3DVelocity would like to thank FrontX and especially Susan Lee for their help and courtesy in providing this kit for review.

Introduction :

Although computer case design has seen a sudden surge in development, I think it's fair to say that the functional aspects of the PC have evolved the way they have for a reason. Most of the ports you're likely to need on your PC have grouped round the rear because this is simply the best place for them. Here they're less likely to be knocked and damaged and of course this way the unsightly jumble of spaghetti wiring can be kept out of sight (and out of mind).

So with this in mind, why bother bringing ports to the front of your PC? Well, the answer lies in the way things have changed on the technology front. Before the humble CD ROM made an appearance your average soundcard was a basic beep generator that you were unlikely to ever want to plug headphones into. Sound recording was basic at best, and with so little power on offer from processors of the day, there wasn't a huge range of audio handling software available either. As a result, the PC user tended to plug in a pair of cheap speakers and hum away as one of the classics was well and truly murdered in true FM synthesis.

Now of course the sound card has shaken off its humble beginnings and offers a whole host of features like high sample recording, wavetable sound and real time effects. Input devices now come in various flavours, with many users swapping between game pad, joystick, wheel and pedals and so on depending on the game. MP3, CD audio and quality wavetable effects mean that it's now worth buying decent headphones to plug in and advanced audio users may find they have different microphones (and indeed headphones) that they use for different purposes.

Then there's USB, and for those who don't own a hub it can be pretty frustrating on hands and knees under your desk trying to swap your USB scanner for your digital camera lead.

The reason FrontX have succeed where others have failed is that rather than "guess" which ports the user is likely to need, they have built a modular system that allows ports to be added or removed in the simplest of ways possible. Other key benefits include being able to add new port modules as they appear and, unlike with your sound card, if the constant switching of jacks causes a socket to fail, you can just slot in a new one.

All this makes the FrontX a pretty desirable addition, in theory at least. Let's take a closer look.

The standard kit is supplied with three sockets. These are for headphone/earphones, microphone and line in. The fourth port supplied as standard is a normal game port. The headphone socket also has an additional input allowing both headphones and speakers to be connected simultaneously, and allowing the headphones to mute the speaker output. Cables measure a healthy 30 inches and should be long enough for most situations, even allowing for a little creative routing to avoid obstructing airflow or being seen through your new window mod.

Unfortunately, connecting four speakers to the FrontX is a real makeshift affair with two speakers being connected to the FrontX and two remaining in your soundcard. This means that plugging in headphones only mutes 2 speakers and the other two have to be silenced manually. This is unfortunate given the popularity of 4 speaker arrangements and is something FrontX need to urgently address.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the modular design of the FrontX is its great strength. The three narrow and one wide run allow for up to eight ports to be mixed and matched to suit your needs. The individual modules slot in easily, though I think the markings could have been clearer. Until you get used to the order you've fitted your jacks, it's almost impossible to see the tiny symbols on the front of each.
A bit of colour coding perhaps wouldn't go amiss here.

In addition to ports shown here, you can also specify others at the time of ordering (if you order from the FrontX website). Other options are currently :
USB TYPE A
USB TYPE A INTERNAL (connects directly to mother board)
SERIAL D-SUB 9 PIN
SERIAL D-SUB 9 PIN INTERNAL (connects directly to mother board)

 

Although the actual casing is plastic it is reinforced with a steel bracket into which the mounting screws fix. This allows for a good, solid fix that isn't going to break under the stress of pushing in and pulling out the various connectors. Unfortunately, as we'll see later, the short length of the bay isn't perfect for those who rely on drive rails in their particular case.

 

Another possible weakness in the design comes from the way the door latches. It may be fine for years to come, but I hate any latch that relies on this deformation method of closing. In time it's bound to wear, and I'd have sooner seen some form of magnetic fastener used here. That said, the door does easily come off if you prefer.

Actually, taking the door off opens up another batch of possibilities. I'm assuming FrontX will cotton on to this idea eventually and offer these themselves, but in the meantime a whole bevy of switches, rheostats and LED's could be drilled into the blanking plates to add even more options for fan control etc.

 

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