The quality and design of the FrontX Multimedia
Ports is excellent. The unit is both simple
and
flexible, allowing us to rearrange the
positioning of our ports with ease. Adding an
additional component is as easy as removing a
blank and sliding the new port in place. The
general construction is sturdy with a solid
body and heavy-duty cables. This unit is
definitely built to last for years to come. The
only strike against the FrontX Multimedia Ports
is that it would've been nice if they made the
plugs at a 90° angle. Having them at this angle
would alleviate the stress on the plugs as well
as reduce how much they protrude from the back
of the case. That aside, this is a sweet piece
of hardware that deserves a place in any rig.
The only two requirements to install the FrontX
Multimedia Ports are a spare 5.25" drive bay and a
free PCI/ISA opening. Once the unit is mounted
in the bay, the wires are fed through an available
PCI/ISA opening in the rear of the case. The only
thing left to do is mount the back plate and plug
in the cables. That's it. You're ready to rock.
I
particularly like the headphone feature that makes
a headphone jack out of a standard speaker port
without losing the port in the rear. When the
headphones are plugged in, the speakers are
automatically cut off. This feature is especially
helpful for those who have fairly basic sound
cards that don't offer a headphone jack.
Some people may feel that running all of this
cabling through their rig is going to take up
valuable air space, having a negative affect on
good airflow. I didn't find this to be the case
at all. The FrontX Multimedia Ports provides
ample length on all of its cable. Using a few zip
ties and some plastic hooks, I had no problem
neatly bundling the cables and anchoring them on
the edge of my case out of the airflow. Once
this was done, the FrontX Multimedia Ports was
installed with minimal impact on the space in my
box.
In a nutshell, the FrontX Multimedia Ports is an
excellent product. Now that I have one installed
in my rig, you'll have to pry it out of my cold,
dead hands to get it out. The ease of
installation and the convenience of having our
sound and game ports moved forward is priceless.
To top it all off, FrontX charges around $25 for
the base unit. If you want to add additional
ports, it'll cost you under $10 including FedEx
shipping! For quality, ingenious design, and for
making my computing life a whole lot easier, I
give the FrontX Multimedia Ports a Hot Hardware
Heat Meter Rating of?
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