Corsair mATX case USB Ports not working

grundy1973

Active member
Hi Tony, my system has arrived, all extra fans installed and running fine.
Do all 4 of your front usb ports work? The two furthest back on mine don’t
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Hi Tony, my system has arrived, all extra fans installed and running fine.
Do all 4 of your front usb ports work? The two furthest back on mine don’t
Just checked, and the 1 x USB-C and 3 x USB-A all work (both for data and power).

You've got the same main components as me (Strix X670E motherboard, 6500X case, H150i iCUE Link), so it should all be set up the same.

Edit: didn't realise there was a 4th USB-A socket there (someone’s foot was in the way), so didn’t test that one.

IMG_0652.jpeg
IMG_0653.jpeg
 
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grundy1973

Active member
Strix x670e-a only the C and first 2 usb A’s work. Not 3rd and 4th USB A though. Weird
 
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Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
If you open up the case, have a look and see if the USB headers are all used. It could be down to cooler/fan selection etc. Not sure what would use the headers but I guess a fan controller would. Do you have the same fan setup & configuration using the LINK system?
 

grundy1973

Active member
I emailed PCS yesterday. Had this responce

This is because your motherboard does not have the required number of internal headers to support all the ports on your case.

You can see this from the tech spec pages for each component:

Case (Case Front IO): https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/p/pc-...ber-pc-case-white-cc-9011258-ww#tab-techspecs
Motherboard (USB section, front USB): https://rog.asus.com/uk/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-x670e-a-gaming-wifi-model/spec/

Usually, the configurator would give you a warning about this, but as you used your own case, we didn't have all the data for your case for the automated warning.

That being said, your motherboard is still a top end motherboard, it's just that there are not a great deal of motherboards out there that can support this amount of USB-C and USB 3 ports.

One workaround could be to use an existing USB 2.0 header on the motherboard, via an adapter. Please make sure you have a free USB 2.0 header first. (You can identify these from the motherboard layout diagram in your motherboard manual) - Doing this, those two front ports would only operate at 2.0 speeds, but they would be useable.

We are not affiliated with Amazon or with this product, but purely as an example, this is the type of adapter you would need: https://www.amazon.co.uk/EZDIY-FAB-Internal-Header-Degrees-Adapter/dp/B0B5G8PPJN
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Sounds correct then. Curious how yours is connected @TonyCarter ? Do you have an adapter in for the second 2 ports?

You can use the 2.0 header but the header connection of the case is 3.2.
 

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
The other option would be a PCIe card that adds additional USB 3.2 gen 1 ports (also known as USB 3.0, confusingly), if you have a spare PCie slot...
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Sounds correct then. Curious how yours is connected @TonyCarter ? Do you have an adapter in for the second 2 ports?

You can use the 2.0 header but the header connection of the case is 3.2.
It's nothing I specified, and I just sent my case in. Didn't get any messages from PCS to let me know that I'd be missing out on ports, or that they'd be running at lower specs/speeds (and I've not tested their speeds as I don't need them all at the same time).

But from what I can see in the photo, the bottom header (#9 U32G1_89) has a 2 flat cables coming from it, and the one above (#8 U32G2X2_C6) has a single round cable coming from it. I can't trace it further at the moment due to the PC being at the far end of the desk, next to the wall, and behind the monitor and all my cables cleverly hidden and connected at the back.

IMG_6543_small.jpg
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Curious if that 9 cable is splitting 4 ways rather than 2. Most of those cables have the 2 tails coming off as per your pic, 1 per port, but if it's powering 4 USBs that would be the answer.

8 is the standard USB-C board connection.

I'm guessing the USB2.0 headers are at the bottom.
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I'm guessing the USB2.0 headers are at the bottom.
Yes, and one of them is now on a powering my iCue Link LCD screen.

2024-05-23_15-14-59.jpeg


2 things I've noticed since I opened the PC door for the first time in weeks.
  1. it's got a Thunderbolt header (can that be used to add more USB too?)
  2. I missed a sheet of film on the inside of the glass...mmmmm
 
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grundy1973

Active member
Same. My icue link hub and LCD go into one of the usb 2.0 headers at the bottom using the supplied splitter. The other usb 2.0 is unpopulated
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
That must be it then, as both #10 headers (i.e. USB 14_15 + USB 16_17) are populated on mine.

This is what's confusing though. USB2 and USB3 are different headers. The link from PCS was for an adapter to convert USB2 to USB3, so that the case could be connected.

I'm wondering if your case was a previous version with maybe USB2 and USB3 on the top, rather than 4 USB3 ports? :unsure:

Strange how it's been connected, there must be something different between the 2.
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
This is what's confusing though. USB2 and USB3 are different headers. The link from PCS was for an adapter to convert USB2 to USB3, so that the case could be connected.

I'm wondering if your case was a previous version with maybe USB2 and USB3 on the top, rather than 4 USB3 ports? :unsure:

Strange how it's been connected, there must be something different between the 2.
The sockets are all yellow (so just means it provides power), but could be USB2 or USB3), but I guess there's nothing stopping them connecting a USB-2 header to them, and me not noticing anything wrong because I've not used them much???

Right, just used USBDeviceTree tool to check, and going backwards from the USB-C port at the front, plugging in a 2TB Crucial X9 Pro...
  • USB-C = USB3.2 gen 2
  • USB-A #1 = USB2.1
  • USB-A #2 = USB2.1
  • USB-A #3 = USB3.2 gen 2
  • USB-A #4 = USB3.2 gen 2
I guess they just connected the free USB2 header to the top on a whim for me…lucky me 🤣
 
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