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Can i use rgb headers to control sp120/hd120 fans?


mxk.

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I wanted to buy some sp120 or hd120 fans in a 3 pack, but didn't want to add the lighting node pro since it makes it more expensive. I heard that I can directly hook the fans up to a fan or rgb header and then I can control them with corsair software instead of doing lighting node pro, is this true?
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I don't know where you heard that but it's a really, really good way to blow out the LEDs on your fans.

 

The only exception to this is the special J-CORSAIR header on some MSI motherboards.

 

very good to know! I'll check if the msi motherboards I have picked have these j headers, thanks!

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very good to know! I'll check if the msi motherboards I have picked have these j headers, thanks!

 

One note: you will have to control them with MSI's Mystic Light software, not Corsair's. You won't be able to use iCue to control the fans unless you use either a Lighting Node Pro or a Commander Pro.

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Notably, more motherboards these days are coming with Digital RGB headers.

IF...

* The header has three pins (5V, Data, Ground)

* You wire only DATA and GROUND to the correct two pins on a fan LED hub

 

... you can control HD RGB fan LEDs from the motherboard's software. Not SP fan LEDs, which are an annoying other kind of data encoding that nothing sane uses.

 

Do Not...

- Connect to "12V R G B" or any other four-pin header parts. A fan alone and bye bye LEDs. A hub and ... Yeah... Bad idea, can kill the whole system.

- Connect a fan directly to the motherboard header. Wrong pinout.

- Try this at all if none of the above makes complete sense to you.

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Notably, more motherboards these days are coming with Digital RGB headers.

IF...

* The header has three pins (5V, Data, Ground)

* You wire only DATA and GROUND to the correct two pins on a fan LED hub

 

... you can control HD RGB fan LEDs from the motherboard's software. Not SP fan LEDs, which are an annoying other kind of data encoding that nothing sane uses.

 

Do Not...

- Connect to "12V R G B" or any other four-pin header parts. A fan alone and bye bye LEDs. A hub and ... Yeah... Bad idea, can kill the whole system.

- Connect a fan directly to the motherboard header. Wrong pinout.

- Try this at all if none of the above makes complete sense to you.

 

Just to echo much of what Charixfox said. SP-120s will not work on any MB that I know. Another of the other RGB fans that Corsair makes will work (with some modding) on higher end motherboards that have Digital Headers. I have done this on my MB and I made a video demo and guide:

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MSI is the only company that has a jcorsair header that is more or less idiot proof. I know reversing the polarity/misswiring the header on the LNP will blow the fuse. I can't speak for any type of diode protection or fuse protection on MB digital RGB headers to protect against reverse polarity.

 

Even though I have done this, I don't use this method currently. To me getting a LNP or a CoPro is the best way to get the most powerful RGB software out their for PCs.The MB RGB software out there kind of blows.

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