside of dedicated bay devices).
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