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so, I got a p8h61-m le/csm asus micro-atx motherboard off ebay for about $40. I intend to use it to replace a 2012 foxconn 2ada motherboard (which I'll be using in a separate project). The asus board lacks usb 3.0 functionality, so I intend to get a pcie card with an internal header (for my front panel).

I also have a usb 2.0 double port on my front panel, that I salvaged from an older computer (currently working on the foxconn). The usb 2.0 port will not fit into the headers on the asus because the port connector has small plastic clips on it, and the headers have little plastic boxes around them. The pins match, and both the headers and the port are usb 2.0.

If I sand off the clips on the port connector in order to make it fit into the box around the header, should I expect the usb port to work?

Also, tangentially, should I expect the asus to outperform, underperform, or match the performance of the foxconn? (assuming all other hardware, excluding the pcie usb card, is identical)

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  • I disagree. If that were the case, premium motherboards would not exist. As far as I'm aware, gigabyte, asus, and other premuim motherboards tend to have more bandwidth available for hardware devices to take advantage of, potentially better built in audio, and other such features. But being that this motherboard may be older than the one it's replacing, as evidenced by it's lack of usb 3.0 functionality, I'm not really sure how it will perform. Aug 5, 2017 at 14:41
  • I don't really expect to have any problems, but if anyone knows something that I don't, a heads up would be nice. Aug 5, 2017 at 14:45
  • Oh, hey, you're the same guy from my last question. Hi! Aug 5, 2017 at 14:49

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If you are talking about 2x5 connector with a plastic key, and 2x5 shrouded headers on mainboard, the key should match an opening in the shroud. This was the standard for many years. If no fit, it is very strange, and you should really examine pin assignment on the header, check where the +5V is at least. If you are sure that the headers you are targeting are really USB2 headers, and if you connect them correctly to your front-panel extender, then obviously it will work, to some extent.

Regarding the concern about mainboard performance, obviously older chipsets will underperform as compared to newer ones, because of gradual improvement in individual I/O blocks and bug fixes. However your both boards are based on the same H61 chipset, so the differences, if any, may come only at differences at BIOS level, to what extent the manufacturers implemented all patches distributed by Intel.

Lack of USB3 isn't an indication of anything, it is rather a choice of a manufacturer. The H61 doesn't have the native USB 3.0 controller, so the USB3 functionality is likely added by a third-party controller on PCIe bus.

Regarding the bandwidth, it is identical for identical platforms. However, some (non-premium?) manufacturers may fail to design their boards to best signal integrity standards, so the highest-performing modes might be flaky, so they would reduce their operational speed via limited configuration (in BIOS). So all bets are off.

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  • Yeah, both the header and connector are 2x5. I just installed the motherboard, sanded the clips from the usb connector, and booted everything up. The ports worked in the bios of first boot, and work in windows, so I'm assuming everything is fine. The port (2 usb hub) shows up in the device manager the same as it did on the previous motherboard (generic usb hub). This usb hub is ancient (from a 2003 p4), so I'm assuming that's why it had clips. Aug 6, 2017 at 6:49
  • Also, the motherboard needed to be installed by windows, so first boot into windows was slow, and then windows was laggy as well, but after a reboot I'd say it's a bit faster than with the old mb. Aug 6, 2017 at 6:51

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