Why no internal USB ports?

Didn't an MSI laptop have like 3 mSATA slots for triple RAID 0 mSATA SSDs? It's just rare to find laptops with that many slots but they do exist for consumers/gamers.

Some older cameras didn't come with USB cable or USB at all, and you had to use Firewire 4 pin to connect it to your computer.

 

Not exactly on target but now that you mention it, the resistance of manufacturers to expand to USB 3.0. So far, only the storage devices have come through.

I've officially acknowledge to boycotted any and all products that haven't yet upgraded to USB 3.0 (all of them at the moment). It a shame that new products are being introduced that still use snail slow USB 2.0. I mean cameras are carrying huge files of HD video by no USB 3.0? What are manufactures thinking?

You can either go through a cumbersome process of removing and reinserting the storage cards or connect it to you computer using USB 2.0 and wait all day for it to download with the added steps of a tiny micro remove/reinsert which are included in 3 brand new devices I have.

With the gopro this is particularity intensive since you have to remove the camera from the housing then remove doors and flaps, then eject the card from the device then reinsert it into the caddy, then into the computer, then reverse all that to return the card to the device. I practically need tweezers to hold those thin micro SD cards.

Then I have to do this constantly over and over as I use the camera. Because of this, I refuse to buy another product without a USB 3.0 port. I just won't.

 

USB 3.0 is shunned because of it's high power requirements for small mobile devices.

But I agree: we should have the option for highest performance or highest battery life. After all; we're the customers.

 

Forgive the thread revival, but I'm just brainstorming here a few months later.

A couple machines have recently debuted with support for multiple SSDs, including M.2 PCIe SSDs (Clevo P650se for example).

This machine has two mPCIe interfaces, but of the M.2 interface. Wireless is installed in one, and the other is left blank if using traditional 2.5" SATA drives, a single M.2 SATA drive in the other slot, and no LTE/4G card.

So, is there some type of adapter from M.2 to traditional mPCI-e like one of the ones I've listed below? Or is there some relatively easy way to add an M.2 to USB adapter rather than mPCI-e as we previously talked about?

http://www.amazon.com/PCI-E-Golden-...38654&sr=1-13&keywords=ngff+m.2+to+mini+pci-e

http://www.amazon.com/P14S-P14F-NGF...38654&sr=1-21&keywords=ngff+m.2+to+mini+pci-e

 

I've got some parts coming this next week to try and make this work. Looking at many of these adapters, it seems they only pass the MSATA signals and not the PCIe signal, but after looking at some of the pin out diagrams, I feel pretty confident I'll be able to get this to work. I don't know if the M.2 NGFF slot on my motherboard carries USB. I imagine it does, because I think the LTE / 4G card must use the USB functionality...but if not, I have a backup plan too.

 

Maybe interest in this idea dried up?

Even so, I have had success adding a USB 3.0 port to the insides of my P650se! I'll probably end up making a mod thread for people wanting to do this in the future. Because it requires a bit of precision soldering, I may be willing to make a few compatible boards for members, but it certainly won't be before the end of the year...I'm excited to travel up to Michigan for the holidays

So a few notes on this mod:

- One of the two slots on the P650se carries USB 3.0 natively on the M.2 NGFF interface. This is great news, because it's a very simple design on the M.2 board, and it uses the i7 / Chipset native USB 3.0 controller.

- The M.2 interface does not appear to supply a 5v source (or at least an adequate 5v source) for a usb device as small as a Logitech receiver to operate. So, I had to find another source of power in the motherboard. Obviously I don't want to solder anything to the motherboard directly, but the 2.5" SATA interface is an easy location to tap for 5v.

- Because we're limited on space, and depending on the USB device you wish to keep internal, you may need to relocate the USB port it self to another location in the case. Essentially, you would solder a USB dongle from the NGFF board to another location in the case. The obvious location is in the 2.5" HDD caddy, where the SATA connector is being tapped for power. Again, this location is only feasible if you're using 1 2.5" HDD/SSD. Another potential location is where the other M.2 SSD is typically mounted, or to the right of the Wifi card where there is a small blank space.

- On laptops that do not supply a USB signal on the NGFF interface, but do provide PCIe 2x or 4x, I have another strategy that works. It essentially adds a USB 3.0 controller on an M.2 board. This method also requires a 5v, and a bit more soldering, but does provide 2x USB 3.0 ports. These obviously operate on another controller than the Intel one...in my case I'm using a Renesas µPD720202 chipset. This may be the method of choice for machines that came with PCIe functionality, but not a wLAN / 4G offering.

I'll include a quick photo of my test machine. Several changes will have to be made from this photo (soldering the 5v directly to the board instead of using a molex style adapter for example) but here is your proof of concept. I love having my G700's RF receiver inside the case and not external!

 

@alaskaJoel -

I've been meaning to put a USB port internally for years, actually two, one for my USB mouse and another for my wireless headset. No point in having them external. Wish laptops would come with at least one internal USB port. Heck Logitech should push to incorporate their universal receiver as part of the motherboard.