Commander Pro Defective?

Just looking for some confirmation on my assumption that I should RMA my CoPro or if anyone knows any other issues that may cause what I'm observing.

 

After hooking up all my fans this past weekend, I've observed some odd behavior in Link as well as lighting issues with my LL fans. Just going to list what happens and what I have tried, as well as a screenshot of the CP voltage from Link.

 

What happens:

 

1. I see a lot of voltage drops on the CoPro in Link's graphing window. The drops are very frequent and can last a few seconds when I turn on the lighting channels to any of the lighting effects. When lighting is disabled, I see the drops but far less frequent.

 

 

2. When the voltage drops, I notice that the CoPro tile in the Home tab completely disappears for a moment, then comes back. The fans also drop from the Configure screen and come back at zero RPM for a moment regardless if lighting is enabled or not.

 

3. Also when the voltage drops, any lighting effects "freeze" for a moment. Particularly identifiable when using any lighting effects that have the LED's "travel" around the fan.

 

4. If Link is completely disabled or uninstalled, the fans work as expected in stock rainbow style. They do not stop or freeze during the rainbow effect.

 

 

What I have tried:

 

1. Corsair Link version doesn't seem to matter. I have tried various 4.9 releases as well as 4.8.

 

2. CoPro firmware doesn't seem to matter. Have tried all releases I could find.

 

3. Made sure Q Fan control on my Asus board is disabled.

 

4. Tried LED channels individually, does not seem to make a difference if one is off or not. Voltage to the CoPro still drops even if both are off.

 

5. Only thing I HAVE NOT tried is to remove some of the fans from the CoPro, but they function fine without Link running, both lighting and RPM so I don't believe this is a fan issue.

 

 

Other info:

 

1. I do have the CoPro directly on an SATA power lead. No adapters or anything. I made sure to check this because I have other devices that will not work properly without the 3.3v lead.

 

2. This is a fresh install of Win10 with only Link and Crosshair VI Hero / GPU drivers installed. No monitoring software other than Link at this point.

 

3. I have monitored the PSU and voltage does not fluctuate or give any indication that this is a PSU issue.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to look and grateful for any help.

 

5. Only thing I HAVE NOT tried is to remove some of the fans from the CoPro, but they function fine without Link running, both lighting and RPM so I don't believe this is a fan issue.

 

Knock all the fans up to max and see if voltage drops?

First, I agree that it's not a fan issue.

 

Second, there is definitely an issue with the CoPro getting the required power. While it may not be a PSU issue, it also may not be a CoPro issue. The last thing we'd want is for you to get a new CoPro and it does the same thing.

 

1) What PSU do you have? How were you monitoring it?

2) How is the CoPro connected to the PSU? Are there any splitters in place? What else is on that SATA power cable fro the PSU?

3) Have you tried a different SATA cable?

4) How many fans are connected to the CoPro?

Knock all the fans up to max and see if voltage drops?

 

Just tried now. Same issue.

 

First, I agree that it's not a fan issue.

 

Second, there is definitely an issue with the CoPro getting the required power. While it may not be a PSU issue, it also may not be a CoPro issue. The last thing we'd want is for you to get a new CoPro and it does the same thing.

 

1) What PSU do you have? How were you monitoring it?

2) How is the CoPro connected to the PSU? Are there any splitters in place? What else is on that SATA power cable fro the PSU?

3) Have you tried a different SATA cable?

4) How many fans are connected to the CoPro?

 

 

1. PSU is an RM850i, brand new. Monitored in Link and watched in BIOS as well. Voltages are a hair low, but well within spec.

 

2 & 3. CoPro is on an SATA strand straight to the PSU. Only other thing on it at first was the H115i cooler, but I have tried another cable from the PSU with just the CoPro on it. Same issues.

 

4. 5 fans total on the CoPro. A mix of LL 140's & LL 120's. I have 7 LL's total, 3x120 up front intake, 2x140 exhaust, 2x140 connected to the H115i that are not on the CoPro.

 

-edit-

 

Should also add that all of this is brand new. Only thing I've reused in the new build are the H115i cooler, storage drives and a 1080ti. I also do not have any other RGB software running yet. Link was my first priority before messing with Aura for TridentZ RGB & the board lighting.

OK ... yeah, I'd have to say that indications are that the CoPro is problematic. The key kicker, for me, was that you used a different cable with nothing else connected and it still happened.

 

Just for giggles ... with the LLs, you should have a spare Lighting Node Pro. Do you have any issues when you plug in the LNP?

 

PS: Filling out your system specs is helpful. ;-)

Lol, I'll go ahead and fill out the system specs. Had to re-register because I had no idea what my old account info was and didn't think about it.

 

Here's a screen from Link with the voltages of the PSU and CoPro too. This is with the lighting channels disabled so you can see it happens far less frequently, but still happens.

 

Updated my system specs. I'll have to dig up the LNP's to try that out and it would take a bit for me to re-wire. The back side of this case is a hot mess with all these dual wire fans and everything else.

Yeah, that definitely ain't right. But I'm not certain that it's a hardware issue just yet.

 

Hmmm ... you are using a Ryzen system. I know that there have been issues with the USB controller on most Ryzen boards. This, however, isn't on that I recall seeing. But it I do wonder if it's a loss of connection for the CoPro or an actual power drop.

 

What else do you have connected to the CoPro? You mentioned LL fans and strips. What happens when the power drops with the RGB? Do the strips keep going? You mentioned issues with the fans' RGB effects but are the strips also affected?

 

Do you ever hear the device disconnected/connected sound in Windows when this happens?

Yeah, that definitely ain't right. But I'm not certain that it's a hardware issue just yet.

 

Hmmm ... you are using a Ryzen system. I know that there have been issues with the USB controller on most Ryzen boards. This, however, isn't on that I recall seeing. But it I do wonder if it's a loss of connection for the CoPro or an actual power drop.

 

What else do you have connected to the CoPro? You mentioned LL fans and strips. What happens when the power drops with the RGB? Do the strips keep going? You mentioned issues with the fans' RGB effects but are the strips also affected?

 

Do you ever hear the device disconnected/connected sound in Windows when this happens?

 

CoPro just has fans on it for now. I was going to do strips later depending on how well the RGB stuff lit up the case, so haven't bought any yet.

 

When the voltage drops, the lighting on the fans just "freezes" if it's any kind of animated scheme. If it's static, the lighting stays on.

 

Also I completely forgot to note that I am using the NZXT USB hub because the C6H only has one USB 2 header. The USB ports are set up like this

 

NZXT Hub -> Mobo

Case USB2 -> NZXT Hub

CoPro -> NZXT Hub

RM850i -> NZXT Hub

H115i -> CoPro USB header 1

 

You may actually be on to something with the USB. I don't see any issues with the H115i losing fan speed or pump RPM, but for the sake of it I plugged in a flash drive to the case USB 2.0 ports and it doesn't read or light up at all. Odd that the H115i doesn't show any issues, but the case USB 2 ports aren't working.

Hmmm ... I have the same NZXT hub, have my CoPro attached to it ... no issue. But then, I'm also on an Intel platform and I know that there have been some odd issues with the AMD USB chipset, specifically with respect to the CoPro;s USB hub. So it may be that the NZXT hub has a similar issue. Not saying that this is the case ... just a SWAG at this point.

 

I would expect the lighting to "Freeze" if it's a software or USB issue. The lighting is software controlled. However, the strips are hardware controlled so if they stayed lit up while the voltage dropped to zero, that would be an indication that it's possibly a software or USB connectivity issue, rather than the CoPro itself.

Success!

 

It was in fact the NZXT hub. I removed it from the equation and did this instead..

 

CoPro -> MB USB Header

RM850i -> CoPro USB Header 1

H115i -> CoPro USB Header 2

Case ports -> Disconnected (meh, still have 2 USB3's there)

 

Working like a charm. No freezing of lighting and no voltage drops showing in Link.

 

Thanks so much for talking through this with me DevBiker. Thankful to have you to bounce ideas around.

Success!

 

It was in fact the NZXT hub. I removed it from the equation and did this instead..

 

CoPro -> MB USB Header

RM850i -> CoPro USB Header 1

H115i -> CoPro USB Header 2

Case ports -> Disconnected (meh, still have 2 USB3's there)

 

Working like a charm. No freezing of lighting and no voltage drops showing in Link.

 

Thanks so much for talking through this with me DevBiker. Thankful to have you to bounce ideas around.

 

Awesome! Glad you are sorted!! :D:

 

That's odd about that hub though ... wonder if you have a bad unit. Like I said, I have one too (what's with the USB 2 header stinginess?????) and it works like a charm.

Heroic!... Love a happy ending Me :)

Hmmm ... lets see.

 

How comfortable are you with cabling diagrams? 'Cuz you can put that RM850i and the H115i on the same CoPro header and put your case ports on the other one. It would require some USB port extension cables and some attention to wiring but it's certainly do-able. In fact, I have my HX1200i and my H115i PRO on the same CoPro internal header, with a Node Pro on the other one.

Well bad news. Premature happiness.

 

The CoPro is working as expected except the RM850i and the H115i aren't showing up in Link now.

 

They're both connected to the CoPro USB headers. They don't pop in and out like the CoPro did, they just don't show up at all.

Well bad news. Premature happiness.

 

The CoPro is working as expected except the RM850i and the H115i aren't showing up in Link now.

 

They're both connected to the CoPro USB headers. They don't pop in and out like the CoPro did, they just don't show up at all.

 

Ugh. That's part of the known issue with the CoPro and Ryzen systems. It has to do with the AsMedia controller that they use (By "they" I mean AMD)

 

BUT ... before we assume that ... double check that the cables are plugged in properly. I've found that it's a) easy to put them in incorrectly and b) the CoPro USB hub refuses to initalize if one isn't in quite right.

 

I wonder if re initializing the CoPro's hub would work also. If you download USBDeView from nirsoft (https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html), you should see the CoPro's Hub in there (VID 05e3 and PID 0610). Try enabling/disabling, etc.

Tried enable/disable of the CoPro. Didn't seem to work.

 

In USBDView I do have one unknown device that lists "Device descriptor request failure". Shows the same in Device Manager. Possible that's the CoPro hub?

It's possible. Do you see anything in there with VID 05e3 and PID 0610? Most of the hubs on my system have a PID of 0608 ... only the CoPro is 0610.

 

And do you see it in Device Manager?

The disconnected device is from when it was connected via the NZXT hub.

I'm fairly certain that the "red dot" one is the CoPro's hub. We need to see if we can get it to initialize.

USBDeView has several option for connecting/disconnecting USB items. Can you give them a shot?

 

Also, do you see it in Device Manager?

Tried to disable/enable the unknown one with the purple marker. No dice.

 

It does show up in Device Manager, same story, unknown USB Device with error "Description Request Failed".

 

When I disable/enable I get the message in Win10 that it malfunctioned and could not be installed.

<sigh> I was hoping that we might stumble on a workaround where others have failed.

 

As I said, this is a known issue (unfortunately) between the CoPro and the AMD USB headers. From what Corsair has said, it's due to the AsMedia USB controller on the AMD boards.

 

Which may - or may not - be part of the issue with the NZXT hub. It's possible that your NZXT hub is bad/flaky as well (it happens). And, if I recall correctly, that hub uses both USB ports on the header, not just one. On the CoPro, one of the USB ports is for the CoPro's functionality and one is for the hub - not sure exactly which is which tho. (One of these days I'll wire one up and find out.) So ... using two single-port USB extensions to split that header between the CoPro and the hub (1 port to each) probably isn't an option.

 

Your best route to try right now is to replace that NZXT hub. We've confirmed that the CoPro actually works and isn't insane. We've determined that it's something to do with the USB connection. What we don't know with any certainty is if it's because the NZXT hub has the same issue that the CoPro has with the AsMedia ports or if the NZXT hub had simply lost its mind.

Oh ... and before I forget ... the connectors on the cooler and the PSU are both standard mini-USB. You can use a standard mini USB to USB-A cable, route them to an external port and connect them that way.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Replace the NZXT hub and then plug everything into that again.

 

I'll go ahead and get the RMA for the hub underway and see if that's the case. Unfortunately I don't have anywhere near me that I can just purchase one in the meantime, so I'll have to wait on shipping.

 

Thanks again for all your help. I'll report back when I have a replacement hub. For now I'm up and running well enough. Just won't have PSU monitoring and unfortunately no water temp to tie to the fan speeds, but I can live with that for a bit until the replacement hub shows up.

 

Just out of curiosity, do they make PCI-E add-in cards with USB headers that would work for this?I mean both of those USB header plugs are right there anyways for a simple x4/x1 card.

 

-edit-

 

Oh, nice. I could do that easily with the View case. Can probably sandwich the mini to A cable between the glass and the case side easy. Always a good backup plan.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Replace the NZXT hub and then plug everything into that again.

 

I'll go ahead and get the RMA for the hub underway and see if that's the case. Unfortunately I don't have anywhere near me that I can just purchase one in the meantime, so I'll have to wait on shipping.

 

Thanks again for all your help. I'll report back when I have a replacement hub. For now I'm up and running well enough. Just won't have PSU monitoring and unfortunately no water temp to tie to the fan speeds, but I can live with that for a bit until the replacement hub shows up.

Cool, let us know.

 

Just out of curiosity, do they make PCI-E add-in cards with USB headers that would work for this?I mean both of those USB header plugs are right there anyways for a simple x4/x1 card.

 

I have looked and looked and looked ... to no avail. Plenty of USB 3 with internal headers. Not so much USB 2.

 

 

-edit-

 

Oh, nice. I could do that easily with the View case. Can probably sandwich the mini to A cable between the glass and the case side easy. Always a good backup plan.

 

Yeah, it's an option. I ran my cooler this way for a while myself. Works like a charm!