Z97 board with 6x USB2.0 and 4x 3.0 on the front panel like my AsRock Z87 Extreme4?

[CZroe]

My nephew badly needed an 1150 board and I recently came across a great deal on a $60 AsRock Z97 Extreme4 that looked like it had the same layout as my AsRock Z87 Extreme4. I didn't have much time and sent him my older Z87 before I could even unpack my new Z97, so I was greatly disappointed to see that two of the USB3.x ports and two of the USB2.0 ports have been moved to rear I/O. Those two headers made the Z87 a much better fit for my particular system, but I don't want to go back to the Z87 if another Z97 board has all this.

Can anyone suggest a Z97 board with three USB2.0 FP headers and two USB3.x FP headers?

The long story:
The AsRock Z87 Extreme4 was perfect for my modernized Cooler Master CM Stacker STC-T01 case (positively ancient). I gutted the top PSU bay and replaced the top 80mm blowhole with a 3x120mm radiator, replaced the 80mm side panel fan with a 250mm fan in the original 300mm grill, and abused the BTX convertibility to flip the motherboard (still required some nibbling).

That board fit like a glove because, unlike any board available back when this case launched, it happened to have headers for all 6 of the case's front panel USB2.0 ports. It also had two USB3.x headers for my 3.5" bay-mounted Silverstone HD Audio thing that also added four USB3.x ports and modernized the case further (case originally only supported AC97 audio header). Sweet! Unfortunately, things got bittersweet after upgrading to the board's direct successor: the Z97 Extreme4. I know this shouldn't bother me, but it kinda does. I really don't want to use hubs or block off USB ports.

 

[CP5670]

I'm still using that case too, the blue version with a window panel. It's very old but still looks good, and I will probably end up keeping it forever. I use a MSI Z97-G55 (discontinued now, but there are newer versions of it), which has 3 USB2 and 2 USB3 headers, but there are probably other boards with that many too. It's enough for all the case ports and an extra USB3 panel I have, although two of the original USB2 ports on mine are broken so I leave them unplugged.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Interesting. My experience is that three USB2.0 mobo headers is a rare sight, and I've only ever seen dual USB3.0 mobo headers on Gigabyte's new Z170 Skylake boards.

Good luck!

 

[Puffnstuff]

A hub is probably your best option to extend your usb 3 ports.

 

[CZroe]

I'm still using that case too, the blue version with a window panel. It's very old but still looks good, and I will probably end up keeping it forever. I use a MSI Z97-G55 (discontinued now, but there are newer versions of it), which has 3 USB2 and 2 USB3 headers, but there are probably other boards with that many too. It's enough for all the case ports and an extra USB3 panel I have, although two of the original USB2 ports on mine are broken so I leave them unplugged.

This board sounds like what I need. Thanks! Check out the SilverStone FP32-E if you want to update it like I did (I got the black one: FP32B-E). I disconnected the 1394 cable from the drive bay mounted power switch and USB ports and blocked it all off along with the AC97 audio jacks (little black sheet of plastic).

Interesting. My experience is that three USB2.0 mobo headers is a rare sight, and I've only ever seen dual USB3.0 mobo headers on Gigabyte's new Z170 Skylake boards.



Good luck!

Thanks. At least boards with three headers for six ports exist these days. They didn't when this case launched, which annoyed A LOT of users.

The first boards that had three headers usually included two expansion slot mounted adapters (two ports each; four total) in case your chassis only supported two or four on the front panel.

A hub is probably your best option to extend your usb 3 ports.

I glossed over so many bay-mounted hubs in search of this Silverstone device and spent so many days searching that it feels like a kick in the teeth to go back to one of those. Now that I know about the MSI Z97-G55, I'm probably going to research a trade or something instead. Thanks though.

 

[CP5670]

I'm surprised that this board is one of the few to have three headers, I thought they were a lot more common. Maybe because it's an older board without SATA Express, which often takes up space where the USB headers are. The newer version of this board, MSI Z97 U3 Plus, appears to have only two. I got mine open box for something like $50 from Microcenter a year ago.

This board sounds like what I need. Thanks! Check out the SilverStone FP32-E if you want to update it like I did (I got the black one: FP32B-E). I disconnected the 1394 cable from the drive bay mounted power switch and USB ports and blocked it all off along with the AC97 audio jacks (little black sheet of plastic).

I got one of those front panels by Rosewill that has a card reader as well. The USB 3 ports work well enough, but the SD slot broke after less than two months and won't read anything. I plug my headphones directly into a sound card, so I don't need the audio.

 

[master_shake_]

i was gonna suggest the z97-ws i have.

but on further inspection it only has 2 of each.

weird.