I'm with Hellsbrink on this - and in the case (pun) of an older PC, I even get to upgrade from USB1.1 to USB2!
I leave the mouse and printer plugged into the 1.1 ports at the back, with 2 ports on the card for scanner and HDD, and I've a cable extender that simply extends the other two of the USB ports on the card from round the back to the front of the case for plugging in mem sticks, etc.
Cheap, but very cheerful!
SD
ps - I have two internal USB ports on the card, but when I tried connecting it to the USB ports at the front of the case (just swapped the cable from mobo to card), they still only ran at 1.1 - I assume this is down to the spec of the physical port, but I was slightly surprised.