cyrnel

Your PCI USB card addition idea might be the right direction in order to get USB 2 ports. USB PCI cards with 2-3 external ports plus one internal go for $10-30. If you can route the panel cable as ratbastid said, you could connect it to the new card's internal connector with something like this:



Those go for $10 from performance-pcs.com, or a few minutes to DIY by butchering an old usb cable & mating it to your panel harness. There isn't much to them and the pinouts are readily available (even on the above page).

Edit: I think I misunderstood. The computer has holes up front for USB connections but without the sockets or cables? If so, rat's right. Start with the case manufacturer or reseller. You can buy ports in that configuration (really just a passive hub) but it can be tough to get the spacing to match your case. The correct panel would probably use a 90* connection to avoid the drives interference you spoke of.

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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195