Is it possible to desolder and replace front panel USB sockets?

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

Associate
Joined
1 Aug 2003
Posts
834
Not really sure where to put this thread. I've got an original Silverstone SG05. It's still a great chassis but it only has USB1 and USB2 front connectors. From experience, this is extremely annoying now that USB3 is so ubiquitous.

Instead of shelling out for a new Lite version (which has front USB3 connectors) I thought I'd look into the praticalities of desoldering the 2 USB sockets and replacing them with USB3 ones from Alliexpress. I presume I'd also have to rewire the leads connector for the motherboard too?

Would anyone have any advice on if this is possible? Or if it may end up being too much hassle?

Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
Depends how accessible they are - on most of my cases you'd have to do some significant dismantling of the case to get access to them - it would probably require some DIY reworking the whole implementation - wires and socket rather than just de-soldering and replacing the socket itself.

EDIT: From product images it looks like the PCB bolted to the front panel is fairly easy to get to on that case - I'd still bet you'll need to come up with a custom implementation of that board though to get USB3 working.
 
Thanks for the reply @Rroff Yes, I've got the PCB out already. I was thinking of getting something like this and simply removing the plastic casing around each port and then soldering them onto the front panel PCB.


url
 
Last edited:
Not that simple - USB 3 carries 9 wires rather than 4, so you can't simply desolder and resolder. But it is doable. You'll need to replace the entire usb assembly. It.kight be easier to mod new sockets in somewhere else, like the ones you've pictured?

Can we see a pic of the PCB you removed?
 
It looks like Silverstone have released the same case with USB 3 implying you could swap the PCB out too - have you tried asking if they'll send you one?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom