Rant - shouldn't motherboards actually support their features?

[krunt]

Maybe I am alone here, and maybe I am not but I think that if you buy a retail motherboard it should come with enough of those little usb header things (and firewire, etc...) to actually fill up the ports they offer.

I am tired of getting these motherboards that offer 8 onboard USB connections, but only give you the ability to use 2 of them. Same goes with firewire or anyo ther onboard device. It can't cost them much, and they sure are a pain to find on your own. Anyone else with me? Should the reviews take this into account?

edit: just to be clear, I am talking about the little expansion slot cover thing that has the ports on it. Yes, the front of your case usually has a few, but how many people here can actually use all of the onboard devices they paid for without spending another $20 or even $50 on those device headers?

 

[BassBomb]

thats what deluxe motherboard versions are

 

[krunt]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
thats what deluxe motherboard versions are

thats not true, they may have more, but never enough. Deluxe boards do have more stuff, but they rarely give you enough of the tools needed to use them. take the Asus p5k deluxe or premium. They have 6 on board usb connections, but they only give you one bracket/header. Leaving you with five you can't use. Maybe your case can use two of them.

eh, maybe i am the only one this bothers

 

[Idontcare]

Do you piss a bitch because the mobo doesn't come with a PSU to plug into those power plugs on the motherboard?

Do you throw a piss-fit because the motherboard doesn't come with an external power switch, reset button, or HDD activity cable and LED? Or do you expect your case manufacturer to equip your computer case with these extra features?

Oooh and WTF is up with all those unfilled PCI and PCIe slots on the motherboard? It's as if they freaken expect us to get off our lazy ass and buy a graphics card plus some other cards (X-Fi, maybe a couple Killer NIC's) just to fill up those gawd-dam expansion slots on the motherboard.

Is it just me? Am I the only one? Wahh.

 

[Peter]

And if you get "enough" USB headers, then internally connect a card reader and some case front USB, are you going to complain about the "extra" headers you suddenly got left over - and paid for?

 

[krunt]

wow that was hostile

Originally posted by: Idontcare
... an external power switch, reset button, or HDD activity cable and LED? Or do you expect your case manufacturer to equip your computer case with these extra features?

Yes, i do expect my case to come with a powerswitch etc...

Oooh and WTF is up with all those unfilled PCI and PCIe slots on the motherboard? It's as if they freaken expect us to get off our lazy ass and buy a graphics card plus some other cards (X-Fi, maybe a couple Killer NIC's) just to fill up those gawd-dam expansion slots on the motherboard.

You don't see a difference between a graphics card and a usb header?

Originally posted by: Peter
And if you get "enough" USB headers, then internally connect a card reader and some case front USB, are you going to complain about the "extra" headers you suddenly got left over - and paid for?

Am i complaining about the IDE and FDD cables that come in the box? They are usefull to some people and the motherboard has an IDE and a FDD connection, i expect them there.

 

[bigpow]

I, for one, don't care about all those extra "trimmings".
Just mobo + IO Shield in safe packaging (brown box), and a big discount, will be like a dream come true.

I've enough crap from all my previous builds and if I do need new ones, I could always get better (quality & price) parts somewhere else.

 

[dingetje]

i like more crap too, but not if it will raise the price of the mobo....which it most likely will.....so...i guess not

 

[Mondoman]

I agree with dingetje.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I don't even know why mobos come with SATA cables.
I just throw em all into the junk pile.

 

[Quiksilver]

Is it just me or does this little rant seem highly retarded?

Motherboards do come with these features, I have yet to get a motherboard that doesn't come with the brackets, headers, cables. etc. to fill up all the slots that the motherboard manufacture advertises. If yours didn't well then you got a QC problem call/email/write the manufacture and talk to them.

The only thing they don't come with are the devices to be used in those slots, like a graphics card for PCI-Express slots, floppy drives for the FDD connectors, flash drives for all those USB connections, and etc. So I really don't quote understand what this whole rant was supposed to be about cause everything he wants already exists.

 

[Mondoman]

Sorry, QS, but you're wrong here. For example, my GA-P35-DS3P V2.0 has "extra" USB and firewire headers (as well as serial port and parallel port headers) on the MB, but does not come with any cables/brackets/connectors to make use of them. I use one of the USB headers and the 1394 header for my case's built-in USB and 1394 connectors.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: Mondoman
Sorry, QS, but you're wrong here. For example, my GA-P35-DS3P V2.0 has "extra" USB and firewire headers (as well as serial port and parallel port headers) on the MB, but does not come with any cables/brackets/connectors to make use of them. I use one of the USB headers and the 1394 header for my case's built-in USB and 1394 connectors.

You mean all this stuff that is listed in your manual as "Optional Parts"
http://i28.tinypic.com/20jfk9e.jpg

Honestly, if a motherboard manufacture does stuff like that then they really don't deserve your money but it defiantly varies from manufacture to manufacture. The Asus board I have now cames with everything, including those "optional parts" gigabyte didn't give you. I'd have to look at other boards from other manufactures but I know Asus gives you everything and I believe DFI does as well.

Edit:

After going through a few manuals for different boards, MSI, Asus, Abit, Foxconn, DFI all come with those "optional parts"... at least the boards that have those connectors on them; some of them don't have them so they don't give them. I suppose I could start looking as ECS/BioStar but I would imagine those would have them too, so far this looks like it's just a gigabyte only thing.... off to look at those now.

 

[krunt]

I didn't mean to start anything evil here, just thought that those little pieces that wholesale at probably less than a dollar should be thrown in to a retail box if the motherboard makers go to the trouble of including the pins on the motherboard. Now, i have no idea how much they actually cost but things like a USB bracket can't be much when you are ordering a few tens of thousand of them.

Quicksilver, we are talking about those "optional parts". your Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe has 3 onboard usb headers, yet only ships with one usb bracket leaving you with two unused ports. Why couldn't they throw in two more and make them usable? Retail those brackets (headers, adapters, call em what you will) go for $20+ msrp. The cheapest I have found them comes to around $13 with shipping. (I have found one site selling them at 4.95 but they were out of stock/discontinued).

As Idontcare pointed out, if a retail case did not come with a power switch or power led it would be a travesty and I would hope that any review would point it out and steer us away from such a case for overlooking such a small detail. Motherboard makers go to the trouble to design a board which contains all of these connections, i wish they would follow through and supply the rest.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: krunt
Quicksilver, we are talking about those "optional parts". your Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe has 3 onboard usb headers, yet only ships with one usb bracket leaving you with two unused ports. Why couldn't they throw in two more and make them usable? Retail those brackets (headers, adapters, call em what you will) go for $20+ msrp. The cheapest I have found them comes to around $13 with shipping. (I have found one site selling them at 4.95 but they were out of stock/discontinued).

Their not unused for me though, if you take into account almost every case now a day's has at least 2 front panel USB ports, then Mitsumi makes a USB+ Floppy card reader they don't become unused after you plug those in.

I mean if they didn't give you anything at all I would see the point to this thread, but so far only one manufacture does that.

 

[krunt]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
I mean if they didn't give you anything at all I would see the point to this thread, but so far only one manufacture does that.

Well now you make it a question of degree. Sure your board came with 3 ports, gave you one bracket and you have stuff to use the other 2. Some of these boards come with 6 or even 8 on board usb headers and ship with just one bracket.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: krunt

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
I mean if they didn't give you anything at all I would see the point to this thread, but so far only one manufacture does that.

Well now you make it a question of degree. Sure your board came with 3 ports, gave you one bracket and you have stuff to use the other 2. Some of these boards come with 6 or even 8 on board usb headers and ship with just one bracket.

Well, let's look at the Asus Maximus Formula (just for example)
http://usa.asus.com/products.a...model=1889&modelmenu=2

Is it is a maximum of 12X USB port's.
You have 6x Onboard Rear Panel Ports(Eg. Their Built In).
3x USB Internal Headers.

They give you 1x 2-Port USB Module
That brings it to
8x Rear Panel USB Ports.
2x Internal Headers.

Now if they were to give you 2 more of the USB modules, that would bring you up to the maximum of 12 USB headers, but they don't and assume you have a case with Front Panel USB which makes perfect sense.

I mean if they were to give you the extra 2 USB modules, you wouldn't be able to use any front panel USB connectors, which is a inconvenience to many.

On another note, don't gigabyte boards you you 8 built-in USB rear USB ports? If they do makes sense they didn't include the USB module; but not the others.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I think that Gigabyte should at least include the serial and parallel port brackets, if they are no longer on the ATX I/O panel. Some people still use those.

 

[tcsenter]

A few years ago, I purchased 30 USB motherboard cable assemblies from...I forget where now. I think it was either Cable Club or Tech Sunny (formerly Acortech). I purchased 20 with two ports and 10 with four ports. Worked out to be ~ $5.00 each with tax and shipping. I still have about a dozen of them.

 

[bharatwaja]

A mistake which u r making krunt.... no. of USB connections is not equal to number of USB headers.... U should probably point out to the USB headers and ask the mobo manufacturers to include extra stuff that use these headers.... but as QS pointed out... if ur front panel has 2 usb ports, then it makes use of 1 USB internal header... which leaves u with 3 un used on a maximus formula for which they provide you with one header.... so jus one more left unused... they could throw in another of those USB thingies.... but the point is, who wud use all 12 USB ports on a PC simultaneously???

if u do then u fall into the minority category and probably have to purchase jus one of those USB connectors.... its jus a matter of probability....

 

[krunt]

Now I am not trying to say that this is the worlds greatest tragedy it is just that motherboards from the major players, the p35s for example, are so close in performance and options that it is only the features, like eSATA or fire wire, that set them apart from each other. As is mentioned above "who would use all 12 usb ports on a PC simultaneously?" well, maybe not allot of people, but you are paying to not use them anyway. It probably is not the most difficult thing to include an additional onboard usb connection, but it probably takes some effort, planning, design and cost, not to mention how it effects the board layout.

When i bought my p35 board i read the reviews and quickly realized that they all perform about the same, the only difference is the features. I wanted the option of eSATA and RAID, besides that i looked at the usb options. My comp has a keyboard, mouse, printer, external drive, card reader, and two ipods sticking out of it. I use the front panel for flash drives or any other quick plug in. So I am using up to 7 back panel USB and 1 or 2 of the fonts at any given moment. Is this more than average, probably, but it does not seem overly excessive and luckily my board with the extra supplied bracket, can support my use because it has 6 of those ports built into the I/O panel. I give up serial and printer ports, but that is the tradeoff I took when i got this board, and I am ok with that. Could i use less devices, could i swap them out, get a hub that works... sure, but that overlooks the fact that I bought a motherboard that can support 12 usb devices.

if these bracets cost two bucks i woulnd't be complaining, but they are to find and overpriced dor something that could be included so easily.

The original point of this post wasn't to just complain about it, but to see if 1) anybody else thought this was a problem, 2) if the board members think the reviewers should take into account such defects or at least mention them, and 3) call to attentional any manufacturers who are stepping up and providing a more complete package.

 

[hans007]

seeing as most companies sell 100s of thousands of boards...

why would they want to flood the market with extra cost things like extra ide cables, 4-5 sata cables per board, and tons of usb headers. so you are saying that since you want like 5 sata cables and usb headers that EVERYONE should have to pay for them.

honestly one sata cable, a ide cable maybe, thats fine. if yo uneed more you buy them, dont make everyone else have to pay also.

 

[krunt]

Maybe i haven't been as clear as I should have. I am not worried about IDE or SATA cables. The motherboards do ship with them and so do many drives that use them. If you need more, they are relatively cheap and widely available. Nor am i discussing case connections, audio, power switch, leds, because cases almost always come with the correct connections for the front panels they support. I think of this more like a molex power supply; if it doesn't come with enough cables to plug every hole then something is wrong. I expect extra cables because the PSU makers do not know if you are going to need molex or SATA, onboard fans or off the power supply, power for one video card or two.. so they include them anyway, and that is what we expect.

And honestly, i would love to be proved wrong because then it would make sense, but after R&D, production, programing, patent rights, taxes, fees, shipping, advertising, customer service etc... the costs of enough USB/Firewire brackets to fill the given board's onboard pins is almost nothing. I would be shocked to learn that such brackets cost the manufactures more than $1 each. So raising the cost of a retail board by, at the most, $2... well that is something i can live with, especially when you consider the markup retailers are charging anyway.

As stated by others, motherboard makers are already including a bunch of stuff people don't use: sata cables, FDD, etc... We expect these extras from every other component maker, why not the motherboard makers especially because they are the only ones who know exactly how many brackets we can use because they built the board in the first place. We expect the same out of every other component maker with regard to their retail boxes.

Of course OEM products are a different story, and perhaps manufactures should offer more OEM boards, my guess is they do not because consumers would expect the price to be lower, and in the grand scheme of things, the cost of all those other odds and ends is so low with motherboards compared to the board prices that there would not be a notable price difference and consumers would by the retail versions just to have the extras.

 

[BassBomb]

you arent paying for more things you arent using,

The price does not change by much considering "This board has 10 USB and this has 12" you are paying more for the brand name rather than its extremely minor features such as one or two more USB ports.

If you want them buy them. Don't take us down with you in the prices.

I got my P5K-E and did notice hmm no bracket this time, because I came from a Deluxe version of a motherboard. But I wasn't too worried here considering I am using all except 1 Header (two USB ports), which really I could care less about.

 

[imported_obsidian]

So basically, you mean USB/firewire headers. Well the vast majority of users rarely use them all hence it doesn't make sense to impose this cost on all of them when few use it. Plus, cases often include connections to them.

Also, most motherboard makers only include 1 FDD and 1 IDE. In addition, think they should drop the number of SATA cables down. There's no need for 6-8 of them.