ARGB support

[averagetobes]

I've been googling/youtubing this for a while and now searched this forum, but I can't find reassurance/answer I need. I'm trying to get some RGB lighting into my case, in the form of fans. I would like it to be addressable.

 

I have a Asus Prime b450m-a mobo. It has 1x 4-pin 12V_RGB_HEADER on it. Due to popular reviews (and frankly inexpensive pricing), the DeepCool CF120mm appeal to me. Their website says they use 3pin (+5V-D-G) LED connector.

 

Q1 - 12V is more than 5V. Am I fighting a losing battle here or are converters a thing?

Q2 - Similarly, I have 1 header, but I want more than 1 fan. Do I need a splitter, or do I need a controller?

Q3 - If latter, the CoolerMaster ARGB Controller allows for 4x ARGB fans simultaneously. According to the website it uses SATA for power, and a 4pin RGB connector. Presumably the 4pin goes into my 4pin, then I just plug all the fans into the controller?

Q4 - If I then want to add more fans in future, can you just plug a splitter into one of the 3pin on the controller that will allow you to connect multiple fans and run it off one controller port? like it won't blow the box or anything?

Q5 - Finally.. I've found some Phanteks combo LED strips. The connectors for them are again 3pin. I could just plug this into the 3pin port on the controller and power it through there, right?

 

Sorry for the hand-holding. I'm a total RGBnoob and none of this makes any sense to me. TIA!

[JayBe]

Search for the EZDYI FAB controllable RGB fans. They come with a header that fits up to 6 or 8 fans if i remember correctly.
The header gets plugged in via Sata. It also has 2 slots for RGB stripes..
You can control the header via a little remote that comes with it.

They are cheap, yet pretty good (1200 RPM) and have a nice RGB flair. I paid 30 bucks for 3 fans + the header.

*EDIT*
Here's a little review video:

 

[averagetobes]

26 minutes ago, JayBe said:

Search for the EZDYI FAB controllable RGB fans. They come with a header that fits up to 6 or 8 fans if i remember correctly.
The header gets plugged in via Sata. It also has 2 slots for RGB stripes..
You can control the header via a little remote that comes with it.

They are cheap, yet pretty good (1200 RPM) and have a nice RGB flair. I paid 30 bucks for 3 fans + the header.

*EDIT*
Here's a little review video:

 

Thanks man, I've checked those out before - the only thing I don't like with them is the controller. I want it controlled via software and I don't believe you can with these.

[JayBe]

Just now, averagetobes said:

Thanks man, I've checked those out before - the only thing I don't like with them is the controller. I want it controlled via software and I don't believe you can with these.

you can control them via software when you have a compatible motherboard and plug the header into the MB tho.

The Fans state, that they are compatible with asus aura sync:

And your MB seems to have asus aura sync:

So, i'd say: give it a try and if it doesnt work, send em back.

 

[averagetobes]

2 minutes ago, JayBe said:

you can control them via software when you have a compatible motherboard and plug the header into the MB tho.

The Fans state, that they are compatible with asus aura sync:

And your MB seems to have asus aura sync:

So, i'd say: give it a try and if it doesnt work, send em back.

 

You're right, sold! Thank you.

[TVwazhere]

5 hours ago, JayBe said:

The Fans state, that they are compatible with asus aura sync:

And your MB seems to have asus aura sync:

An incorrect assumption. You need to make sure the header is the correct versions. Just because the software is on the motherboard doesn't mean it will work. 

This board ONLY has a 4 pin header, which as you can see in the screenshot you attached, the fans say they will specifically not work with.

5 hours ago, averagetobes said:

You're right, sold! Thank you.

Simply put, your board does not support controlling ARGB fans. You only can control RGB fans with the board. 

[averagetobes]

1 minute ago, TVwazhere said:

An incorrect assumption. You need to make sure the header is the correct versions. Just because the software is on the motherboard doesn't mean it will work. 

This board ONLY has a 4 pin header, which as you can see in the screenshot you attached, the fans say they will specifically not work with.

Simply put, your board does not support controlling ARGB fans. You only can control RGB fans with the board. 

I was under the impression you couldn't "control" RGB fans, I thought that was was the addressable bit pertained to.

 

A simpler question - is there a solution outside of finding a different motherboard that will allow me to have software controlled RGB lighting?

[TVwazhere]

6 hours ago, averagetobes said:

Q1 - 12V is more than 5V. Am I fighting a losing battle here or are converters a thing?

Q2 - Similarly, I have 1 header, but I want more than 1 fan. Do I need a splitter, or do I need a controller?

Q3 - If latter, the CoolerMaster ARGB Controller allows for 4x ARGB fans simultaneously. According to the website it uses SATA for power, and a 4pin RGB connector. Presumably the 4pin goes into my 4pin, then I just plug all the fans into the controller?

Q4 - If I then want to add more fans in future, can you just plug a splitter into one of the 3pin on the controller that will allow you to connect multiple fans and run it off one controller port? like it won't blow the box or anything?

Q5 - Finally.. I've found some Phanteks combo LED strips. The connectors for them are again 3pin. I could just plug this into the 3pin port on the controller and power it through there, right?

• Voltage isnt a thing you can step down in this case. Each wire in both 3 pin and 4 pin carry different signals. The 12v wires carry individual analoug signals to each LED as well as a power wire, while the 3 pin has a power wire, a digital signal wire, and a ground.

• You can use a splitter on any RGB or ARGB header.
• Yes, but make sure to plug that controller into your SATA power supply. Essentially, the controller gets the power to drive all the fans with the PSU, but it connects one header to the motherboard to get the signal to control them at. 
• There is a limit to how many LED's you can add to a header, but it wont "blow" it just wont power them all. 
• Theoretically if they're both using the same standard, yes.

[TVwazhere]

36 minutes ago, averagetobes said:

A simpler question - is there a solution outside of finding a different motherboard that will allow me to have software controlled RGB lighting?

Yes. Use a version of Software that doesnt use an RGB header. NZXT and corsair both have options that use a fan + RGB controller that plugs into the motherboard only through a free USB 2.0 port. 

 

CoolerMaster has a similar product to allow you to plug normal 3 pin or 4 pin (depending on the controller you buy) however it only comes with the fans AFAIK, I cant find it elsewhere

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-MasterFan-Controller-MFY-F4DC-083PC-R1/dp/B075S8PV4G/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=cooler+master+rgb+controller&qid=1605284068&sr=8-6

 

They also have a controller that allows you to plug in a 4 pin motherboard into the controller and control 3 pin ARGB fans, BUT THEY WILL ACT AS NORMAL RGB FANS so there's no point in getting ARGB fans. 

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-COOLERMASTER-MFP-ACBN-NNUNN-R1-MFP-ACBN-NNNUNN-R1/dp/B07Z7WLWD5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=cooler%2Bmaster%2Brgb%2Bcontroller&qid=1605284068&sr=8-1&th=1

 

36 minutes ago, averagetobes said:

I was under the impression you couldn't "control" RGB fans, I thought that was was the addressable bit pertained to.

Control, by... what? The RPM of the fans, or the lighting?

 

Fan RPM is controlled through normal fan headers. RGB and ARGB are controlled in either software or onboard controllers. 

[averagetobes]

5 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Yes. Use a version of Software that doesnt use an RGB heade. NZXT and cordsair both have options that use a fan + RGB controller that plugs into the motherboard only through a free USB 2.0 port. 

 

CoolerMaster has a similar product to allow you to plug normal 3 pin or 4 pin (depending on the controler you buy) however it only comes with the fans AFAIK, I cant find it elsewhere

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-MasterFan-Controller-MFY-F4DC-083PC-R1/dp/B075S8PV4G/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=cooler+master+rgb+controller&qid=1605284068&sr=8-6

 

They also have a controller that allows oyu to plug in a 4 pin motherboard into the controller and control 3 pin ARGB fans, BUT THEY WILL ACT AS NORMAL RGB FANS so there's no point in getting ARGB fans. 

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-COOLERMASTER-MFP-ACBN-NNUNN-R1-MFP-ACBN-NNNUNN-R1/dp/B07Z7WLWD5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=cooler%2Bmaster%2Brgb%2Bcontroller&qid=1605284068&sr=8-1&th=1

 

Control, by... what? The RPM of the fans, or the lighting?

 

Fan RPM is controlled through normal fan headers. RGB and ARGB are controlled in either software or onboard controllers. 

Ok, well that's something at least.

That product you sent me, is not available in UK (i'm sure I could find it online), however for the purpose of ease, this was what I was originally considering getting. It seems to support 4pin header. I was going to get a 3 pack of DeepCool CF120 fans which are 3pin, to use with the controller.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-MasterAccessories-RGB-Controller/dp/B07Z7WLWD5/ref=sr_1_8?crid=1O7M7VCA5JUTT&dchild=1&keywords=cooler%2Bmaster%2Bmasterfan%2Bpro%2B120&qid=1605284585&quartzVehicle=106-1339&replacementKeywords=cooler%2Bmaster%2Bmasterfan%2Bpro&sprefix=cooler%2Bmaster%2Bmasterfan%2Bpro%2Ccomputers%2C163&sr=8-8&th=1

 

This was before I bought that EXDIY thing today, but I think I might just cancel that as realistically I don't want a remote.

 

Yeah by control I mean the lighting. I understand if it's quoted as "PWM" then you can control the RPM.

[TVwazhere]

21 minutes ago, averagetobes said:

It seems to support 4pin header. I was going to get a 3 pack of DeepCool CF120 fans which are 3pin, to use with the controller.

If you bought the RF120's instead, you could use the RGB header on your motherboard and control them through the software. The controller linked would only allow you to control ARGB fans is if they were normal RGB fans anyways since it would be receiving only an RGB signal from your motherboard. 

[averagetobes]

45 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

If you bought the RF120's instead, you could use the RGB header on your motherboard and control them through the software. The controller linked would only allow you to control ARGB fans is if they were normal RGB fans anyways since it would be receiving only an RGB signal from your motherboard. 

I think I finally understand it! Here goes:

 

The RF120's are Aura compatible and use a 12V 4-pin connector. If I buy those (5 fans for only £40 ), I can simply through the use of a splitter, plug all 5 into the 4pin RGB header on my motherboard - and control them through the Aura software (whatever it may be called)?

 

[TVwazhere]

38 minutes ago, averagetobes said:

The RF120's are Aura compatible and use a 12V 4-pin connector. If I buy those (5 fans for only £40 ), I can simply through the use of a splitter, plug all 5 into the 4pin RGB header on my motherboard - and control them through the Aura software (whatever it may be called)?

Correct  

[averagetobes]

Just now, TVwazhere said:

Correct  

Thanks so much! Really appreciate it

[thrasher_565]

7 hours ago, averagetobes said:

Thanks so much! Really appreciate it

keep in mind using a splitter will make all fans do the same animation.  i have a link in my sig of all software controllers that work off usb.

[averagetobes]

6 hours ago, thrasher_565 said:

keep in mind using a splitter will make all fans do the same animation.  i have a link in my sig of all software controllers that work off usb.

Fortunately for me I’m going for an two-tone pulse theme. If all the fans pulse orange/blue in uniform then quite frankly that suits me.

 

I’ll read your stuff anyway though, as that’s interesting to know! Thanks for jumping in

[thrasher_565]

6 hours ago, averagetobes said:

Fortunately for me I’m going for an two-tone pulse theme. If all the fans pulse orange/blue in uniform then quite frankly that suits me.

 

I’ll read your stuff anyway though, as that’s interesting to know! Thanks for jumping in

pulse orange/blue might be asking too much of the software... only thing i can think of that can do that is custom controller like an arduino

[DeepCool zer0]

On 11/13/2020 at 9:37 AM, averagetobes said:

I think I finally understand it! Here goes:

 

The RF120's are Aura compatible and use a 12V 4-pin connector. If I buy those (5 fans for only £40 ), I can simply through the use of a splitter, plug all 5 into the 4pin RGB header on my motherboard - and control them through the Aura software (whatever it may be called)?

 

Hello,

 

Just something to note with the RF120M 5 pack. You won't need to utilize a traditional splitter, as each fan will have a male and female connector for the RGB. You can link them all together.

 

Regards,

 

DeepCool Support

[averagetobes]

On 11/13/2020 at 6:16 PM, TVwazhere said:

Correct  

 

14 hours ago, DeepCool zer0 said:

Hello,

 

Just something to note with the RF120M 5 pack. You won't need to utilize a traditional splitter, as each fan will have a male and female connector for the RGB. You can link them all together.

 

Regards,

 

DeepCool Support

 

I did it!!

 

Thanks for all your help

 

It was actually pretty simple to install for a first-timer, the two front fans weren't lighting but were spinning after I first installed, but I'd missed a link in the daisy chain and it was pretty self intuitive to fix. Just a mess of wires but the controllers have sticky tape on the back so they are nicely tucked behind the case now.

 

The fans are pretty quiet and the lighting is vibrant and bright. I'm controlling it all through iCUE. Very happy and would defo recommend, thanks again all!

[DeepCool zer0]

6 hours ago, averagetobes said:

 

 

I did it!!

 

Thanks for all your help

 

It was actually pretty simple to install for a first-timer, the two front fans weren't lighting but were spinning after I first installed, but I'd missed a link in the daisy chain and it was pretty self intuitive to fix. Just a mess of wires but the controllers have sticky tape on the back so they are nicely tucked behind the case now.

 

The fans are pretty quiet and the lighting is vibrant and bright. I'm controlling it all through iCUE. Very happy and would defo recommend, thanks again all!

20201117_105730000_iOS.MOV

Glad to hear it all worked out. Thanks for choosing DeepCool!

 

DeepCool Support