Akasa Interconnect Pro 5.25-Inch USB Front Panel with Card Reader

I'd looked around for some time searching for a front panel module to give me access to extra USB2 and USB3 ports, and the only thing that had put me off this device previously was the detail that the USB3 connector had to pass through the case and out of the back to plug into another USB socket, because there was no provision for connection to a motherboard header.But as has now been pointed out by other reviewers, this is no longer the case, and as soon as I realised that, into the shopping basket it went.Construction is impressive. This not cheap, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that it's a sturdy black brushed aluminium construction, and the case completely encloses the electronics within, instead of being a half-carcass like so many other similar units.Within ten minutes of opening the box I had it installed and running fine. One thing to note is that the cables, though quite generously long, still might not reach the required headers without some fiddling about. My case is a full tower construction, and it was clear immediately that with this unit at the top, I would have struggled to plug it into the motherboard. It was a minor inconvenience to move all the other front panel modules up by one position so that this could slot in at the bottom.It looks good and performs well!

I bought it as a camera card reader. It does this job well. The USB 3 sockets are good but I had to disconnect one of the existing leads from the motherboard to provide the connection. The casing is satisfactory, but my gripe is with the fixing of the card reader sockets to the internal board. The card reader sockets are mounted on a slim vertical stand attached to the internal board behind the front faceplate. The result is that the socket moves and tilts backwards when you push a card in. The result is that the sockets no longer line up with the holes in the front faceplate, making it difficult, if not impossible, to insert a card correctly the next time you use it. I modified the design by going into the case and improving the support for the card sockets so that it now works satisfactorily. It shouldn't be necessary to do this and I guess many wouldn't be bothered. Hence only three stars for a poor piece of mechanical design and manufacture.

Arrived as promised. Now fitted to computer and working correctly. Nice to have extra USB2/3 ports. Easy to fit just follow instructions. Pleased with quality of Card Reader. Yes a good buy.

The good:* Front panel is brushed anodised Aluminium, not plastic. Feels very sturdy and high quality. Holes line up perfectly with the ports.* Excellent range of connectivity offered on the front.* Internal connectivity is good - no adapters needed. Fits directly to internal headers, including the USB3 (see customer image).* All cables supplied (built directly into the device) and of good length, had no problems getting them to reach.* Screws provided.* Little front light only illuminates (in blue) when a card is inserted, I was worried it would be a redundant power light.* Everything worked first time - no drivers to install or settings to fiddle. Win8 just detected everything automatically when I started it up.The odd:* The depth of the device is about half the depth of a normal bay. So you better make sure you have screw holes near to the front of the bay. My Corsair 300R case has a screwless clipping mechanism which was ineffective with this device since it doesn't reach far enough into the bay to activate the mechanism; fortunately the other side of the bay has a screw hole.* When inserting cards they will not insert fully into the unit. They will protrude (and SD card protrudes about by about 50% - see customer image). Hopefully future models will consider using a push-to-insert-push-to-popout type mechanism like that used on digital cameras. This isn't a problem, just something to be aware of.Overall I am happy with this device. It looks and feels solid and blends in well on the front of my PC (not too shiny).

This card reader has the look cool factor but suffers from several design flaws and functional deficiencies. I am sorry to have wasted £25 on one when a simple plug in card reader costing half as much would have been more satisfactory.(1) Does not fit properly into the lower 5.25" bay on Antec NSK 3480 case. Tight fit and screw holes do not quite line up.(2) Some of the card slots are only a few mm deep leaving the card protruding to the extent that it might easily fall out or be accidentally disturbed.(3) Has slot for MS Pro Duo card but would not read the one I tried without an adapter. This adapter does not fit positively into the slot.(4) Poor legibility of legend on front panel which is supposed to show the card type(s) for different slots. Needs torch and magnifying glass to be read.(5) The leads for the USB3 slots have to pass through the back of the computer case. The kit does not include any tidy way of doing this such as a modified blanking strip.(6) It says on the box "Superb Design Engineering" which is utter bunk.

Most people would be buying this product to use as a fast card reader since USB3 ports come free with any decent motherboard albeit on the back of the case. The card reader in the Akasa is USB 2 only, while the USB 3 connection only feeds the 2x USB 3 ports at the front. This is not clearly indicated on the product description, which is a major omission. My Lexar USB 3 card reader reads a Lexar 1000x CF card at 120 MB/s, while the same card in the Akasa reader tops at 31 MB/s... I would not have purchased this product if I was aware of this limitation. It is difficult to believe that none of the reviews here have mentioned this. People seem to be just happy to have a card reader at the front and don't care / know anything about speed.... With raw digital images often exceeding 20-30 MB each, this is a major letdown. I would have probably returned the reader to Amazon if I wasn't reluctant to fit back my old USB2 5.25 card reader.