How do you power long RGB strips (4 pin) with a PC?

[Collin_S]

I am planning to get some RGB strips to light up my dorm room a bit more. Since I have a custom PC, I was thinking "Why not connect RGB strips to my PC so I can sync all the colors?!?!?!? One problem though: My motherboard's 4 pin RGB strips only support up to 2 meters of continuous 5050 RGB LED's at a maximum power rating of 12V 3A. I was hoping to get something more like 16 ft (5m) of LED's like this with an extension cable like this, and potentially get more in the future. Does anyone know of a way to power 4 pin LED strips with the power supply but connect them to you motherboard's headers for control? I found some hubs, but none of them supported 4 pin RGB LED strips.

I have skills soldering if that would be necessary. My motherboard is the MSI MAG x570 Tomahawk if that helps at all. 

[Mick Naughty]

Get a powered hub. Check it’s rating I guess. 
I have a meter in my rig, I’m sure it could handle 2. Think I’m using the cable mod kit and some add on strips. 

[Collin_S]

3 hours ago, Mick Naughty said:

Get a powered hub. Check it’s rating I guess. 
I have a meter in my rig, I’m sure it could handle 2. Think I’m using the cable mod kit and some add on strips. 

All the powered hubs I found were only for 3 pin LED's. Do you know of any specific ones that work for 4 pins? 

 

I did some more research and found a few, but the ones I found didn't increase the power capabilities much.

 

Would it be possible to use a 12V from a molex line, or would that not be safe / not fix other issues?

[thrasher_565]

19 hours ago, Collin_S said:

I am planning to get some RGB strips to light up my dorm room a bit more. Since I have a custom PC, I was thinking "Why not connect RGB strips to my PC so I can sync all the colors?!?!?!? One problem though: My motherboard's 4 pin RGB strips only support up to 2 meters of continuous 5050 RGB LED's at a maximum power rating of 12V 3A. I was hoping to get something more like 16 ft (5m) of LED's like this with an extension cable like this, and potentially get more in the future. Does anyone know of a way to power 4 pin LED strips with the power supply but connect them to you motherboard's headers for control? I found some hubs, but none of them supported 4 pin RGB LED strips.

I have skills soldering if that would be necessary. My motherboard is the MSI MAG x570 Tomahawk if that helps at all. 

you need to buy a power injector and add power at different spots. there lots of youtube videos on hoiw to do room led all you do is change were its gets controlled from your pc instead. all rgb produces are compatible as long as the voltage matches (its possible to buy 5v rgb) but not vary common.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by thrasher_565

[thrasher_565]

5 hours ago, Collin_S said:

All the powered hubs I found were only for 3 pin LED's. Do you know of any specific ones that work for 4 pins? 

 

I did some more research and found a few, but the ones I found didn't increase the power capabilities much.

 

Would it be possible to use a 12V from a molex line, or would that not be safe / not fix other issues?

no becuse rgb works based on voltage and argb works with data.

[Collin_S]

1 hour ago, thrasher_565 said:

you need to buy a power injector and add power at different spots. there lots of youtube videos on hoiw to do room led all you do is change were its gets controlled from your pc instead. all rgb produces are compatible as long as the voltage matches (its possible to buy 5v rgb) but not vary common.

 

 

 

 

 

So can those signal amplifiers be put anywhere in a long strip of LED's, or just at the beginning.

 

I also saw on reddit someone who suggested doing this: 

How would this compare to using an amplifier?

[thrasher_565]

19 minutes ago, Collin_S said:

So can those signal amplifiers be put anywhere in a long strip of LED's, or just at the beginning.

 

I also saw on reddit someone who suggested doing this: 

How would this compare to using an amplifier?

so the idea is the at some point the longer you go the leds get less and less bright to a point were they wont light up. so you will need to add power in there to keep it bright.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by thrasher_565

[thrasher_565]

24 minutes ago, Collin_S said:

So can those signal amplifiers be put anywhere in a long strip of LED's, or just at the beginning.

 

I also saw on reddit someone who suggested doing this: 

How would this compare to using an amplifier?

you can only do that for the first 2meeters unless your going to run LONG wire from your psu around your room...at some point there will be voltage drop over a long wire what that is i don't no.

[Collin_S]

16 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

so the idea is the at some point the longer you go the leds get less and less bright to a point were they wont light up. so you will need to add power in there to keep it bright.

 

 

 

That makes sense. So should the power supply for the amps be the 12V like the LED's? and would it be problematic to be connected to the power on the motherboard initially then later on be connected to a different power source?

Also, are all the 12V LED's on a strip the same color, or can they be individually colored? What about for the 5V ones?

2 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

you can only do that for the first 2meeters unless your going to run LONG wire from your psu around your room...at some point there will be voltage drop over a long wire what that is i don't no.

I was planning to have maybe an 8ft wire from the PC to where the LED's start, then have a 16ft strip of LED's going off of that (and potentially expand in the future, though I figured out that 300 5050's would total to 216 W, so If I added more than that I would need to upgrade my PSU

[thrasher_565]

18 minutes ago, Collin_S said:

That makes sense. So should the power supply for the amps be the 12V like the LED's? and would it be problematic to be connected to the power on the motherboard initially then later on be connected to a different power source?

Also, are all the 12V LED's on a strip the same color, or can they be individually colored? What about for the 5V ones?

 

i don't no if it will be problematic i guess it could back feed back in to the mb? some one els would need to answer that one.

 

so there 12v rgb 4pin (just like led red green blue and ground) all the leds will be the same color

 

addressable rgb 5v 3/4 pins ( ground data positive) each led can have its own color but its up to the controller on how many leds it can handle or it will repeat. meaning that if the software/ controller can only handle 40leds and the first led is red and every 40, 80, so one will be red.

Quote

I was planning to have maybe an 8ft wire from the PC to where the LED's start, then have a 16ft strip of LED's going off of that (and potentially expand in the future, though

I figured out that 300 5050's would total to 216 W, so If I added more than that I would need to upgrade my PS

this i don't no depends on gauge of wire. also i don't no on the pus side and how it work. i don't no if the bigger the psu the longer the strips can be that i also don't no.

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by thrasher_565

[thrasher_565]

this seems like a lot of info

 

4pin argb

 

3pin argb

Edited November 1, 2020 by thrasher_565

[thrasher_565]

then there what argb strips you want how many smd per meter.

 

link

 

 

were to cut them

 

 

lets per meeter

 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by thrasher_565

[Collin_S]

On 11/1/2020 at 1:04 AM, thrasher_565 said:

then there what argb strips you want how many smd per meter.

 

link

 

 

were to cut them

 

 

lets per meeter

 

 

Thanks for all your help with this. I ended up getting an RGB LED strip from a friend of mine that for some reason didn't come with the end properly soldered on, so once I do that I will be able to use it. That kit also included a power supply and remote control, but I still want to use my PC to control it. I just moved rooms, so where I want the LED's now probably about 20ft from my PC. So would it probably work fine for me to run wire (w/o LED's) from my pc for those about 20 ft, then put an amplifier like you linked before in, powered on the Power supply that came with the LED's?

 

Here is a link to basically what I have, except the kit I have only has one strip of LED's instead of 2.

https://www.amazon.com/MINGER-Control-Bedroom-Kitchen-Multicolor/dp/B089LR8FKP?ref_=ast_sto_dp

[thrasher_565]

9 hours ago, Collin_S said:

Thanks for all your help with this. I ended up getting an RGB LED strip from a friend of mine that for some reason didn't come with the end properly soldered on, so once I do that I will be able to use it. That kit also included a power supply and remote control, but I still want to use my PC to control it. I just moved rooms, so where I want the LED's now probably about 20ft from my PC. So would it probably work fine for me to run wire (w/o LED's) from my pc for those about 20 ft, then put an amplifier like you linked before in, powered on the Power supply that came with the LED's?

 

Here is a link to basically what I have, except the kit I have only has one strip of LED's instead of 2.

https://www.amazon.com/MINGER-Control-Bedroom-Kitchen-Multicolor/dp/B089LR8FKP?ref_=ast_sto_dp

ya you just need the data wire and get power and ground form the wall.