https://preview.redd.it/5v95vex4jv9d1.jpeg?width=1060&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=256895c2ae025f9a472c6228ca3545ed899b0102
FP\_USB3\_1
It’s a Front Panel USB3.0 header.
Correction: as @ArasakaApart mentioned, the \_1 indicates that it’s the first USB 3.0 header and not that it’s USB 3.1.
I mean, the location is pretty borked for a USB header. I've never seen one there before, that's super inconvenient. They're usually on the outer edge of the board, either right side near the ATX power, or bottom edge of the board. The location is the only thing that threw me off knowing what it was immediately, but the shape is unmistakable.
I just screenshotted OP's picture on my iPhone.
1. Fullscreen the image and screenshot it.
2. Went into photos and clicked edit on the screenshot.
3. Clicked on the crop/resize tab
4. Zoomed in and rotated by clicking the rotate image button
5. Finally, clicked on markup, then the + icon, and the circle to make a red circle.
It only worked because OP's original phone picture was good quality, nothing was done to enhance the picture itself.
It looks like a board pulled out of an OEM system. The first hint is that there's no obvious name or branding on it, the second is the strange size format. Which appears to be FlexATX and I've never personally seen a board that size for sale at a retail level.
Yeah, I remember that on old motherboards, around Pentium 1 and 2 era (they also had both ATX and AT connectors sometimes) ATX connector was located where the back fan connector now
Its a motherboard for prebuilts, saving money on the design and production of the motherboard is more important than having ports in the optimal position
I get the idea but I'm not sure I fully understand why that matters at all. You gotta add the port either way, so why not do it in a to spot that makes sense? I've seen and built my fair share of PCs in my life and good lord I've never seen something that bad 😂
Board design is hard, and putting things where they make the most sense signal wise makes it easier and faster to design, and you might be able to use a pcb with fewer layers, which will be cheaper to produce.
The logic does make sense. That brings another question to mind though: if it's significantly cheaper and easier why doesn't every prebuilt do the same? Is it all situation dependent based on which other components are being used, or do most manufacturers just realize that not putting it in the middle of the mobo is better for the
consumer?
It probably depends on the exact features of the motherboard, sometimes the normal position might be as cheap or cheaper than putting it somewhere else.
>Board design is hard, and putting things where they make the most sense signal wise makes it easier and faster to design, and you might be able to use a pcb with fewer layers, which will be cheaper to produce.
That would make sense if the USB3 header was not right in the middle of a highly busy area there. You would have all the traces for the PCIe x16 slot from the CPU and all the traces for the IO hub going right through there.
I think the main reason why the header is there is just down to space. There just isn't anywhere else near the right side of the board where there is enough free space for that header.
It's made for a company like Dell who is making thousands of units and shaving $1 off the cost of eachboard can mean piles of money in the end.
It's not designed for retail users to put in PCs where you can see anything. It's meant to be in a box that nobody ever opens.
It absolutely is, the average user will never disconnect this cable, and it doesn’t negatively affect performance, so why would they not save money there?
That mobo seems a bit stripped-down. And when I did a search for h61c board info, the standard layout didn't match the one in the image. But a little more snooping around with Google and I found this one for sale at Alibaba... Looks like a match to me:
[H61C V2.3 ddr3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 mainboard motherboard for desktop motherboard supporti3,i5,i7 i3-2120 i5-2400 i7-2600](https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/H61C-V2-3-ddr3-LGA-1155_1700562644.html)
why on earth do you want to do a case swap? PSU i get because it's probably a little old, but you should consider putting what you'd put into the case into even like a used r5 3600, a used B450 and some decent OC'd RAM. Priorities
Why not?
One and the same case gets boring after a while, it's cool looking at a new and shiny PC case.
Aesthetics are very important for people outside of reddit.
Generally you should consult your motherboard manual as all motherboards are different. However as someone else pointed out the silk screen can be helpful as well.
Doesn't anyone check their motherboard manual anymore? It's all there.
I suppose that's might be too much for someone who can't (1 read the label, or 2) follow the cable to see where it goes.
Either a USB3 connector or someone has glued a Powercord plug to a reall old Mobo in an attempt to be humerous.
You can see a normal header is all ready present (Bottom left) on the board so using a header that could handle the national grid bang in the middle of the Mobo?
Also given the stuff I see posted on this Sub Reddit either is possible 😏
https://preview.redd.it/5v95vex4jv9d1.jpeg?width=1060&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=256895c2ae025f9a472c6228ca3545ed899b0102 FP\_USB3\_1 It’s a Front Panel USB3.0 header. Correction: as @ArasakaApart mentioned, the \_1 indicates that it’s the first USB 3.0 header and not that it’s USB 3.1.
The \_1 is just for it being the first. It's just USB3.
Shoot, you’re absolutely right. My bad.
_enhance_ _rotate_ _enhance again_
I wanted those glasses so bad..
They had a Burger King toy for it, i think. But they had an unwearable shape and like a single flip out lense thing.
https://preview.redd.it/fieylewsky9d1.png?width=419&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=babedd442b8b8b1bb3d5979633d664aa44e24be0 It makes perfect sense now!
Enchant! Enchant! Wait this isn't fucking Skyrim...my bad.
Arasaka??? 
Arasaka deez nuts
I saw the shape and location and went "well, thats a USB header isnt it?"
I mean, the location is pretty borked for a USB header. I've never seen one there before, that's super inconvenient. They're usually on the outer edge of the board, either right side near the ATX power, or bottom edge of the board. The location is the only thing that threw me off knowing what it was immediately, but the shape is unmistakable.
one of my first custom build boards had the 24 pin power in the same spot the USB header is in that photo. absolutely horrible
It's ITX. Layouts get weird when crammed into 170 sq-mm EDIT: damn my flare is old af. EDIT2: Updated.
Can you give me the cliff notes on how you cleaned up that image? I want to learn!
I just screenshotted OP's picture on my iPhone. 1. Fullscreen the image and screenshot it. 2. Went into photos and clicked edit on the screenshot. 3. Clicked on the crop/resize tab 4. Zoomed in and rotated by clicking the rotate image button 5. Finally, clicked on markup, then the + icon, and the circle to make a red circle. It only worked because OP's original phone picture was good quality, nothing was done to enhance the picture itself.
I thought it looked like that, but it really is a bizarre placement.
Teensy tiny Motherboard
ENHANCE
The original USB 3.0 5 gbps spec has been renamed to USB 3.1, then USB 3.2 Gen 1x1. So any of these would be correct
I love that most modern boards have the 90 degree connection. That cable coming straight out annoyed the fuck out of me
I get that it's a small motherboard but that is a REALLY strange spot for a usb 3.0/C header.
There's no great way to route that, either. You're just perpetually going to have that stupid split cable swooping across the MB forever.
Yep, that's literally the dumbest place to put a front panel header....
I would think the rear I/O panel would be the dumbest place. But let's not give them ideas.
Even then, that would let you route the cable behind or something. In the middle it *has* to go across the board somewhere, lol.
Right below the top pcie slot would also be a strong contender for bad placement
Nope, my P8Z77-I Deluxe has it in the bottom left of the board
It looks like a board pulled out of an OEM system. The first hint is that there's no obvious name or branding on it, the second is the strange size format. Which appears to be FlexATX and I've never personally seen a board that size for sale at a retail level.
Yeah, why not near the HDD port?
Must be for aio controller?
This connector's location is so wrong
Could be worse, it could be the 20-pin ATX power connector. Almost nothing is worse than trying to fit a large heatsink on one of those boards.
Yeah, I remember that on old motherboards, around Pentium 1 and 2 era (they also had both ATX and AT connectors sometimes) ATX connector was located where the back fan connector now
20-pin ATX power connector for front panel USB could lead to so many hilarious events!
A terrible spot for the USB 3 header. Who ever made this board said "fuck you and your cable management"
Whoever designed the USB 3 plug deserves hanging. They could've made the thing angled and it'd have been fine.
Its a motherboard for prebuilts, saving money on the design and production of the motherboard is more important than having ports in the optimal position
I get the idea but I'm not sure I fully understand why that matters at all. You gotta add the port either way, so why not do it in a to spot that makes sense? I've seen and built my fair share of PCs in my life and good lord I've never seen something that bad 😂
Board design is hard, and putting things where they make the most sense signal wise makes it easier and faster to design, and you might be able to use a pcb with fewer layers, which will be cheaper to produce.
The logic does make sense. That brings another question to mind though: if it's significantly cheaper and easier why doesn't every prebuilt do the same? Is it all situation dependent based on which other components are being used, or do most manufacturers just realize that not putting it in the middle of the mobo is better for the consumer?
It probably depends on the exact features of the motherboard, sometimes the normal position might be as cheap or cheaper than putting it somewhere else.
>Board design is hard, and putting things where they make the most sense signal wise makes it easier and faster to design, and you might be able to use a pcb with fewer layers, which will be cheaper to produce. That would make sense if the USB3 header was not right in the middle of a highly busy area there. You would have all the traces for the PCIe x16 slot from the CPU and all the traces for the IO hub going right through there. I think the main reason why the header is there is just down to space. There just isn't anywhere else near the right side of the board where there is enough free space for that header.
It's made for a company like Dell who is making thousands of units and shaving $1 off the cost of eachboard can mean piles of money in the end. It's not designed for retail users to put in PCs where you can see anything. It's meant to be in a box that nobody ever opens.
That's not an excuse for terrible placement.
It absolutely is, the average user will never disconnect this cable, and it doesn’t negatively affect performance, so why would they not save money there?
This board was designed at a time where nobody gave a fuck about ugly cables.
USB 3 frontpanel connector
thats the most horrible usb 3.0 front header position i have ever seen
Mobo company really said "our motherboard is so shit it will never see daylight anyway"
It is a usb cable and it is not attached to the psu, its attached to the front panel on the pc case.
Username checks out. Derpy for sure. The port is labeled. You could also follow the cable to see what it plugs into.
Front panel usb?
looks like a usb head that will probably connected to the USB ports at the front of your pc case
Usb 3.0 header for the front panel.
That’s an odd placement for Front Panel USB3.
It’s probably what connects your usb ports on the case not the mobo
That mobo seems a bit stripped-down. And when I did a search for h61c board info, the standard layout didn't match the one in the image. But a little more snooping around with Google and I found this one for sale at Alibaba... Looks like a match to me: [H61C V2.3 ddr3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 mainboard motherboard for desktop motherboard supporti3,i5,i7 i3-2120 i5-2400 i7-2600](https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/H61C-V2-3-ddr3-LGA-1155_1700562644.html)
Oh dear… a front panel USB cable in the middle of the mobo? This is nightmare fuel
That’s a USB 3 header and it’s a BITCH to disconnect.
This bastard is USB 3.0 connector for your case front panel usb 3.0 A connectors.
why on earth do you want to do a case swap? PSU i get because it's probably a little old, but you should consider putting what you'd put into the case into even like a used r5 3600, a used B450 and some decent OC'd RAM. Priorities
Why not? One and the same case gets boring after a while, it's cool looking at a new and shiny PC case. Aesthetics are very important for people outside of reddit.
What do you mean why on earth? Lol. Case selection is a huge part of building a PC.
What do you mean why on earth? Lol. Case selection is a huge part of building a PC.
With a system like this it's just not a good choice imo. It's at least 12 years old. OP needs a platform upgrade more than a shiny box tbh
So do you downvoted everyone who replies to you and doesn’t immediately agree with what you said? That’s pretty childish.
I didn't downvote you.
Well whoever did is childish.
Im 90% sure thats USB3 but I have no idea why its in the middle of the Mobo instead of below or above.
USB 3.0 I/O
That’s front panel stuff, just a header for your usb ports and whatever on case top or front.
Generally you should consult your motherboard manual as all motherboards are different. However as someone else pointed out the silk screen can be helpful as well.
what the heck is that mobo? Why would you have a usb header in that position?
Cable! Uh. Yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, uh.
Hey man, don’t save up for a psu and new case, save up for cpu or gpu ur lacking BAD
Probably USB 3.0
Think I'd upgrade that motherboard before anything else. Thing kind of looks like a POS no offense.
RTFM my dude.
Bro what the hell is the motherboard anyway
Usb 3.0 cable for the front panel
Yo, Veno Scorp, what the fuck is this monstrosity?
USB-C or USB 3 Front connector
It's USB 3, USB-C is a very different connector
Doesn't anyone check their motherboard manual anymore? It's all there. I suppose that's might be too much for someone who can't (1 read the label, or 2) follow the cable to see where it goes.
We are too smart to check manuals duhhhhh 😂
Most likely a USB C front panel connector.
Either a USB3 connector or someone has glued a Powercord plug to a reall old Mobo in an attempt to be humerous. You can see a normal header is all ready present (Bottom left) on the board so using a header that could handle the national grid bang in the middle of the Mobo? Also given the stuff I see posted on this Sub Reddit either is possible 😏
This could be one of those aliexpress boards where they repurposed a chipset from an old server board
Please use canned air. All other concerns can wait until after.
It isn't even that bad.
Yeah, settle down bro, it's not even that bahd.