Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 7 - How can I connect my AIO?

[LiquidNitrogen]

So I've been looking on the internet for my next Z370 Motherboard which can utilize the i7 8700k. I found two, in my opinion very well equipped motherboards: the Asus Maximus x Hero Motherboard, and the Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 (Z370). From these two, it seems like the community preferred the ASUS motherboard, even though the Gigabyte Board has better specs (1 more M.2 slot, 1 more PCI-E). In a comparison, the only thing that bothered me which missed on the Gigabyte Board was a AIO pump 4-pin connector. The ASUS board seems to have it, gigabyte not - do I need this connector to fully utilize my nzxt kraken aio water cooling system or is this just some extra, not-neccessary feature?

Thanks for any answers in advance

[ReHWolution]

1 minute ago, LiquidNitrogen said:

So I've been looking on the internet for my next Z370 Motherboard which can utilize the i7 8700k. I found two, in my opinion very well equipped motherboards: the Asus Maximus x Hero Motherboard, and the Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 (Z370). From these two, it seems like the community preferred the ASUS motherboard, even though the Gigabyte Board has better specs (1 more M.2 slot, 1 more PCI-E). In a comparison, the only thing that bothered me which missed on the Gigabyte Board was a AIO pump 4-pin connector. The ASUS board seems to have it, gigabyte not - do I need this connector to fully utilize my nzxt kraken aio water cooling system or is this just some extra, not-neccessary feature?

Thanks for any answers in advance

You don't need a dedicated wc_pump connector, as the Kraken coolers are usually powered by an auxiliary SATA/Molex connector, so they actually don't absorb power from the motherboard. They just report PWM signals to it.

[LiquidNitrogen]

Just now, ReHWolution said:

You don't need a dedicated wc_pump connector, as the Kraken coolers are usually powered by an auxiliary SATA/Molex connector, so they actually don't absorb power from the motherboard. They just report PWM signals to it.

Okay, and how about a Corsair aio like the H150i - does it need an 4-pin aio header on the motherboard?

[Shimejii]

Just now, LiquidNitrogen said:

Okay, and how about a Corsair aio like the H150i - does it need an 4-pin aio header on the motherboard?

No. Generally they connect Via Sata power and the fans connect to the CPU COOLER 1 or CPU FAN 1. Its mostly a older thing thats been phased out pretty much entirely. Although some still have it, but im pretty sure those are sata power. 

[LiquidNitrogen]

3 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

No. Generally they connect Via Sata power and the fans connect to the CPU COOLER 1 or CPU FAN 1. Its mostly a older thing thats been phased out pretty much entirely. Although some still have it, but im pretty sure those are sata power. 

Thank you, too

[chckovsky]

6 minutes ago, LiquidNitrogen said:

Okay, and how about a Corsair aio like the H150i - does it need an 4-pin aio header on the motherboard?

No, but since many motherboards won't power on without a cpu fan attached they usually come with a "dummy" cpu fan header.

I think most modern AIOs have their own software which controls fan speed. So the AIO fans are connected to the AIO hub, which is again connected to motherboard via USB. My Corsair H115i does this at least.

[LiquidNitrogen]

8 hours ago, chckovsky said:

No, but since many motherboards won't power on without a cpu fan attached they usually come with a "dummy" cpu fan header.

I think most modern AIOs have their own software which controls fan speed. So the AIO fans are connected to the AIO hub, which is again connected to motherboard via USB. My Corsair H115i does this at least.

Wait, so you're saying that I can't utilize full software control, if not any, without an aio header? Could you try to disconnect your aio header and connect it to sata power or the CPU_FAN outlet?