Burning Chipsets.

[stevo1210]

Hello Everyone,

I have an Asus P4P800S-X motherboard that is currently installed in a media center PC. Nothing is wrong with it.... but I want to connect the front USB ports onto the motherboard and I don't know if I should do so.
I have heard reports from others using motherboards with the Intel ICH4/5 southbridge chipsets. From what I have heard.... those southbridge chips are prone to "blow up" when a USB device is plugged into a front USB port of USB bracket when the USB device has static present.
I really want the front USB ports on the media center PC because it is becoming a real pain when I have to plug in USB devices because everytime I plug in a device I have to pull the PC out.
My father doesn't like the idea of a USB hub because it will become unsightly.
What kind of considerations should I take in order to prevent the static from damaging my motherboard??
Also, are there any solutions to extra USB ports without the use of a USB hub??

Thanks.

[kikkoman]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

I've seen a few PCI add-on cards that have internal 9-pin headers besides the standard rear connectors.
There are also internal USB hubs (3.5" and 5.25") that look very neutral, but they're hard to find.

On the other hand, it should be easy to build your own from a front panel and a hub....et voilà!

[davmax]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

I understand that the case already has front panel USB and probably audio out and Mic in. All can normally be connected to the motherboard if you follow the detail in the manual. I presume you always ground yourself to the case before touching any motherboard components.

If you are concerned about the chipset then the suggestion of using a PCI card to support the frontpanel seems a good idea. The audio connectors could still be connected to the motherboard.

It is interesting that blow ups have been reported. Some I have seen are due to flash drives being forced in upside down or the front panel connector plugged into 1394 header instead of a USB header (sometimes they have the same pin layout but the plastic moulding is a different colour).

[stevo1210]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

At the moment I haven't used the audio out and mic on the front panel yet. So I can use the front USB just as long is I ground myself before plugging in a USB device??.... I have always grounded myself when touching my PC. Also the floors are all tile.... no carpet so I think there won't be a lot of static around.

[shadow]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

I presume that davmax was referring to plugging in the front panel connectors to the motherboard. As in you should be grounded before you do any work on the motherboard.

What I have found is that the individual pins are very easy to mix up when you are connecting the front panel USB pins onto the motherboard. I believe this would be the primary cause of grief for most people.

I personally found it very difficult to do it on my motherboard and my cases front USB pins. However with time I got all the pins in and in their proper position. Definitely check the pin out of the USB header in your motherboard manual!

I have one issue with my front USB ports. Oviously my case was cheap, however my front USB ports will not work at USB2 speeds. I believe this is due to the cheapo plain ribbon cable used to connect the front USB ports to the motherboard. It provides zero shielding, therefore I occasionally get drop outs on my front USB ports and it never works at USB2 speeds. It is damn annoying!! However I can not be bothered trying to fix it any time soon. I usually use my rear ports anyway since my MP3 player does not fit in the front.

[starfury1]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

Well if you mean by static electricity chipset is blown up..suppose thats possible
(I suppose this is dependent on if the usb connection is actually part of the chip, that I dont know would have to check)

more likely is the issues above, either a usb device forced in the wrong way or the wrong pins used to the header.

I would if you are really concerned about this,
do as suggested... use a USB pci card and plug the front ports into that
(not that this couldn't possibly open another can of worms depending on what you want to use them for)

I agree thought, far better to possibly damage a replaceable card then an MB chip.

On static, yeah ideally you should use an anti static wrist strap when working on a pc. (not mains voltage of course as in the psu..)

but at a pinch touching (making good contact) with an earthed pc case is better then nothing
(keep power switch off and hope spark wired GPO correctly)

cheers

[stevo1210]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

This is the problem I am actually referring to. I got the following quote from an FAQ on the Gigabyte website.

Q. The ICH4/5 SouthBridge chipset on my Intel® motherboard appears damaged or "burnt". How did this happen?

A. The GIGABYTE Global RMA Service Center has recently become aware of the randomly occurring risk to ICH4/5 SouthBridge chipsets on Intel® motherboards to become damaged or "burnt" when a USB device is connected. Please read the following paragraphs to learn more about this issue.
Why did this happen?
There are three likely causes:
- Accumulated static electricity from the human body may have been transmitted to the ICH4/5 SouthBridge chipset when connecting a USB device if it has not been "grounded".
- A connected USB device does not have any static electricity protection.
- Accumulated static electricity in a front-panel USB port that is not properly "grounded" with the PC casing.

Usage Tips
-Avoid touching the USB connector.
-Release static electricity within your USB device by touching the USB connector to any metal surface before plugging it into your computer.
-Use rear-panel USB ports on your PC whenever possible.
-Use a three-pronged electrical cord to connect a power supply to your PC.
-Use only approved or certified power supplies.

In the past I have seen traces on motherboards burnt or damaged due to incorrect installation of USB headers.
I even saw one of my motherboards burn up in the past due to incorrect installation.... and that was installed by a computer technician at a computer store. Some of us here may remember me talking about that incident here on badcaps.net forums.

Thanks.

[gg1978]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

I've seen one instance of this so far, on an I865 based board, ICH5.. Basically the southbridge melted down, but it looked like the VR responsible for feeding it was overheating also..

I suspect that ESD via the USB ports causes a latch-up, which results in excessive current draw from the VR, and burns the chip..


The USB controllers themselves are on the soutbridge, but the +5V supplied comes right from the PSU..

[kc8adu]

Re: Burning Chipsets.

i have seen many emachines boards where +5stby overshot and burned up the sb.
one came in with a burned sb and the mouse melted down sticking the pad to the customers table.