Looks to me like they wanted to differentiate the USB 3 port (blue) from the USB 2 ports (black). What that accomplishes, who TF knows...
this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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Mildly Infuriating
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"hey Tim, we are too damn cheap to spend the extra 4 cents and get USB 3 for all ports, even though it's been a standard for almost 2 decades... what should we do to help the users realize they got a piece of shit case?"
"fuck em and piss em off"
"I like your style"
On one hand yes, on the other hand though USB3 is wildly overkill for driving your keyboard.
I can really see both sides of this argument to be honest.
I mean, so are multi-core cpus and anything above ddr2 ram, 7,200 rpm hard drives; you don't need much for basic computing. Or 3G cellular data speeds, or DSL internet at home. Or over-the-air 480p broadcasting and movies on VHS. But we aren't limiting ourselves to those ancient standards - why are we accepting any less here? If it was new, sure, cost-cutting blah blah... but it's not 2010 anymore. USB3 is 17 years old, that's an absolute eternity in the tech sphere.
I feel like that's a little disingenuous because all those things actually serve a purpose. You need that computing power to keep up with modern software. But in 99% of cases, plugging KB+M into a USB2 vs USB3 makes no difference whatsoever. Excluding edge cases where say, your keyboard has its own USB port that you're then trying to put a splitter on, or charge your phone on, it otherwise just legitimately doesn't need the extra power of USB3. The basic input processes of the keyboard and mouse haven't changed in 40 years and that's why such a comparatively ancient piece of tech is still usable. Even just USB2 already has enough power and bandwidth on a keyboard to run your RGB backlights while still taking input with no additional latency.
I think if the manufacturer cared more about their customers and their brand image, then yeah, they'd just go ahead and make all the ports USB3 regardless. But if you're cranking out 10,000 shitty PCs a week that you want to sell for under $500, and you can save 3 cents a unit by making two USB ports USB2, that's still a technically viable product that can be sold and used without issue (at least, without issue pertaining to these USB ports, anyway). It makes the manufacturer a bit skeezy, but it's not like they're selling you something you can't use, the things work just fine. You just don't want to be doing mass file transfer or power transfer through them because they're bad at both, that's what your 3.0 port is for, which you have been provided.
This is a Minimum Viable Product sort of thing, this isn't going to win any awards or any glowing customer praise, but for the market it was intended for (likely business) it's a cheap ass PC tower that works well enough. I don't know if that's actually the case for what OP is posting here but that's what I imagine the design decision was behind this sort of style, and it makes sense to me. I don't really like it, but I do understand it.
Hey, you don’t know my apm! I need all that USB3 goodness!
I don't, but I doubt it beats my autoclicker script ;)
Noooooo foiled again, I will be the cookie clicker mvp!
Even if there are good reasons that some motherboard headers can't all support the newest USB spec (due to bandwidth limitations), AFAIK there's no good reason for the socket on the case not to support the newer standard. It's just a few extra wires and a couple grams more plastic, and you can still daisy-chain an old-style connector for motherboards that need it.
Besides, usually the ports intended for the keyboard and mouse would be on the motherboard backplate itself. Front USB ports on the case tend to be used for things that do benefit from the speed, such as flash memory.
(Of course, that's on a DIY PC where the motherboard and case are bought separately. If they're designed together, I suppose it makes sense to save a few cents matching the plug to the header.)
Nah, for some reason no device puts USB3 on every port.
I had a problem with my boss's computer yesterday where Windows decided it didn't need to load the drivers for one of the two built in USB 3.0 controllers. On boot, only one of the two controllers would work, either the one for the front ports, or the one for the rear ports, completely randomly. It would not load the driver for the other controller until I disabled and reenabled it in the hardware manager.
BIOS recognized a keyboard or mouse in any of the 2.0 or 3.0 ports at POST, but if Windows failed to load the rear 3.0 driver at boot time, it dropped the keyboard and mouse.
Workaround was to swap them to the 2.0 ports. Final solution was upgrading to Linux.
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I'd say if you're hooking a mouse/keyboard/headset in, the USB 2 are fine. If you're plugging a flashdrive/external drive in use the USB 3. Also if you want to charge a device, you'll prefer the USB 3, they have near double the amperage. I assume they were just trying to make the user recognize the ports were different.
Good point actually.... Never thought abt it that way
I just meant the reversal of orientation. Since I obviously recognized what the color scheme represents, I didn't think I'd have to go into detail on the basics.
Well, it accomplishes breaking the standard...
And the USB3 port that you would expect to get some attention is the wrong one.
For colour blind people.
Differentiating the color is one thing, but I feel like flipping the socket over is more for when the device is using the port for some nonstandard purpose (e.g. when you have a port dedicated to plugging in a thumb drive to update the device firmware).
That's to guarantee you have to try plugging the USB cable in in all four available orientations before it fits.
This is actually really smart. Instead of doing the classic 3 try where you flip the dongle twice only to find out that somehow the first time was right. Now you just try to insert it into each port, two wont work and the last one would, therefore saving you from the hard work of flipping it.
nah that's diabolical
Guess it helps differentiate the USB3 from the USB2.
I was going to ask if the blue one is smaller....?
Blue usually indicates USB3 and the black are probably USB2. USB3 is "supposed" to be backwards compatible, and is most of the time, but I've ran into a few instances where USB2 devices don't quite work as well or as reliably when connected to a USB3 port, so a lot of motherboard manufacturers still include a couple USB2 ports for things like keyboards and mice that don't need the extra speed and may be finnicky on newer ports.
It’s not smaller but it is faster.
It doesn't matter. You gonna make at least 3 tries, before it goes in.
Sometimes need more because the usb becomes a bit floppy
Vertainly not a solid state storage
That's actually a really good design because it guarantees you get the higher speed USB port even when giving a computer the ol' reach around.
Of course, that ignores that nobody alive is able to find the usb port without spending way too long feeling around or just pulling it out and looking.
I've seen another one that states that the fact that you have to try 3 times means that USB connectors exist in 4 spatial dimensions.
It's a quantum spin 1/2 object, like electrons. 360 degrees is half a full rotation for it, so that's what's needed to switch it to the right state to fit. If you spun it 360 more degrees it would be back to the original state and not fit.
I'm not following...
Orientation:
Traditional USB Type A connectors require that the plug be inserted in a particular orientation.
However, the plug is also symmetrical-enough that it's hard to figure out, by feel, what the correct orientation is. The result is that when plugging a USB plug into something out-of-sight, like a socket on the back of a computer, it can be very frustrating to get the plug in. If one decides
incorrectly
that a misaligned plug isn't going in because it's just the wrong way around and flips it, something quite easy to do, then one faces more fumbling around until one flips it again. Irritation over this has driven a number of jokes.
All USB connectors up until Type C required that a user plug the plug in in some orientation and had some degree of this problem
Type B, mini USB, micro USB
but USB Type A plugs were both nearly identical and often on the back of things, where the socket was out of sight.
USB Type C connectors eliminated the problem by simply making the plug support being plugged in in either orientation.
Speed:
There are different speeds of USB connectors. USB A connectors are (sometimes, though not always) color-coded to provide various information to a user about what they support:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/explorer/diy-builder/storage/usb-port-colors-explained/
There are a number of colors, but blue USB 3.0 is probably what the parent is talking about. Many computers have some ports that support a higher speed, and are marked in blue. In OP's picture, you can see some ports that are black (USB 2.0) and one that is blue (probably USB 3.0).
This actually seems helpful. You can tell which one is the USB3 port without looking.
I dont see why you cant just remember that the edge one is the USB3, not like anyone does the mental gymnastics of remembering the orientation you grabbed the USB cable from and which direction it goes in, the flipping is a rule set in stone
positively devilish
Dude. The steam decks dock has two usb ports chilling, and then there's a random third port thats sideways.
I'll take it. But really?
Is this loss?
Wait, I have 3 ports on that thing? I never turn it around and look, I just line up against my gamepad dongle for adding a cable for charging. Huh. Guess I'll have to look lol.
There's two on top of eachother, and another next to those that's sideways. Next to the Internet input.
Fun fact, usb hubs work great with it. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard plugged into it.
Frankly, the way the topic sentence was formulated is mildly infuriating...
That's the kind of shit OT god would have made and Lucifer would've pointed out the absurdity of.
I... Don't think I mind this? WAIT WAIT WAIT! Pitch forks down! I know, I know my initial reaction was one of revulsion, condemnation, and self immolation and my gut instinct was to condemn it to every possible eternal Hell and sacrifice it's children to prevent it's genes from reproducing.
But hear me out, I literally five minutes ago was moving my gaming computer from the room with the VR set up back to my bedroom my computer slots into a spot so it is impossible to see the USB ports so I was Groping around in the back trying to find the right whole like a virgin on prom night when I finally got everything plugged in I start my computer and nothing works, the reason and this has happened multiple times is that I have devices that require USB 3.0 and a flaky mouse that doesn't like USB 3.0 (I think the actual problem is that the wire for the wireless charging mat is just long enough that the USB signal can't quite reach but USB 2.0 can) but anyway if the ports were turned the other direction I could feel which port is which, this is a problem USB C wouldn't solve at least for the mouse because it would still be USB < 3.0
There's only 3 Perry's here with left most being 3.0. Why would you need it to be upside down to know where left side port is lol.
You might be able to fix that depending on what the internal setup is. Looks like the top of your tower, shouldn't be too hard to get to
At first I thought you were annoyed at how misaligned they are.
the one that is different is a higher version USB port, so it kinda makes sense.
Obviously work of Sheogorath
These also look like front IO so…assuming they work, use your eyes
What brand and model is that?