Adding Front USB and FireWire connectors

Don't you just hate it , every time you want to plug in that firewire camera or hard disk, to have to reach to the back of the machine and 'find' the plug blind? Sure the most logical place for I/O port is on the back of the case ... for devices that are connected permanently. But what about removable devices ... like your camcorder or photo camera ?

This article will take a look at the options and show you what is out there. We reviewed a couple of great products as well.

Today a lot of Brand computer names have USB and sometimes Firewire ports on the front panel. The bigger names in computer cases for self assembly like Chieftech and Antec also have the ports.

But these connectors depend on the availability of a USB and Firewire port on the motherboard. The ends of the cables are bare pin header connectors. You have to figure out yourself what goes where. And if your motherboard doesn't have these pin headers you are stuck

Fortunately there are a lot of 'add-on' device available today that allow you to add this functionality and more ..

Well there are multiple ways to tackle this problem. A number of companies make small panels that fit the front of a standard 5 1/4 inch bay in the computer case.