r/pcmasterrace • u/S1LV3R_S1LVIC • 1d ago
Meme/Macro Unified front panel connector all the way
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u/Own_Perspective4825 1d ago
Convenient to plug in but it's nice to be able to leave the HDD activity light unplugged without cutting any wires.
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u/archlich 9975WX|PRO6000 1d ago
Who unplugs the hdd light. It’s great for figuring out if you have a system lock or just really slow and shitty soft lock.
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u/LoanDebtCollector 1d ago
All the RGB guys need to get rid of the blinking HDD light that is distracting them. /s
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u/XH9rIiZTtzrTiVL 1d ago
I don't really want to see any lights. A perfect PC would make no sound or light. Hide it behind an opening panel if you like, that's fine.
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u/Greyburm 1d ago
Totally with you on this, wireless key and mouse or other controllers then make the pc something you can connect to the main living room tv without your partner leaving.
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u/definitivno-ne-troll 1d ago
I like to hear the individual fans and drives so I know what's being used.
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u/LiteratureLow4159 I9-12950HX, 64GB CAMM DDR5, 15GB RTX A5500, 2.5TB 1d ago
I heard my hdd from across the room before it died
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u/NegativeGrocery8684 1d ago
trauma dumping
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u/LiteratureLow4159 I9-12950HX, 64GB CAMM DDR5, 15GB RTX A5500, 2.5TB 1d ago
Nah it was a seagate and had nothing important on it, just a blank win10 install
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u/Afferbeck_ 1d ago
I haven't used the HDD activity light in like 20 years. I don't even know if they work for SSDs. The only thing I plug in is the power switch.
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u/Countlesshrs Linux, Fury X, 6700K, 16GB 1d ago
You plugin the power switch, I just short the pins on the mobo whenever I wanna use my pc.
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u/grantrules Debian Sid - Ryzen 2600/1660 super/72tb + 5600x/7800xt 1d ago
You short the pins, I wait for cosmic radiation to bitflip a WOL magic packet.
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u/NouZkion 1d ago
Who unplugs the hdd light.
People who don't care for lights flashing at them constantly. Troubleshooting is cool and all, but I rarely have to do any of that, so I want the light to stay off.
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u/shogun77777777 Linux 1d ago
in both cases my solution is to turn the computer off and on again though
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u/Anomynus1 13700f & RTX 5070 1d ago
I have mine unplugged because on my case its an obnoxiously bright blueish white led and i dont need it strobing on and off all the time, my pcs good enough anyway where if it freezes i know its locked up for good until a restart or blue screen
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u/Ok-Pomelo-1298 1d ago
It might not work correctly on modern systems. I have 4 NVMe SSDs, and the light stays on 99% of the time, it only turns off for a fraction of a second every now and then.
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u/vertigostereo RTX 3060, AMD 5700X, & RGB! 1d ago
You ever have the room dark, except for a solar-bright, front-panel LED? I put tape over it like a blinking VCR.
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u/Novotus_Ketevor Ryzen 9900X | RTX 5060 Ti | 128 GB DDR5 1d ago
Who has hard drives in 2026?
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u/bill_cipher1996 i7 14700k | RTX 4080 FE | 32GB RAM 14h ago
Doesn't really work when you have 4 different drives
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u/CosmoKrm 1d ago
I’d prefer to cut it if that was necessary
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u/Tsambikos96 3800x | RX 7900 GRE | UWQHD 144Hz 1d ago
Pop the pin and hide it in between all the other cables wtf why cut a cable?
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u/sampat6256 PC Master Race 1d ago
Its 100 steps forward, 1 inch back
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u/BooHorde 1d ago
It shows the inhenrent issues with a standardized connector, instead of just puting the onus on motherboard manufactuers to include their own easy to use adapter, you're forcing everyone to use a single standard that doesn't fit everyones needs now or in the future.
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u/joliet_jane_blues 1d ago
My case doesn't have a disk activity LED so I connected the power LED to cable to the disk activity pin.
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u/TruckTires 1d ago
Spot on, HDD LED is outdated and depending on the case and internal lights, I leave the power LED unplugged also. Hell, I haven't even used my reset switch in years, that one can stay unplugged too. Gimme just the power switch and I'm good.
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u/Travisx2112 1d ago
"outdated" 😂😂
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u/TruckTires 1d ago
Useful 3 decades ago when hard drives were mega slow so you knew the PC wasn't locked up. You really need a blinking light for your NVMEs?
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u/Travisx2112 1d ago
Not everything is going to be lightning fast all the time even with SSD's
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u/TTechnology R7 5800X3D / 9070XT / 4x8GB 3600MHz CL16 1d ago
My Lian Li Lancool III has unified panel, but no HDD leds, so win win situation here
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u/CocoNot1664 PC Master Race 22h ago
I feel like I've seen connectors that kinda clip onto their neighbours to form a solid connector, they'd be nice here. Modularity and ease of use all in one.
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u/Disastrous_Olive_920 16h ago
fyi you can unplug the one wire with a tweezer instead of cutting it.
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u/HereIsACasualAsker PC Master Race 23h ago
because out in my 20s, some motherboard makers decided to be stupid and put things whenever they damned pleased.
thank the universe for standards.
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u/THRobinson75 1d ago
Just built a Frankenstein PC for my sister the other day, half old parts and half new, and it was the stupid split apart plug and was kinda suprised to see it because I thought by now the layout would be universal and everyone using a single plug for it.
Also mildly annoyed the board had a speaker plug for the 'beep' speaker, but no speaker. I mean, no biggie but, c'mon, costs like a nickel to make.
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u/jjusko20 1d ago
the beep speaker part specifically - vmon guys I don't have one sitting around, for the love of God it's not like I can buy it easily
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u/THRobinson75 1d ago
You can't? That's a shame... they're easy to buy from where I liv... oh, hey, was that sarcasm?
Point is, cheap part, boards use to always come with them.
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u/lazyhustlermusic 1d ago
Honestly it'd be like 2-3 cents for the vendor to integrate a simple piezo onto the board anyway,
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u/Living_Shirt8550 3060 ti, 32gb, r7 5700x. Ex arch user (Windows 11 now) 1d ago
and 1 cent for the extra solder and another 1 cents for the extra traces on the PCB! Unthinkable!
/s
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u/jjusko20 1d ago
lool, wasn't making fun of you I was actually serious. Like c'mon I don't have one and I'm not trying to drive to a computer part store for a $0.05 part, it'll cost 100x in gas and time. I don't wanna buy 100 online and wait a week for them to come either and also pay 50x, just put the goddamn speaker in the box
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u/THRobinson75 1d ago
I hopped on Amazon to see if they had them, and they do, lots, and of course stuff like 10pks. Cheap enough but also a waste to buy 10 and use 1, because you know those other 9 are gonna sit in a drawer until you die.
Add the speaker... or just solder it to the board and save on the wire and plastic connector.
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u/jjusko20 1d ago
I know it's not that big a deal but it's inconvenient and I'm already frustrated when my shit won't start anyways
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u/Remarkable_Reason976 1d ago
Higher end ASUS boards (2004 - 2010 era) use to come with a jumper block where you could plug all your case cables into first and then plug that into the pins on the board all as one piece. They were handy. I don't know why they stopped doing that.
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u/Soleks2000 5700x3d/9070xt 1d ago
because the whopping five cents to make, it cost too much
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u/Remarkable_Reason976 1d ago
Yeah definitely an easy cost savings measure. Replaced them with Velcro cable ties and stickers. Both equally as useless.
I use to love all the extra goodies that came in high end motherboard boxes. Now you're lucky to get a working board and a manual at best.
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u/S1LV3R_S1LVIC 1d ago
Also, the G-Connector that comes with Gigabyte boards.
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u/chipface Nobara | Ryzen 9800X3D | 64GB DDR5 6000 | 9070 XT 13h ago
Did Gigabyte stop including them? I bought an X870 Aorus board almost 2 years ago and it came with one.
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u/GSDragoon 1d ago
Yeah, these jumper blocks were the best. My Gigabyte X570 board had them by my AsRock Tachi X870E did not.
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u/tylan4life 1d ago
Just got an aorus elite board that has that. Fortunately my case has a unified plug.
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u/cklaubur R7 5800X3D, 64 GB, RX6800XT 1d ago
Back in my Ivy Bridge build, I had an MSI board with one of those. It was great for my bad eyesight! Certainly easier to connect one large block with the motherboard in the case than trying to connect individual wires.
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u/anothercorgi 1d ago
Kids these days, crying over unified vs split connectors. Back in my day, the pins for each of the functions were all over the board, different boards have different pinouts, cased had different LEDs and switches, and we LIKED it...
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u/MT-Switch 11h ago
A single front panel plug doesn’t work for some motherboards that have a 3 pin space power led, some msi boards have this.
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u/Moscato359 9800x3d Clown 1d ago
Technically, you only need power sw
The rest are optional
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u/S1LV3R_S1LVIC 1d ago
Also the reset switch, since there are still cases that come with a reset button.
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u/DEAMONzWojSKA Linux 1d ago
I started using my reset button as a power switch so my PC doesn't get shut off by someone on accident
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u/Sodacan259 1d ago
Give me the single plugs. Easier to wire up power buttons built right into your desk and auto switch on monitor backlighting.
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u/Panzerv2003 R7 7800X3D | 3070oc 8GB | 2x16GB DDR5 6000MHz 15h ago
ups and downs to this, unified would be more convenient but having each separated gives you more control and you get to do whatever you want with the buttons and leds, like I'm using the reset button to reset my led controller because I never use it to reset the pc
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u/tomchee 5700X3D_5060ti16GB_48GB DDR4_Sleeper 1d ago
i always prefered the old split one. I can decide not to plug HDD_LED and Power_LED, and since kids i can also just connect RESET_SW to the power pin, so they cant decide to accidentally turn off my pc because reset button is much smaller and harder to reach :D
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u/InevitableMission102 8h ago
Sounds good until any one of the buttons/leds is malfunctioning.
My power button stopped working reliably so i just connected the reset button to the power button pins.
With that connector attached to the case, i'd have to buy one of those remote power buttons that stand on the desk and i'd have lost hdd led, power led and reset.
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u/_dharwin 8h ago
Or just... Replace the button?
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u/InevitableMission102 7h ago edited 7h ago
Non standard button. Maybe with a 3d printer ...
Also the actual switch that is soldered in the button's pcb seems to be failing, so fixing this isn't trivial at all.
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u/ishtuwihtc i5 12400 | RTX 3080 Ti | 32GB DDR4 1d ago
For convenience yeah, but not for control. Sometimes you dont want every led
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u/kokiev2 1d ago
I don't use reset sw. I connect fan mode sw on reset sw instead.
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u/Moscato359 9800x3d Clown 1d ago
That's fun
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u/Ok-Pomelo-1298 1d ago
It’s just convenient. And the fun part is connecting it to an explosive charge to destroy a drive containing sensitive data.
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u/Vichingo455 Desktop | i7-13700K | RTX 4070 1d ago
Unconvienent because with separate pins I was able to wire power led and hdd led to UID and system fault on my NAS (ASRR MB)
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u/Hefty-Bit4789 1d ago
Yeah sure until you need to hook up the wireview 2 pros most usefull feature
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u/MisterDonkey 1d ago
This is alright unless you're doing true custom.
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u/AntonioSwift_77 1d ago
If you are going true custom you would have no issues separating the cables for your own needs. I think unified front panel should just be standard.
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u/AshleyAshes1984 1d ago
Where do you plug in the speaker on that thing?
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u/THRobinson75 1d ago
You don't.
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u/AshleyAshes1984 1d ago
Oh that there his hubris. Everyone is like 'I don't need some old timey PC speaker'. Until your computer doesn't work and you suddenly really wish if it's making the good beep, a bad beep and then WHICH bad beep.
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u/THRobinson75 1d ago
Yup... speaker shouldn't really come with the board, it should be something soldered on.
As for my comment 'you don't'... meant that the plug for the speaker is elsewhere on the board, not in that cluster.
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u/ruintheenjoyment Ryzen 7 2700X, RTX 2070 | Pentium 4 Lover 1d ago
Some of them have lights on the motherboard for error codes instead of beeping
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u/tes_kitty 9h ago
Some modern boards come with a POST code display, on those you don't need a speaker.
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u/Bearex13 1d ago
I'll do ya one better how about they clip together so you can just put the ones you need clip them together and boom easy peasy plug in
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u/FrozenDefender2 1d ago
the one time I bought the top spec motherboard, I got an adapter with the board so you could assemble it before plugging in, such fancy, felt rich for once
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u/Changeurwayz 1d ago edited 1d ago
Although this may seem like a good idea, Boards are different and cases are different, So this is why there has never been a unified connector.
Also, If say your power button breaks, You cannot simply replace it without cutting cables to the plug itself.
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u/Secure-Tradition793 1d ago
You can get an extension on AliExpress for a few bucks. One of the best QoL investment I made, no longer need to perform an operation to put them in.
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u/MonsieurBabtou 1d ago
Those are great, but I have a front bay and want to make a custom power switch (well switches in parallel), AIOs would fuck that up, unless it's just an adapter. Otherwise, yeah they're pretty nifty
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u/Neat-Shopping-1258 1d ago
I build PCs back when the power switch could kill you and you had to set like 30 jumpers to configure your system. I'm totally fine with split FP connectors
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u/joliet_jane_blues 1d ago
No. My PC case has no disk activity LED and a broken power button. Having all the wires as separate pieces allowed me to get an external replacement power/reset button and use the power LED for disk activity. If they were all one cable I'd have been screwed.
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u/magic_love_spell-7W7 1d ago
But you don't need that cable; you can bridge the pins on the board with a screwdriver to start it up. Years ago my power button broke, and I'm from a humble neighborhood.
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u/Ad-fundum69 PC Master Race 14h ago
I really don't get how these simple plugs, that are tagged and marked so anyone can do it are the bane of PC building for some reason.
How is this a challenge?
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u/shield173 13h ago
Because my fingers are fat and the pins are small, also getting it on the correct one, a unified conncet just means you have to do it once instead of a bunch of times
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u/Nerdinat0r PC Master Race 13h ago
And then you stumble upon a Mainboard with a different layout of pins..
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u/beefstewm5 1d ago
Nah, split connectors are easier to interrupt with splitters for wiring additional power buttons and indicator lights
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u/Bourriks 16h ago
Split connectors are better because users has to look precisely and sometimes read the manual of the motherboard. It's good to learn and understand.
Even if it can be hard to plug, it's always a better solution, and you can use tweezers to help.
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u/here4thevibes420 PC Master Race 1d ago
Had the F panel on my first build and I didnt know how lucky I was, then I put together my second PC :'(
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u/Issues3220 Desktop 7800X3D + RX 9070 XT 1d ago
But the there are cheap cases that need restart button to cycle RGB ...
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u/phyxinon A10 7870K - RX 550 (4GB) - 16GB DDR3 - A78M E35v2 1d ago
My previous case has separate connectors and could use a remote to turn it on, now my current case have the unified one I suddenly miss using the remote.
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u/Lagoon_M8 1d ago
My mainboard was provided with two adapters. It was covering some of the sockets and had nice coloured info. That I think was msi.
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u/Benthebiggestboy 1d ago
I actually plugged an external power button into those the other day and it would not have worked had they been connected
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u/Steph1er 1d ago
the reason you might not have that, is because if you have a splitter to have two power buttons, you might have to wire it weirdly
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u/What1does PC Master Race 1d ago
Nope, I have a power button on my desk that wouldn't work with this monstrosity plugged in.
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u/hyperlobster PC Master Race : Ryzen 3700x + RTX 4070 1d ago
The front panel should use a USB connector.
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u/DreamPhreak RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 5 7600 | 32gb DDR5 6000 1d ago
I like to leave the LED ones unplugged though.
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u/Stunning_Warthog_141 1d ago
They used to stress me out when I was first putting together computers but now I find it pretty easy and I don't sweat while messing with them. But yeah a unified connector is easier for sure, and why not.
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u/Weston-L-Cormier 1d ago
The unified block should have become the mandatory standard a decade ago. Squinting at tiny positive and negative labels on individual 1-pin connectors is easily the most tedious part of any build.
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u/Step_On_Me01 i5 12400F/RTX4060 8GB/32GB DDR4 3200MHz 1d ago
There's an option for that? Those damn things were a pain.
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u/grantrules Debian Sid - Ryzen 2600/1660 super/72tb + 5600x/7800xt 1d ago
Thanks for the F Panel.
Love, Dirty Mike and the boys
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u/TheCovarr Tinkerer 1d ago
There should be different versions of the standard that look the same but the pins are in a different order
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u/KryanThePacifist 1d ago
Nah. Use the adapter most mobo companies ship. With. I like to have the liberty of plugging and unplugging shit at Will.
Plus, I like to think I'm hot-wiring a car while I'm plugging them in
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u/StaticSystemShock 1d ago
I still don't understand how they can't unify this stupid connector? Like, how hard can it be to make 10 pin connector where 1 pin is keyed so you can't insert it wrong and just call it a day. Everyone makes the same one and all cases connect the same. Instead it has been some 30 years and the upper connector thing is still, well, a thing. Entire case and motherboard industry can't come up with a standard that just uses same thing, but in one chunk. I don't get it.
Sure, higher end boards had this for years, but you still had to assemble the top image connector onto their assembly adapter and then plug it in.
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u/trr94001 1d ago
They actually labeled those AT front panel wires. Must have been a fancy-pants case.
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u/Weird-Abalone-1910 23h ago
At a minimum, but there really should be some retention mechanism on it, too. I hate those connectors
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u/bibibip31246 22h ago
Eh, I hate leds that stay on for no reason, and I always disable reset buttons to prevent accidental button presses so I prefer them separate. Besides it always provides useful when pesky relatives come by to stay and you pull the cords and power on with a screwdriver for a few days to prevent them kids from messing around. 3rd party desktop power buttons are useful too and they also have 2 cords anyway.
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u/NimRodelle 22h ago
I've bought a couple boards that had an block/riser thing that you plugged the separate plugs into before plugging the block into the board... seems like the best solution to me, but corporations love saving them pennies.
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u/ArmorBones 20h ago
Behold, this nifty little guy. I have 2 of them. One back from 2016 from my first PC I built.
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u/Restart_from_Zero 19h ago
Front panel should just be a micro USB cable or something at this point.
Single cable from motherboard to case that lets you customise the side of your case through either UEFI or your OS to make it pretty. Maybe replace all the standard small lights on the case with a small screen.
It's amazing how much hardware is legacy designs from the 80s.
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u/Wikadood 19h ago
Relinds me i need to unplug my power button LED cuz its bright as a fucking beacon when it blinks in sleep mode
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u/BatmanBecameSomethin 17h ago
I have an sff build with no case IO, it's only the power connector and that's it.
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u/felsefe-iferd 17h ago
I use reset switches to make easier cmos. I love all in one front panel cables but sometimes if there is no cmos button behind mobo, reset swtich cable might help it.
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u/WolvenSpectre2 17h ago
Both because the way that those Front Panel connectors connect aren't a standard, they are just mostly a standard that the brands informally have agreed on. That is why I prefer the adjustable unified block that you can lock the FPC's to and have it come prepopulated in the loose standard.
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u/Nor1 15h ago
i dont know what happened to my unified control on my pc but after setting it up the first time (i think i forced it a bit to much) first time turned on ok, however afterwards if i select to power off, if i try to turn it on, it doesn't start back up normally from case power on switch i did notice a workaround in order to turn it on i just have to first click the power kill switch to off and then on again and afterwards i can turn my pc on form the case switch.
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u/chipface Nobara | Ryzen 9800X3D | 64GB DDR5 6000 | 9070 XT 13h ago
Every Gigabyte/Aorus board I've bought in the last 10+ years came with a harness to unify them. My current case, the Corsair iCUE 3500X, made it unneccessary.
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u/jahnbanan 5h ago
I have several decades of experience building PCs, but I retired in 2010 and haven't bought a new tower for myself since 2014, finally bought a new one, the FLP02, started assembling the PC, saw the F_PANEL connector and my immediate thought was "Huh, that's new, I'll have to check the manual later what that's for" keep going "Wait, where's the power connector?" keep looking "Huh, could it be, did they make it a single connector cable..? Could that be the F_PANEL cable..?" keep looking "Okay, getting somewhat sure now" get out the manual, the elation I felt when I got it confirmed was indescribable.
So yes, please, standardize this lol
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u/Beneficial-Ranger238 3h ago
I’ll take these even if all the shit don’t work. Power always seems to work, but the lights don’t always light up…oh well, way easier.
My old ass eyes can’t deal with those close pins anymore. 😑
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u/Low-Neighborhood1285 3h ago
My motherboard came with this... bloody brilliant and I like it very much. plug all the case headers into this then plug this into the motherboard..
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u/AfraidAd2044 2h ago
Sometimes having separated connectors is better for diagnostics. If your power button stops working, you can replace it with one of those crappy external buttons or just associate it to a reset button for example. And you can turn off the hdd usage light if you don't like it.
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u/ChadHartSays 38m ago
The industry spent so much time on RGB fans and that excellent 12VHPWR standard that they couldn't get this done.
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u/Rantsu 1d ago
Some motherboards came with an adapter that took the front panel wires and combined them into a single plug. It was convenient and cost 3 extra cents so it had to go.