USB3.0 cases

[semo]

I'm looking at some full towers and wondering if they will support the upcoming usb spec. also, in the case of the Lian Li PC-B71, will the hard drive cage support sata 3?

is it worth holding out or not? i'm hoping to get one as soon as i find a decent eatx with 5+ 3.5" drives... what is it full towers these days with only 3 hard drive slots and no decent cooling /rant

 

[Maximilian]

I dont think so i heard USB 3.0 was delayed for like a year or more:

http://www.guru3d.com/news/usb-30-delayed-until-2011/

 

[semo]

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3242
just because intel and amd are dragging their feet doesn't mean that the spec isn't out yet. the execution might not be ideal but it's here

 

[lothar]

I never knew computer cases had to support/meet a USB spec...
I only knew of ATX, mATX, BTX, and extended ATX.

 

[vanilla guerilla]

i guess he means the front panel plugs. which since usb 3 will be backwards compatible, will be the same. also, there is a good chance that sata 3 connections/voltage requirements will be the same. but both of these interfaces are a good distance off. so unless every one of your usb 3.0 devices are running poorly, you might just as well be worrying about ddr4 or pci exp 3.0.

 

[semo]

I never knew computer cases had to support/meet a USB spec...
I only knew of ATX, mATX, BTX, and extended ATX.

the cases themselves yes. but i meant the usb ports that connect to the motherboard headers and in the case of the Lian Li PC-B71, the SATA hotswap backplate (or whatever is called) which supports sata2 hotswap drives, but will it support sata 3?

sata 3 and usb 3 are already here. check out anand's seagate sata 6gbps preview

 

[yh125d]

For a USB port to be 3.0 compatible it has to have the extra pins that the 3.0 spec includes, so no current case without the specific 3.0 port will work with 3.0 devices in 3.0 mode, it will drop down to 2.0

 

[semo]

For a USB port to be 3.0 compatible it has to have the extra pins that the 3.0 spec includes, so no current case without the specific 3.0 port will work with 3.0 devices in 3.0 mode, it will drop down to 2.0

so that makes ALL cases currently on the market obsolete in that sense! Hope they find a way to upgrade the ports.

I guess it would be the same answer for the Lian li case with the SATA cage assembly (i.e. won't support SATA 3) since their website doesn't say anything about it.
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...ex=312&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61&g=f

 

[yh125d]

I guess it would be the same answer for the Lian li case with the SATA cage assembly (i.e. won't support SATA 3) since their website doesn't say anything about it.
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...ex=312&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61&g=f

Not necessarily. If the sata cage is just consolidating all the connectors so you plug the drives into the cage and the cage into the mobo then it should be 3.0 compatible, since I don't beleieve they're changing the connector at all. If there's some sort of controller of some kind associated with the cage, then it probably won't be compatible

 

[semo]

I just received a response from Antec regarding this issue. In brief, the motherboard pinouts for USB3.0 are not yet standardized. I think this was an issue initally with earlier USB standards because recently I worked on an old AMD dual socket mobo and the header pin arrangment didn't match any of the cables I had.

The fact is that there is not standardization on the pin out for the USB 3.0 connectors on the motherboard. Asus just announced the very first motherboard with built in USB 3.0 and it is not a header like USB 2.0 but a rear port. That is because of the lack of standardization.

So, until there is a way to put it in the case, add a wire with a cable that will connect to a standard connector on a motherboard, there is no way to build USB 3.0 into a case

 

[Modelworks]

Cabling is the biggest issue with USB 3.0 . It is very sensitive to noise. So any cases that do add support will have to have good shielded cables going to the ports. It is also picky about external cables so watch what you buy 🙂