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Z790 Hero - Unusual Front Panel Connector Behavior

Soccerchamp43
Level 8
Case: Meshify 2; front panel port is USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C

Mobo: Z790 Hero; case cable plugged into USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C Front Panel connector (U32G2X2_C9); a 6-pin PCIe power cable is plugged into the PD_12V_PWR header

When I use a Samsung T7 Shield external drive plugged into the front port on my case, the speed is extremely slow - in the kilobytes - and quickly the transfer halts, Windows says I/O issues, it just doesn't really work. If I try the same device and cable in a motherboard USB-C port, it works just fine. Bios, FW, drivers all updated. I've reset CMOS.

Visually, nothing appears wrong with the port nor cable: https://imgur.com/a/RGrKvDJ

I posted about this online and a response that I received was from someone telling me to use a shorter cable. They linked to this post and also wrote, "Cable is not issue, but port it is. Since port cannot provide sufficiently signal and power to any cable longer than a 5cm. So little cable will fix this problem. Just try it out."

This seemed unusual to me because the cable works just fine in a rear mobo port. And unfortunately, the only other USB-C to USB-C cable that I have is about twice as long (original that's included with drive on top): https://imgur.com/a/5KFFKKI

But sure enough, when I tried that longer cable on the front port, a test transfer was successful. However, I'm still a bit confused on the behavior.

Transfer speeds:

Original shorter cable plugged into motherboard: 350+ MB/s

Original shorter cable plugged into front panel port: Kilobytes then disconnects, doesn't really work

Random longer cable plugged into motherboard: 30 MB/s

Random longer cable plugged into front panel port: 30 MB/s

I then found a forum post on the Samsung website about slow transfer speeds which states, "The builder of my computer says this is a known issue with the Fractal Case, even though Fractal does not want to readilly admit it."

Originally I thought that this may be an issue with my motherboard, but now I'm not sure. Perhaps the issue is with the drive cable or maybe it's the case cable and/or front port. Could be both? I'm just confused at this point.

Two Questions:

1) Can anyone confirm what is going on here? I guess the USB-C to USB-C cable that's included with the Samsung T7 Shield external drive is no good? But maybe there's also an issue with the case?

2) I'd like to use the front panel USB-C port, but the speed difference between that and a motherboard port is substantial. As someone previously commented that I quoted above, could a shorter cable increase the speed? I assume that included cable is no good, but maybe the other cable actually is too long? Or is the slower speed simply a function of either the front panel case port and/or the U32G2X2_C9 motherboard port?

Any other comments/information would be greater appreciated. I've spent I don't know how many hours trying to figure this out.

Thank you!
2,340 Views
17 REPLIES 17

Nate152
Moderator
Hi Soccerchamp43

Welcome to the ROG forum.

Have you connected a 6-pin pci-e power cable to the PD_12V_PWR header on your motherboard?

The additional power is shared between the pcie slots and the 3.2 GEN 2x2 Type C front panel header.

Try connecting a 6-pin pcie power cable to the PD_12V_PWR header and see if speeds improve.

Pic from your manual - 97649

Nate152 wrote:

Have you connected a 6-pin pci-e power cable to the PD_12V_PWR header on your motherboard?


Hi Nate,

Thanks so much for your response. Yes, a 6-pin PCIe power cable is plugged into the PD_12V_PWR header.

It can be seen in the Imgur album that I posted. (not being rude, just letting you know in case you wanted to see)

Nate152
Moderator
Ah I missed that, I see it in the first picture.

I think too you should be getting faster speeds, what strikes me first is if you're actually getting the additional power.

Double check the connections of the pcie cable at both ends, and maybe try another pcie cable.

Nate152 wrote:
Ah I missed that, I see it in the first picture.

I think too you should be getting faster speeds, what strikes me first is if you're actually getting the additional power.

Double check the connections of the pcie cable at both ends, and maybe try another pcie cable.


Thanks for your message. I ordered this cable from Amazon so tomorrow I can investigate further.

If it turns out that speeds are much faster with that cable, then the issue would then be with the case (either cable or port), right?

Still, this is still unusual to me:

"Original shorter cable plugged into motherboard: 350+ MB/s
Original shorter cable plugged into front panel port: Kilobytes then disconnects, doesn't really work
Random longer cable plugged into motherboard: 30 MB/s
Random longer cable plugged into front panel port: 30 MB/s"

Why does the original product cable work with a motherboard port, but not with the front case port?

Why does the other cable exhibit such limited speeds when plugged into the motherboard?

Those two questions are confusing to me.

Nate152
Moderator
Since two different cables give two different results, you could be on to something by trying another cable.

Have a quick look in Device Manager for any devices with a yellow triangle, this would indicate a missing driver.

Don't know if this will help but you could try these options in Device Manager. Scan for hardware changes, update driver, uninstall and reboot, check properties to see the device is working properly.

Pic - 97650

Nate152 wrote:

Have a quick look in Device Manager for any devices with a yellow triangle, this would indicate a missing driver.

Don't know if this will help but you could try these options in Device Manager. Scan for hardware changes, update driver, uninstall and reboot, check properties to see the device is working properly.

Pic - 97650


Appreciate the suggestion. No yellow triangles, however the entry that you indicated appears twice for me, with two different versions:

97654

They both have the same Driver Date and Driver Version.

Could that be causing a conflict? Should I uninstall the 3.10 entry?

Nate152
Moderator
I'm not sure, but yes you could try uninstalling it. If it's meant to be there, it will install automatically on reboot.

Nate152 wrote:
I'm not sure, but yes you could try uninstalling it. If it's meant to be there, it will install automatically on reboot.


It disappears from the list when I uninstall it, but then a few seconds later comes right back.

Nate152
Moderator
Ok,

I came across this article from ASUS on troubleshooting USB-C issues.

See if you find anything in here helpful.

https://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1042417