Question 1

How does this product connect to my mother board?  I'm purchasing an Asus A55BM-E MoBo, and want to be sure it will be compatible

Accepted Answer

Your motherboard will need to have a 20-pin USB plug on it. Mine did not so I had to buy a PCI card that had this. Basically, there is only one cable for this device (shown in the 4th picture) for the 20-pin for USB 3.0 that must be plugged into the motherboard.

I took a look at your motherboard on Newegg and do not think that the motherboard has the 20-pin so you would need a 3.0 USB PCI card with a 20-pin slot on it (not all have them!)

Question 2

? where dose this plug in to

Accepted Answer

You will either need to have a USB 3.0 "front panel" connector on your motherboard, or buy a PCI-E card that has one.   This connection is very different from USB 2.0, as instead of 5x2 pins (2.0), USB 3.0's layout is 10x2 pins, and differently shaped.  If buying a PCI-E USB card, make sure to have a free power connector in your PC, as it will need one.

Question 3

Curious but how long are the cables for this unit?

Accepted Answer

The cable is 24.5 inches long measured from where the cable exits the back of the unit to the plug end. Unit works fine, no problems.

Question 4

I want to get this, in conjunction with their UGT-PC341 4-Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCIe Host Card.  It looks like this has the 20-pin connector?  I think the card's "internal" connector is the standard female connector.  Is there some sort of adapter to make this work?  I don't understand why Vantec, in their infinite wisdom, would make 2 products that don't work with each other?!?!

Accepted Answer

The connector for the Vantec UGT-IH203 will only work with internal 20 pin USB 3.0 Motherboard connectors or PCI to USB 3.0 cards which have the same 20 pin USB 3.0 internal connectors.

Since the pin assignments for USB 3.0 are known, it might be possible to craft an external USB 3.0 female plug to internal USB male 3.0 connector, but you would likely spend much more time than it is worth.  Also there might be sensing or timing problems which are beyond my expertise.

Proposed solutions:  New motherboard with a 20 pin USB 3.0 connector (which I did) and which will cost you $$.  Look carefully.  Almost all cheap MoBo do not have the 20 pin USB 3.0 connectors.  Mine cost $150.  Another solution is to get a PCI to USB 3.0 adapter with an an internal USB 3.0 connector.  Both would work with this Vantec.  A third solution is to get a different front panel device with 2 USB 3.0 connectors which have standard USB connectors and which are designed to pass through the innards of the computer case and then out the back and then plug into the spare and underused rear panel USB 3.0 connectors, or even the UGT-PC341.  If you plug them into the USB 2.0 connectors of the rear panel, you just made your front panel into USB 2.0, so choose your connections wisely.

Question 5

Anyone pull the ports out of the front panel of the Vantec to replace the front USB 2.0 ports on main chasis? I didn't want to use the bay, rather pull the USB 3.0 ports out and use where the existing 2.0 connections are on the case. Plan to swap them out and curious if anyone else bought this for that same purpose. Thank you!

Accepted Answer

My current system have two USB 3.0 ports in the back of case. But I wanted some USB 3.0 ports in the front of case; thus the purchase of this front panel, which use up a spare 5.25 opening.  The thing with me is that I have so many old EIDE drives from old systems and every upgrade leave me with yet another old EIDE drive.  So I've brought several external cases to handle these spare drives and now I have quite a few external USB drives.  Having said that, I needed more USB ports, as I might connect up more than two drives at any one time or other USB devices from the front( hate having to reach in the back every time just to do a temporary connect.  So my need is different from you need.

But the ideal of swapping the USB 2.0 ports for 3.0 port is intriguing.  The only caution I would say is to be careful as these ports aren't the sturdiest, meaning it doesn't take much to ruin them and the connection become worthless.  Many people have complain about USB ports becoming loose, etc. after a while.  So be careful when tearing them out.  I say, you never have enough USB ports--safer that way.  Just my thoughts here.

Question 6

What if my motherboard doesn't have the 20-pin USB 3.0 connector? Is it possible to add such a connector to the motherboard or is something else recommended?

Accepted Answer

Unless there are holes/pads for such a connector, it's virtually impossible. And even if there were, it would be pretty tedious. If you are dead set on having front panel USB ports, you could cannibalize a pair of USB 3.0 extension cables and splice them to this unit, routing them through an open slot in the back panel, and connect to existing 3.0 ports or to a 3.0 PCIe expansion card, but sounds like a lot of work and a big mess.

But if you have 3.0 ports on your rear panel I'd just get a USB 3.0 hub with a power supply included (powered hub) and stick it to the front with double-sided tape or Velcro and call it a day.

Question 7

type of connector on plug?

Accepted Answer

The black cable plugs into the usb header on your motherboard. Will be marked like F_USB1. Should ba a diagram in your motherboard manual. Just make sure it is a usb 3 header.

Good luck,

Frank A.

Question 8

What is the cable length?

Accepted Answer

I happen to have the UGT-IH203 sitting on my desk.
The cable measures 23" from the back of the box to the connector.

Question 9

no 20 pin plug on m/b can i install one in expansion slot?

Accepted Answer

Since my motherboard had no 20 pin plug either I installed a:
HooToo HT-PC002 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 2-Port PCI-E Add-On Expansion Card with Internal USB 3.0 19-Pin Motherboard Male Header & 5V 4-Pin Molex Power Connector (VIA VL800 Chipset, Solid Capacitors)
Item#: 17Z-0002-00002
Both work fine for my Gigabyte motherboard

Question 10

how long is cable?

Accepted Answer

I just eyeballed it, but I would say that the cable is about 1 foot long? I've got a server case and the cable easily reaches the motherboard. What motherboard and case are you using?

Brand	VANTEC
Model	UGT-IH203

Compatibility	3.5" Drive Bay
Material	Plastic & Steel
Dimensions	5.31" x 3.98" x 0.98"

2-Port USB 3.0 Front Panel

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Item#: N82E16811999246