I'm plagiarizing another post from another forum, but I just can't say it better:
"If you have a USB 3.0 header on your motherboard it's worth your while to take a long, hard look at how much thinner the pins are than on USB 2.0 headers before you try and use the cabling currently available for hooking these headers up to the front panel, which are far more stiff and heavy than USB 2.0 connectors.
There are several pitfalls involved which transform this from the easy process that USB 2.0 connection has always been into a permanent hazard inside your desktop case.
For a start plugging a USB 3.0 cable into the header becomes a precision task because if you try jiggling the plug around until it fits you'll start bending pins and even if you're trying to be careful that stiff, heavy cable is more than capable of forcing you to go into the header at an angle at the last moment."
Amen! I thought I was careful enough, but I'm far from alone in having all too easily (in my case, twice!) bent one of the exceedingly fragile pins in a USB 3.0 header. It'd work a lot better to just go with plugs like are used for the ports, rather than these flimsy-pinned headers. Or come up with a sturdier receptacle that stands up to the force of those rather heavy-duty cables that are always used to connect to them.
At least USB 2.0 headers had reasonably sturdy pins to work with. Countless set-ups with those, and not once did I bend/break a pin!
Please check thread dates before posting. This thread has not been responded to in more than 3 1/2 years. I doubt that the participants still have interest in information that isn't even your own experience.
admin allisolm