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Running LED strips from fan controller

Christian
By Christian
in Cases and Mods
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Hello,

I tried to make some LED strips for my PC a few months ago but it ultimately became too expensive and time consuming to continue. I have decided to give in and buy some. I was thinking of something like this: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1354_1356&products_id=23385

 

Firstly, has anyone heard anything about these? Any good?

 

I was wondering whether I would be able to hook these up to a Bitfenix Recon fan controller. I simply want to be able to turn them off if I have my PC on at night. Can anyone suggest an alternative or will this work well and not cause damage to anything. I was thinking of cutting one of the molex cables on the LEDs and hooking it up to a 3 pin connector from the fan controller so I am able to plug them in.

 

All comments are welcome.

Cheers!

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You can get them MUCH cheaper on Ebay.

 

They just need a 12 volt supply to emit light at their maximum brightness. You can control the brightness through the voltage you're supplying which is what the fan controller will be doing.

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You can get them MUCH cheaper on Ebay.

 

They just need a 12 volt supply to emit light at their maximum brightness. You can control the brightness through the voltage you're supplying which is what the fan controller will be doing.

You're right, they are quite cheap on ebay! But how would i connect the eBay ones to the fan controller? Do the strips have a simple + and - wire? And then do i solder those wires to the + and ground wires on the 3 pin fan connectors, as shown below:

3Pin12vMB.jpg

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You're right, they are quite cheap on ebay! But how would i connect the eBay ones to the fan controller? Do the strips have a simple + and - wire? And then do i solder those wires to the + and ground wires on the 3 pin fan connectors, as shown below:

3Pin12vMB.jpg

Get a fan connector with the pins still in the connector, solder the wire from the +12v pin to the +12v pad on the LED strip, then solder the GND to the Ground on the LED strip.

 The sensor is just for RPM of the fan, it doesnt need to be connected.

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Yeah, I'd definitely agree that ebay is the way to go. I bought 1m strip of leds for $3 (free post) off ebay and ran them off a molex fan adapter. Really simple to do, took about 5 minutes. As stated its just a matter of connecting the 12v and ground wires, they should work just fine with a fan controller also or if you just want on/off functionality you could just buy a cheap switch from jaycar or something which is what I ended up doing.

 

These for example: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1M-SMD-3528-FLEXIBLE-12V-WATERPROOF-LED-STRIP-LIGHT-COOL-WHITE-STRIPLIGHT-/261211206193?pt=AU_Lighting_Fans&hash=item3cd166b231

 

Within Australia aswell so they should arrive within a couple of days.

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Get a fan connector with the pins still in the connector, solder the wire from the +12v pin to the +12v pad on the LED strip, then solder the GND to the Ground on the LED strip.

 The sensor is just for RPM of the fan, it doesnt need to be connected.

Ok that sounds good. Also, i realised i can just cut the strips, then run them in series around the case. I'll get some black wire so it all looks good, and then sleeve it. I'll probably use velcro rather than the glue on the underside of the lights simply because i will want to take them off some point in the future without leaving residue all over my 800D. 

 

Yeah, I'd definitely agree that ebay is the way to go. I bought 1m strip of leds for $3 (free post) off ebay and ran them off a molex fan adapter. Really simple to do, took about 5 minutes. As stated its just a matter of connecting the 12v and ground wires, they should work just fine with a fan controller also or if you just want on/off functionality you could just buy a cheap switch from jaycar or something which is what I ended up doing.

 

These for example: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1M-SMD-3528-FLEXIBLE-12V-WATERPROOF-LED-STRIP-LIGHT-COOL-WHITE-STRIPLIGHT-/261211206193?pt=AU_Lighting_Fans&hash=item3cd166b231

 

Within Australia aswell so they should arrive within a couple of days.

Awesome. I'll probably go with a 5m length (only like $15 from AU) and that way i can do what i said above. 

 

Then i suppose i'll just have to hook it all up to a fan controller. Simples.

 

Cheers guys

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Get a fan connector with the pins still in the connector, solder the wire from the +12v pin to the +12v pad on the LED strip, then solder the GND to the Ground on the LED strip.

 The sensor is just for RPM of the fan, it doesnt need to be connected.

WARNING BE CAREFUL!

Not all fan controllers use straight voltage regulation. I tried to do this on an Aerocool Strike x-1000 and it did some weird flashing and blew up one of the channels. My guess is it uses some sorta PWM controll.

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Why not just make the connector yourself. buy an Molex extender off ebay and make it from that. that's what I've done and the total cost is under $30 AUD

CPU: Intel i7-3930k @4.2GHz,  Motherboard: Asus X79 Sabertooth, CPU Cooler: Corsair H100, Case: Corsair 600t, RAM: 8x4GB Corsair Vengance Black 1600mhz CL9, GPU: Gigabyte 6870OC ,PSU: Corsair AX1200 ,Boot Drive: Sandisk Extream 240GB ,Game Drive: OCZ Agility 3 120GB ,Storage Drive - 1: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB ,Storage Drive - 2: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB ,Ram Cooler: 2x Kingston HyperX Memory Cooler (Blue)

 

 

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Go to Icemodz.com..He will make you any size any color with any power connector you need..

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Why not just make the connector yourself. buy an Molex extender off ebay and make it from that. that's what I've done and the total cost is under $30 AUD

Because then i wouldn't be able to turn them off without turning the PC off.

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Because then i wouldn't be able to turn them off without turning the PC off.

it comes with a remote so u can turn It on and off

CPU: Intel i7-3930k @4.2GHz,  Motherboard: Asus X79 Sabertooth, CPU Cooler: Corsair H100, Case: Corsair 600t, RAM: 8x4GB Corsair Vengance Black 1600mhz CL9, GPU: Gigabyte 6870OC ,PSU: Corsair AX1200 ,Boot Drive: Sandisk Extream 240GB ,Game Drive: OCZ Agility 3 120GB ,Storage Drive - 1: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB ,Storage Drive - 2: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB ,Ram Cooler: 2x Kingston HyperX Memory Cooler (Blue)

 

 

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