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RanceJustice
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2003
- Messages
- 6,628
Hello everyone. I've been thinking quite a bit about how so many off-the-shelf cases have a static front panel connections kit not designed for upgrade. As I find myself doing increasingly since their absence, the contrast with CaseLabs is significant. For those who were not aware, CaseLabs was a boutique manufacturer of high end cases that were nearly entirely modular - buy another side panel if you wanted to change the window or ventilation, buy a new front fascia to change from air cooling fan mounts and grill to a plexi window to show off your liquid res, and so on. This extended to their front panel connectors as well. Each CaseLabs case had separate often "vandal style" power and reset buttons as well as LEDs for power/drive activity, and then separate from that the Front Panel connections. USB, Headphone / Mic 3.5s , FireWire (for a time), HDMI etc... were not only present, but upgradable. CaseLabs offered upgrade kits so that users who bought during the USB 2.0 days would not be stuck there and could upgrade to USB 3.0 ports instead, or possibly even further - with the latest entries before they shut down offering USB 3.1/3.2 both TypeA and Type C, plus HDMI and more - depending on the particular case model, the layout and upgrade kit would differ of course (ie My Mercury S8's front panel configuration was more "square" than the long rectangular configuration on a Magnum SMA8-A or TX10 ).
This upgradability is a rarity however when it comes to the vast majority of off the shelf mass produced cases, regardless of the increasing expense we see from even "conventional" manuacturers. I must give one notably pleasing nod to Corsair back years ago when they offered "upgrade kits" for their (at the time, top tier ) Corsair Obsidian 800D. The 800D launched with a SATA 3.0gbps backplane for its drive connectors and USB 2.0 inputs for the front panel, but Corsair thankfully offered reasonably priced upgrade kits to replace the SATA backplane and connectors with full SATA 6.0gbps connections and one to replace the front panel equipping it with USB 3.0 ports (as as sign of the times, they were pass-throughs that needed to connect to the back of the mobo as on-board USB 3.0 headers were not yet universal. Retaining the FireWire port also is a reminder of the era). However, outside of a few exceptions like this it seems that despite increasing case prices and features, they're not designed with upgrade in mind, or even to be modified without serious potential damage to the aesthetic. Take for instance the LianLi DK-05F desk case - a magnificent enclosure to be sure with a $2000-ish price to match (it IS both a powered height adjustable desk and enclosure capable of housing at least 2 full size PCs after all), but its front panels on both sides seem wedged into the aluminum fascia. One thing that stopped me from such an investment is that I'm going to buy a $2000 desk, I expect it to last even when next generation USB 4.0 40gbps, DisplayPort / HDMI etc.. arrive. However, it seems not to be designed to allow for easy changes in this regard and there isn't much of a precedent of LianLi offering a ready-made upgrade kit either. Is it only a dying breed of ultra-niche boutique enclosures that support such things? Its worth noting that in years past even if you didn't get an upgrade kit for your front panel, you could still buy an after-market 5.25" bay or 3.5" bay device offering whatever was deficient - USB ports of the next generation etc. These days, most cases eschew external bays at all so even such things aren't possible without extensive modding
So this brings me to thinking about the do-it-yourself angle these days. Has anyone manually upgraded their front panel connections , ideally without destructive modding if possible? Where did you procure the latest gen ports, control boards, and cables to mount as a suitable replacement - were they somewhat prepared, or did you have to solder something together on your own? Does anyone even bother with such things these days? What's your experience?
This upgradability is a rarity however when it comes to the vast majority of off the shelf mass produced cases, regardless of the increasing expense we see from even "conventional" manuacturers. I must give one notably pleasing nod to Corsair back years ago when they offered "upgrade kits" for their (at the time, top tier ) Corsair Obsidian 800D. The 800D launched with a SATA 3.0gbps backplane for its drive connectors and USB 2.0 inputs for the front panel, but Corsair thankfully offered reasonably priced upgrade kits to replace the SATA backplane and connectors with full SATA 6.0gbps connections and one to replace the front panel equipping it with USB 3.0 ports (as as sign of the times, they were pass-throughs that needed to connect to the back of the mobo as on-board USB 3.0 headers were not yet universal. Retaining the FireWire port also is a reminder of the era). However, outside of a few exceptions like this it seems that despite increasing case prices and features, they're not designed with upgrade in mind, or even to be modified without serious potential damage to the aesthetic. Take for instance the LianLi DK-05F desk case - a magnificent enclosure to be sure with a $2000-ish price to match (it IS both a powered height adjustable desk and enclosure capable of housing at least 2 full size PCs after all), but its front panels on both sides seem wedged into the aluminum fascia. One thing that stopped me from such an investment is that I'm going to buy a $2000 desk, I expect it to last even when next generation USB 4.0 40gbps, DisplayPort / HDMI etc.. arrive. However, it seems not to be designed to allow for easy changes in this regard and there isn't much of a precedent of LianLi offering a ready-made upgrade kit either. Is it only a dying breed of ultra-niche boutique enclosures that support such things? Its worth noting that in years past even if you didn't get an upgrade kit for your front panel, you could still buy an after-market 5.25" bay or 3.5" bay device offering whatever was deficient - USB ports of the next generation etc. These days, most cases eschew external bays at all so even such things aren't possible without extensive modding
So this brings me to thinking about the do-it-yourself angle these days. Has anyone manually upgraded their front panel connections , ideally without destructive modding if possible? Where did you procure the latest gen ports, control boards, and cables to mount as a suitable replacement - were they somewhat prepared, or did you have to solder something together on your own? Does anyone even bother with such things these days? What's your experience?
