Powered Usb Ports on PC... Any restrictions?

[Guitar Binge]

My new PC has a few USB ports on the back and 2 that are "powered"... Does it matter if I plug weak things that don't need the extra power into them, like: 'mouse', 'keyboard', 'wireless adapter', 'dongle keys' etc... or do these things have to go in regular "unpowered" Usb's??? Any advice would really help. Thanks

[BertKoor]

My new PC has a few USB ports on the back and 2 that are "powered"... Does it matter if I plug weak things that don't need the extra power into them, like: 'mouse', 'keyboard', 'wireless adapter', 'dongle keys' etc... or do these things have to go in regular "unpowered" Usb's???

No, that will be fine. The reverse will get you into trouble. A USB cup heater won't get warm in a non-"powered" port.

USB has a rather slick protocol for power management. The port starts with providing the minimum current. Then the device will step-wise ask the port for more (if it needs it) and the port can allow or deny that request. So by design it's completely fool-proof. Semi-smart and power-hungry devices can report to the user that the port they are plugged in is not able to deliver what it wants.

[uOpt]

"powered" here probably means "powered while the computer is off". All USB ports are powered by definition.

[BertKoor]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PoweredUSB

PoweredUSB, also known as Retail USB, USB PlusPower, USB +Power, and USB Power Plus,[1] is an addition to the Universal Serial Bus standard that allows for higher-power devices to obtain power through their USB host instead of requiring an independent power supply or external AC adapter.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#Power

On Dell, HP and Toshiba laptops, sleep-and-charge USB ports are marked with the standard USB symbol with an added lightning bolt or battery icon on the right side.[78] Dell calls this feature PowerShare,

OP should check which is which, and decide if it is OK for the keyboard & mouse to stay on while the PC is off.

NB I wonder whether a desktop PC without batteries can provide power to USB while it gets no power itself. Or is this a laptop?

[Guitar Binge]

Thanks for the help. It is a desktop PC. Specs:
• One USB 2.0 Type-A port (front)
• One USB 2.0 Type-A with PowerShare (front)
• One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (front)
• One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with PowerDelivery (front)
• Two USB 2.0 ports with Power On (rear)
• One USB 2.0 header for Comon Access Card (CAC)
• Three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports (rear)
• One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (rear)

[BertKoor]

You clearly have too much choice indeed....