Connect this USB 3.0 cord

adaptercomputer-buildingmotherboardusb-3

My motherboard has 2 USB 3.o slots in the back, where the usual slots go, but the tower also supports 1 or 2 USB 3.0 ports in the front, above the DVD drive. So, there is a cord coming out of those ports that has an end exactly like the one in the attached picture. I am not able to find a matching port on the mobo, so I presume it doesn't have one, and I would need an adapter or else just leave it inoperable. I have an ASUS P8Z68-V LX and an Antec 900 tower.

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Best Answer

I'm afraid you can't use that cord.

If you look at the specifications for your board, you'll see all the USB ports it supports:

ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller :
2 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue)

Intel® Z68 chipset :
12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, black, 8 at mid-board)

There are only two USB 3.0 ports (the blue ones at the back), and the other 12 (black) are USB 2.0.

That board seems to be something of a "value" board because a space for the connector in question does exist, but is not actually implemented. You can see where it should be on your board in the highlighted area in figure 1 and where it is implemented on a similar, but "deluxe" version of your motherboard in the highlighted area in figure 2 (the photos are scaled down; open them in a new tab to see them full-size).

You have two other options:

  1. Get an extension cable and plug it into the blue port(s) at the back. They can be had on eBay for a couple of dollars.

  2. Try to find a USB 3.0 male header to female plug adapter. Unfortunately, most adapters tend to be female on the header end, or male on the plug end.

Figure 1: ASUS P8Z68-V LX

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Figure 2: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO

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