It doesn't seem to list where the add-on card adds the ports on Digtial Storm's website. However I did find port specs for the motherboard: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PROGEN3/#specifications

Does it list the manufacturer and model number? For it to have ports on the front, it probably uses one of the optical drive ports to install a new plate with extra ports. You can find these in the aftermarket and they often come with memory card readers, as well (SD, CompactFlash, etc.)

Ah, just checked the site and those ports are on the back of the card, meaning they're on the back of the machine.

Which model are you looking at?

Which add-on card or which motherboard model?

Edit: Here's the Digital Storm PC config page: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/compload550d.asp?id=477402

Ah, well the Slade already has two USB 3.0 in back and two more up front. Plug in your mouse and keyboard in back since they'll likely always be plugged in, and you'll have two free 3.0s up front. That, and it comes with six 2.0s in back for the older stuff (keyboard and mouse are probably 2.0). Adding four more 3.0s in back... I guess you'd need a lot of USB 3.0 devices to make that particular purchase worthwhile.

Oddly, the higher-end Hailstorm seems to have just 2.0 up front. That's why I was curious which model you are considering.

If you take one, you definitely want it right away for the OS, so you don't need to reinstall everything later. Slapping in further "storage" HD's later is much simpler.

If you pick "expert" options, you can also choose "hybrid" drives of which I've heard good things about. Basically a flash component added to function as a cache for normal HD. Should give near SSD performance if you have any kind of predictability in your usage. Still more expensive than standard though.

So I shouldn't need the extra ports from the add-on card, correct?
Oh, I didn't notice that Hybrid Drive. Hmmm, they only have one choice and it seems to only have 4GB of Solid State if i'm reading that correctly. Would that little of SS in that Hybrid really make a difference?

From Anandtech, not sure if this is the same drive though.

As the other guy said, try the including integrated sound option on the mobo and see if it makes any difference for you - they definitely have improved a lot (still cant match a dedicated sound card though).If u do get a sound card have a look at the Asus Xonar range of cards. Creative used to be good.. but the drivers stank.There actually isnt much of a variety these days in soundcards :/

Seems okay and it doesn't add much more to the cost of what i'm planning to get. I might consider grabbing that Hybrid Drive, though i'm strongly considering a WD brand.

I think i'll stick with the USB ports it comes with for now. I don't mind installing small stuff like add-on cards, RAM and such.

Just my two cents, but given your budget I would highly recommend an SSD. It's the single best thing you can do to make your computer feel faster. Once you've used a computer where all of your applications essentially load instantly, it's hard to go back.

Personally I have a 120GB Corsair (Force 3, not Force GT as listed at Digital Storm) that has Windows, my music, my documents and my applications. Then Steam and all of my other games are kept on a separate large hard drive.

I understand there are concerns about longevity, but I don't think it's worth it to pass up given the budget you listed above. At this point my oldest SSD was purchased back in November 2010 - it's still in use and has never had a problem. Admittedly that's not a very long time, but it's not like these things break instantly either. If you were making a $500 comp then sure, but over $1000 it seems to me that you'll consider it money well spent since it affects things you do all the time - booting up, opening any program, copying files etc.

Again just my opinion and experience, happy shopping!

Do you play games off of the SSD? I notice you said you store them on the HDD.

Well, I was trying to keep it simple without getting into my own setup too much because I think the main benefit is having Windows and your applications on the SSD. But the answer to playing games off SSD is "yes and no" so here's how I actually have it set up:

120GB Corsair SSD - Windows, apps, files
640GB WD Caviar Black HDD - Steam games, all 80 of them....
60GB OCZ SSD - GoG games, StarCraft 2, a couple games I got on Impulse when it was still Impulse

(The OCZ SSD used to be my system SSD, but 60GB turned out to be too small to work well and someone game me the new one as a gift. Otherwise no reason I would have had 2 SSDs.)

So, the great majority of my games are played off the HDD and some are on the second SSD. Frankly I was surprised how little difference the SSD tends to make for games. Old games often load fast no matter what, and I really only noticed a big improvement in StarCraft 2. I didn't feel any difference at all for example in Bioshock or Far Cry 2 (though of course I didn't formally benchmark or anything).

Like I said, I think the main benefit is having Windows/apps/files on an SSD because it keeps the entire OS incredibly quick and responsive. And of course it's way too expensive to have enough SSD capacity to store a large game collection.

Not sure if that answers whatever questions you may have been getting at?

IMO the onboard sound I got from my last Gigabyte mobo was as good as any sound card I've ever heard.

BUT, and IMO this may be a rather big BUT, what I've never gotten an answer to, is, when you use the onboard sound versus a dedicated sound card, doesn't that impact performance?? I've had folks claim the answer is no but admitted they weren't sure, and I have to wonder because it SEEMS to me that it would have to hurt performance if you have your CPU doing sound calculations versus having a separate sound card doing them.

Can anyone once and for all answer the question of whether or not using onboard sound IS or IS NOT a hit against performance?