Internal media card reader

[shcr]

I'm spec'ing a new system for myself (first time), one thing I've run
across in looking for an internal media card reader, is they want a usb port
on the MB.
The boards I've looked at (Asus) don't mention an onboard usb port. Is this
something common on boards? or do only certain brands offer this?

TIA

 

[Yves Leclerc]

Most new motherboards have USB ports, near the PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports.
Some motherboards have a combo of USB 2.0 ports and also include Firewire
ports.

 

[Fitz]

Do they want a port, or a USB "pinout"? Most modern boards come with pinouts
that you can connect an internal card reader to. This is in addition to the
rear ports. Look for a card reader that has USB pinout connectors vs a port
connection- there's lots out there.

Fitz

 

[shcr]

Thank you. The board I picked has 8 USB ports, 4 front and 4 rear. Thats
what I wanted. I'll visit an ASUS newsgroup with the model and see if it
is compatible and has a connector onboard. I will also carefully read the
tech specs on the readers.

 

[Guest]

From the description you've given I perceive that your requirement is to have
a media card reader that is case mounted [perhaps in place of an Optical
Drive] and thus would then need to connect internally, and not via an
external USB socket, using either Series A and Series B connectors, but onto
the motherboard via a separate USB header pin.

Many Motherboards today are designed with additional USB connectors on the
board. Just make sure that you get one with USB2 [backwards compatible to
USB1 by default].

 

[Fitz]

The four front "ports" are likely pin connectors, not ports- if they were
ports, there would be no place for them to be accessed when you put the
motherboard in the case.

Fitz

 

[shcr]

The case I ordered has 4 front USB ports. and 4 rear USB ports.

Having only 2 rear now, I realize the need to have as many as possible!

 

[Fitz]

I went to the ASUS website. Since you didn't specify which board you had, I
found one that, in the "overview" section stated "8 USB ports". When you go
to the Specifications section, it states 4 rear ports and 2 front headers to
support 4 ports. That means that the front USB is 2 headers, each supporting
2 devices, for a total of four. These devices can be any USB device with
"pinout" connections, not just "ports".

If you look at the manual, you will see the 2 headers- each has 9 pins. Only
eight are actually used, the 9th is for orientation.

o o o o o ( 5V, Data -, Data+, Ground, Key)
o o o o (5V, Data -, Data+, Ground, NA)

Fitz