PC case thoughts

Smalltown · Aug 28, 2025

I've got another question I can't answer myself or searching.
This current mother board has 1 USB 3.1 gen 1 header, and 2 USB 2.0 1.1 headers.
If I were to upgrade to a better motherboard and it had faster USB ports, would I need to buy another case or is there a way to update the case ports?

bobkn · Aug 28, 2025

Smalltown said:
I've got another question I can't answer myself or searching.
This current mother board has 1 USB 3.1 gen 1 header, and 2 USB 2.0 1.1 headers.
If I were to upgrade to a better motherboard and it had faster USB ports, would I need to buy another case or is there a way to update the case ports?

I had to check.

A USB 3.0 (= USB 3.1 Gen 1 = USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5Gbps) header has 20 pins, and is connected to two front panel ports.

A USB 3.2 Gen 2 port (10Gbps) also has 20 pins, but it connects to a single front panel port.

If you wanted to be future proof, you may be able to buy a case with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (probably USB-C) port and two USB 3 (USB-A) ports. Connect them to an older motherboard type with adapters. I wasn't sure whether a Type E adapter exists, but apparently it does. (I don't know how well it works.)

My current case has four USB 3 ports in its front panel. My motherboard has a single USB 3 header. Two of the ports are connected to a USB 2 header using an adapter. Works well (at USB 2 speeds).

I doubt that there is a nonsurgical way to update case ports. If you get a case with a 5 1/4 slot, there are accessories that would add other port types.

My own choice isn't the greenest, but I'd just plan to replace the case as needed. My current case is the most expensive I've ever used, but its price was a fraction of the total build cost.

Smalltown · Aug 28, 2025

bobkn Thanks

Scannerman · Aug 28, 2025

Ya'll are talking "large" cases when you don't know large. Cooler Master ATCS 840 is a large case. (This is also on my list of projects.) Thermal Take Level 10 GT is a large case. There was a time these cases were considered "medium" sized because you could still get your hands on three and four foot tall towers but times have changed. I've never built a Fractal Pop Air case but for a lousy 85 bucks I'd say it looks to be a good deal. There is one case that I have that is slightly cheaper and still delivers that Thermal Take quality but it has no window and that's fine by me. That's another project I have on the go. If you don't mind not having a window and you still want a couple of bays to play with this case has been a popular entry level case for years. Versa H21is a tried and tested mid-tower case. Not too large, not too small, and very affordable. Around 60 something bux in US dollars. They didn't scrimp on quality either. Once again, it's all about user preference.

bobkn · Aug 28, 2025

Scannerman said:
Ya'll are talking "large" cases when you don't know large. Cooler Master ATCS 840 is a large case. (This is also on my list of projects.) Thermal Take Level 10 GT is a large case. There was a time these cases were considered "medium" sized because you could still get your hands on three and four foot tall towers but times have changed. I've never built a Fractal Pop Air case but for a lousy 85 bucks I'd say it looks to be a good deal. There is one case that I have that is slightly cheaper and still delivers that Thermal Take quality but it has no window and that's fine by me. That's another project I have on the go. If you don't mind not having a window and you still want a couple of bays to play with this case has been a popular entry level case for years. Versa H21is a tried and tested mid-tower case. Not too large, not too small, and very affordable. Around 60 something bux in US dollars. They didn't scrimp on quality either. Once again, it's all about user preference.

The Versa H21 lacks a front panel USB 3.2 Gen2 USB-C port, if that matters. (It has a Type C, but not USB 3.2 Gen2.) $48 at NewEgg US, but backordered.

It has three 5 1/4" slots, so an accessory that would add all sorts of stuff could be added. As that also adds cost, that'd have to be considered when buying new.

There must be many old case designs that lack USB 3.2 Gen2 but that have 5 1/4" slots.

Scannerman · Aug 28, 2025

bobkn said:
The Versa H21 lacks a front panel USB 3.2 Gen2 USB-C port, if that matters. (It has a Type C, but not USB 3.2 Gen2.) $48 at NewEgg US, but backordered.

It has three 5 1/4" slots, so an accessory that would add all sorts of stuff could be added. As that also adds cost, that'd have to be considered when buying new.

There must be many old case designs that lack USB 3.2 Gen2 but that have 5 1/4" slots.

At $48 US and three 5 1/4" bays I'd say that is a steal of a deal. No wonder it's back ordered. New Egg has some for sale but at Canadian prices. I got mine on sale for $69.99 CA. It's so easy to get a front bay insert with USB 3.2 Gen2 USB C ports for around 20 bucks these days, bringing that total to a whole whopping 68 dollars. Plus these units are transferable in the event one wishes to upgrade later on to a different case, granting the user ample USB options.

bobkn · Aug 28, 2025

Scannerman said:
At $48 US and three 5 1/4" bays I'd say that is a steal of a deal. No wonder it's back ordered. New Egg has some for sale but at Canadian prices. I got mine on sale for $69.99 CA. It's so easy to get a front bay insert with USB 3.2 Gen2 USB C ports for around 20 bucks these days, bringing that total to a whole whopping 68 dollars. Plus these units are transferable in the event one wishes to upgrade later on to a different case, granting the user ample USB options.

Transferrable? Sure. But mostly into old case designs. Cases that have provision for optical drives seem to be out of fashion. But some exist.

Scannerman · Aug 28, 2025

bobkn said:
Transferrable? Sure. But mostly into old case designs. Cases that have provision for optical drives seem to be out of fashion. But some exist.

True enough. But I noticed that they do seem to be making a comeback. Fractal provides enough evidence of that. Plus Thermal Take wouldn't keep on making the Versa if there wasn't any demand for it. The thing about front bays is they needn't be limited to any one piece of hardware. They can be used for any number of things i.e. fan controllers, USB ports, card readers, individual power switches for hard drives, RAID cages, etc. Some folks like to personalize their builds and having bays makes this that much more easy to do.

bobkn · Aug 29, 2025

Scannerman said:
True enough. But I noticed that they do seem to be making a comeback. Fractal provides enough evidence of that. Plus Thermal Take wouldn't keep on making the Versa if there wasn't any demand for it. The thing about front bays is they needn't be limited to any one piece of hardware. They can be used for any number of things i.e. fan controllers, USB ports, card readers, individual power switches for hard drives, RAID cages, etc. Some folks like to personalize their builds and having bays makes this that much more easy to do.

True. I don't use any of those features. I don't disparage those who want them.

KevTech · Aug 29, 2025

I have a Phanteks Enthoo Pro.

Website does have up to date photos or description and still shows old USB 2 ports but it now has two USB and one USB-C Gen 2 port in the front panel.

hdmi · Aug 29, 2025

The Lian Li Lancool 217 looks nice IMO.

Scannerman · Aug 29, 2025

bobkn said:
True. I don't use any of those features. I don't disparage those who want them.

Surely you use USB ports. Perhaps you don't make use of bays bearing USB but the features are the same. Not to disparage anyone (I do embrace the fact that user preference prevails). There are just things about preferences I don't quite comprehend, such as a PC with strobe lights or a PC lit up like a pin ball machine. Sure. I confess I'm old fashioned. For me, practicality comes first. Aesthetics vs esthetics, I suppose. Not that I am a minimalist by any means.

I know the arguments and I've pretty much seen them all. I am still of the persuasion that a PC with zero RGB can look just as good in its own right and still boast front bay functionality. The front of a desk top needn't simply consist of a wall of flashing fans. It would seem that on one hand we have our hot boxes with very little ventilation for air flow and on the other we have disco city. I can see why so many today opt for liquid cooling, but in my opinion this involves other sorts of risks. I've built both kinds many times and I've made disparaging remarks about both as well. This is not to disparage the user. I have yet to discover the "perfect" PC and I rather doubt that I ever will.

gunrunnerjohn · Aug 29, 2025

I admit, I'm of the same mind. However, when I went looking for my cases for my two new builds, finding a case without RGB fans was way more difficult than finding one with them. I figured "what the hell", I'll plug them in and see if they annoy me. As a bonus, my granddaughter loves them, she comes and pushes the buttons to change the colors and patterns, so they serve one purpose.

bobkn · Aug 29, 2025

Scannerman said:
Surely you use USB ports.

(snip)

The 5 on the front of my case are more than sufficient for my needs. There are many more in the rear I/O panel, but I commonly only use 3 of them (keyboard, mouse, PC speakers).

Puget Systems prefers air cooling, but they use an AIO liquid one for Threadripper 7000 series CPUs, because they burn 350W at stock settings. (I use a different one, with the same radiator size.)

Scannerman · Aug 30, 2025

gunrunnerjohn said:
I admit, I'm of the same mind. However, when I went looking for my cases for my two new builds, finding a case without RGB fans was way more difficult than finding one with them. I figured "what the hell", I'll plug them in and see if they annoy me. As a bonus, my granddaughter loves them, she comes and pushes the buttons to change the colors and patterns, so they serve one purpose.

Yeah, the girls here like the "pretty colors" too and so do their friends. I pretty much adopted the same line of reasoning when I bought the Thermal Take Level 10 case. The RGB came with the case. I liked the design of the case. I wasn't going to let a few colored lights stop me from getting what I wanted. Besides, I reasoned, I could just manually shut them off. Over time the all blue mode kind of grew on me because it gave me some low level lighting at night so I decided to run with all blue. The case is genuine RGB (not all the colors of the rainbow and then some). Years later, I built myself a gaming rig. (In fact, I'm typing on it right now.) My very first very own. The X570 Hero system board comes with built in ARGB. I think it can be shut off some place in the BIOS but it's subtle, not loud and flashing. Perhaps it can be set to do that. I never ventured to try because flashing lights distract me.

So yeah, I'm flexible. Just about everything is running the lights now so its not easy to avoid these days. There was a time a guy could save a few bucks just by steering clear of the glitz and putting more focus on performance. Those days are pretty much gone.

gunrunnerjohn · Aug 30, 2025

Scannerman said:
So yeah, I'm flexible. Just about everything is running the lights now so its not easy to avoid these days. There was a time a guy could save a few bucks just by steering clear of the glitz and putting more focus on performance. Those days are pretty much gone.

When I was looking for the cases, the ones with the lights were actually cheaper! I'm sure that was due to the quantities vs the unlighted ones, it's cheaper to make large quantities of something.

Smalltown · Aug 30, 2025

Kind of warming up to this one. Only complaint I have read so far is sometimes the cable management can be an issue.
Cooler Master TD500 Mesh V2 Black Gaming Airflow ATX Mid-Tower Case, Polygonal Mesh Panel, Crystalline Tempered Glass, 3x 120mm ARGB Fans, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, 360 Radiator (TD500V2-KGNN-S00) - Newegg.com

bobkn · Aug 30, 2025

Smalltown said:
Kind of warming up to this one. Only complaint I have read so far is sometimes the cable management can be an issue.
Cooler Master TD500 Mesh V2 Black Gaming Airflow ATX Mid-Tower Case, Polygonal Mesh Panel, Crystalline Tempered Glass, 3x 120mm ARGB Fans, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, 360 Radiator (TD500V2-KGNN-S00) - Newegg.com

Looks OK, but why that one?

I'd suggest Lian Li. They tend to provide niceties like extra screws. I'm disappointed with NewEgg's listings. They don't indicate what sort of USB-C connections the Lian Li cases have. (I have two Lian Li cases. Both use Gen2.)

As regards cable hiding (sometimes called cable management), I can't advise you there. I spend about 10 minutes doing that in my systems.

If that's important to you, maybe you should be looking at a case that's compatible with motherboards that have backside connections.

gunrunnerjohn · Aug 30, 2025

One of my cases is a Lian Li, it's a decent case and has one USB-c 3.2-Gen2 connector.

Smalltown · Aug 30, 2025

bobkn I thought I would like to try a tempered glass side, the RGB fans have my attention. I like th.ae fact that is has the USB-C for a future motherboard. Also after reading the about USB ports and realizing that the USB 3.1 generation 1 are just the same as a USB 3.0 header included.

I've got to say what a mess manufacturers have made of the USB identification labeling.

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