FrontX ports, made by computer firm CPX, have been around for a while now, but I've come to the conclusion that they're so useful, you all need a quick reminder :) The basic function of the kit is to take all the annoying ports from around the back of the computer, and relocate them to a drive bay at the front, where they can be easily accessed. It does this by running a cable for each port from the back of the computer, through the inside, to the front - dead simple. I'm going to take you through installation, and evaluate the kit as I go. The official webbie is Here.

Here is the kit. It fits into a standard 5 1/4" drive bay, and has a funky flip down lid, to keep the front of your case looking clean while it's not in use, which is great for those who like an aesthetically pleasing PC (aka all of us :)

The funky flip-down lid in it's funkily-flipped-down position! The standard FrontX kit comes with just the multimedia ports, but, being a USB junkie, I got the USB port too. You can see there in the background the blanking plate that CPX provides to go at the back of the case (more on that later). The plastic colour of the ports and the blanking plates is ever so slightly different..no idea why, but it gives it a rather swish two-tone effect :) The ports are an average beige, while the spare plates and the cover itself are a very trendy white-grey.

This is the back of the unit. Notice, it's only about half the length of the drive bay. Quite an abundance of cables at the back, you'll need to keep them organised!

And this is how they work! Each port is located on a plastic 'tile', which has grooves on the left and right sides..this enables them to just slide in and out of the casing easily, and be rearranged. There's room in the bay for 6 small ports, like an audio plug, and 2 big ports, such as the USB port. Once slotted in, the tiles are extremely sturdy and won't move, which is handy when you're fiddling around in the dark for the headphone socket!