Every usb port is underpowered for more demanding devices

Greetings. Situation is as follows: 2500k, z77-A, 8g ram, gtx960, 3 HDD (2.5tb tot) Thermaltake Berlin

I have two usb 3.0 ports and four 2.0 on the back, 4 more 2.0 to the front and all work well, no hiccup or slow transfer data or failure to detect usb pen, cellphone, 3-led usb light, external hdd, external sound card, usb headset, keyboard and mouse.

The problem is that they don't seem to output nearly enough power to either detect or fully support peripherals like gamepads or racing wheels.

So far I tried three items: a DualShock 2 hooked to one of those blue triangular adapters with the chinese drivers (Twin PS to PC), a generic PS2-PS360-PC wheel, a generic plug and play dualshock knockoff (no drivers needed).

Originally, all three worked flawlessly, except for whenever I tried to use rumble with the DS2, it would disconnect (common regardless of the device with most pc pads).

I haven't gamed for quite a while, so I did not notice sooner I guess, but after a full check:

- The chinese adapter only works on one USB 3.0 port, in the other one it blinks (stutters) and tends to shut down. The rumble-makes-it-die handicap still there
- The plug and play pad does not work at all anymore. In the USB 3.0 it boots as unknown device, in the 2.0 it says it had to shut it down because it had issues (not true). Oh, and I even opened it and cut the rumble motors off to see if it would ease the power draw. Nada.
- The wheel is recognized in every single port as 360 pad (as originally intended for full analog support) but only the green light in the back is turned on, the red light in front (power?) is off, and in the gamepad control panel it inputs no signal at all.

As for troubleshooting I tried reset of cmos, all ports empty but the one malfunctioning device, boot on win 10 (currently still on 7), no gpu (not sure if that even makes sense but), let the rig rest for 12 hours all unplugged inside and outside, then took the battery out again and let it sit for ten minutes before booting. Nothing, both on 7 and 10 it shows the same results.

What else can I think of other than looking for a cheap usb hub with external ac adapter option?

Ok Tir now one of the first things that comes to mind is that the build is like one of mine a Sandy Bridge and therefore getting on a bit and I am just wondering if the PSU may need a look at.
So take a look at this and post back please - as by the by just what board do you have in place - an Asus Z77-A could be a few models.
Using HW Info
PART A:
You can test the volts on the PSU with HW Info HWiNFO, HWiNFO32/64 - Download < download the right bit version and close the right hand window select Sensors and scroll down to the power section where you will see what the volts are doing see my pic. In my pic the section (Nuvoton) with VBATT as a dead give away you are in the section for the rail voltages. There are other section titles and one that pops up often is ITE (sometimes the usual one for Gigabyte boards)
Now the voltage on the different rails have to be within 5% =+/- of what is required or the machine will not work properly if at all.
Limits +/-
12v1 = 11.4 - 12 - 12.6v
12v2 = 11.4 - 12- 12.6v
5v = 4.75 – 5 - 5.25v
3.3v = 3.135 – 3 – 3.465v
-12v = -10.80 - -12 - -13.20v
+5VSB = 4.75 – 5 - 5.25v
The Power good signal voltage at pin 8 on the 24 pin plug (grey cable) should be the same as the 5v rail reading/s
See this for the rail voltage info
PSUs 101: A Detailed Look Into Power Supplies (Section 2.)
The original right hand window shows the machine running and is handy for that but for looking at the components in some detail close it and use the main left hand side panel
FOR OTHER COMPONENTS
PART B:
Open each small square with + in it on the section the components are in and then click on the individual component/s (it will highlight in blue) - in the right hand side will appear all sorts of details including brands speeds and other essential info that particular device. See pic for example.

Hmm yes Roy should have seen the dual boot part too and am wondering if the drivers for different OS's have somehow got muddled?? Just a thought.