Best setting for fans and RGB

Hi there,

I have a H150i since two weeks and I would like to change the fans of it for the RGB one.

What do I need besides the fans and what is the best way to plug it all?

Do i need the corsair commander or just the lightning node?

My case fans are Silent wings so I know I wont be able to control it all on one software unfortunately but maybe i'll change those SW to corsair fans one day.

I have a maximus hero x, all my internal USB are used but one is for the corsair link for the H150i, with the commander would I need to plug it on another USB port or will it replace this one?

thanks for the help :)

No, you don't need the Commander Pro unless you want to take iCUE control over your other case fans. I like the C-Pro quite a lot, but as we know there are some control issues with the SW3 PWM models, it may not be in your best interest.

However for you situation, the solution is fairly straightforward. The ML120-RGB "triple pack" will have the 3 ML-RGB you need for the H150 and a Lighting Node Pro (LNP) in the box. The LNP will serve as the connection to iCUE for the fan lighting. The fan motors will go into the H150i connectors like any PWM fan. The second lighting wire will go to a very small RGB Lighting Hub (also in the triple pack) that requires a SATA power line from the PSU. The RGB Lighting Hub then plugs into the LNP. You will have radiator fan control in iCUE, along with pump and fan lighting.

Now, the USB 2.0 connections are a little wrinkle. Yes, both the H150i and the LNP will require one. You can find relatively inexpensive USB 2.0 hubs from many places. However, the other potential solution is to get the Commander Pro now. It has 2 USB 2.0 ports and you can chain the H150i into the back along with anything else, Corsair branded or not. Unfortunately, you can't quite simply buy three single ML120 RGB and the C-Pro and be done. That still leaves out the RGB Lighting Hub, which if you don't get in a multi-pack, can only be obtained from Corsair or some one selling theirs online. You'll have to weight the comparative costs for your area and shipping and see how things shake out. Likely the Commander Pro route will cost slightly more, but as mentioned I find it very useful even when I have zero Corsair products installed. It has 4 temp probes (my Asus board has 1) and these are very useful for monitoring radiator exhaust temps in my custom loop, other exhaust points, and just general info. You can also set fan curves to run from those thermistors and they will work even when iCUE is not running, unlike most other control variables for fans. It has a good bit of utility. Unfortunately, it may not be quite as useful for you at the present time.

Hm so if I want to be able to control the fans and the rgb I should buy the commander and the lighting node? That's quite a bill ahah. I saw the three pack ml 120 rgb with lighting node around 80e on Amazon and commander around 60.

And the best case scenario would be to change the silent wings for corsair fans I guess to be able to control everything in one way? For the case what would be the best choice of fans?

Too bad that all of this isn't compatible with asus aura, I also have one led strip plugued on the case but maybe I could take a corsair one later for best options!

?

No, you can buy the three ML120-RGB fans as singles (no LNP), but that also means no RGB Lighting Controller. The RGB controller sells for $10 USD, but you need to get it from Corsair which slows the process down. Now prices vary and I don't know the market on your side, but in the US the triple pack sells for $99 (typically) while 3 singles would cost you $35 each. That kind of kills the debate over whether to buy a la carte or take the multi-pack. The $99 package gets you everything you need.

You might wade into this slowly and see if you like the ML-RGB before committing further. For non-RGB case fans, the Corsair AF140s are reasonably quiet (DC 3 pin). However, you may be able to get the SW3 DC standard speed models for the same price and those do work on the C-Pro. That's what is in the bottom of my case. However, this RGB stuff is borderline narcotic and you may find yourself wishing for RGB fans all around. I like the ML-RGB fans as radiator units. It will work as a general case fan, but I prefer others. The problem is mixing and matching different RGB type fans is fairly big nuisance with separate RGB Lighting Hubs required for each type, along with another SATA power line. You typically want to decide on the fan type you want all around, rather than do it in sections, but it certainly is possible and people do it.

I lament that iCUE can't control Aura. I spend too much time trying to match things up and the Aura controls are simplistic and limited by comparison. As such, my board and GPU lights sit on static or breathing 1 color most all the time. That also shifts the RGB management to the motherboard and Aura won't run and thus won't lock up 13% of my CPU usage either.

Oh so some SW will work with the commander? The 3x140 I have on the case are normal speed but PWM so i guess it won't work?

Damn that's quite a hassle to figure out what is the best thing to do. I'd like to be able to control everything with ONE thing. Speed, RGB and not having to run multiple program or tweak speed in bios...

What would you do at my place?

I would (and did) get a Commander Pro. I started off with the HD fans that don’t come with the LNP, so I needed something. I really wanted to get off AI Suite for fan control and it was a nuisance to enter the bios when tweaking my radiator fan curves. The Commander Pro solved those problems and I still keep it in even when I don’t use RGB fans. The ML120 RGB triple pack is still likely the best deal vs three single fans + RGB Lighting Hub. Save the LNP. It can be hooked into the C-Pro if you ever expand your RGB to beyond 2 channels (1 channel is 6 fans or 4 strips).

The fans that have difficulty on the C-Pro are the Silent Wings SW3 PWM. The DC versions work fine. Noctua Industrial PPC 3000 PWM. And just recently someone reported the Vardar PWM fans as well, one of the few I don’t own. The fans don’t have to be Corsair to work with the C-Pro, but there are a few European based fans that seem to have a different PWM behavior. The SW3 PWM is a bit quirky on a lot of controllers. The Noctua surprised me a little since the 2000 rpm PWM model works just fine, but then the 3000 rpm version most definitely has some different characteristics.

AI suite is awful indeed

Oh so with 3 RGB fans and one led strip i don't need more than the commander?

The phanteks Halo i have on one fan is plugged directly on the motherboard but i don't know it that will work on the commander I need to check. the cable looks like this:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/media/image/thumbnail/CA057PT_138273_800x800.jpg

for the silent wings, worst case i'll let it run via the bios and i'll take some Corsair or some which works with commander later? Which one do you suggest for chassis in 140 ?

and how do you plug the 3 fans of the aio on one rgb plug of the commander? are they daisy chained?

and in that case i won't plug the fan on the aio like they are now?

So to sum it up

I should buy

https://www.amazon.fr/Corsair-Ventilateur-L%C3%A9vitation-Magn%C3%A9tique-Ventilateurs/dp/B076VD725X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543922763&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=corsair%2Bml%2Brgb&th=1

https://www.amazon.fr/Corsair-COMMANDER-Ventilateur-Contr%C3%B4leur-d%C3%89clairage/dp/B0725HP1J2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543922805&sr=8-2&keywords=corsair+commander+pro

That's it?

Thanks again for your help and patience :)

Even with 1 strip or 1 fan, you always need Lighting Node Pro or Commander Pro (motherboard/software interface) and the RGB Lighting Hub (power supply for fan lighting). Each C-Pro or LNP has 2 lighting "channels" and a channel connects to RGB Hub with up to 6 fans or 4 strips.

It looks like the Halo is Aura tied and it goes on the your motherboard 12v addressable header. You can still use it at the same time as the iCUE stuff, but it will not be controllable through the Corsair software. I do run my GPU water block LEDs from Aura pretty much the same way.

I should buy

 

https://www.amazon.fr/Corsair-Ventilateur-L%C3%A9vitation-Magn%C3%A9tique-Ventilateurs/dp/B076VD725X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543922763&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=corsair%2Bml%2Brgb&th=1

 

https://www.amazon.fr/Corsair-COMMANDER-Ventilateur-Contr%C3%B4leur-d%C3%89clairage/dp/B0725HP1J2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543922805&sr=8-2&keywords=corsair+commander+pro

 

That's it?

Yup. That's it. Interesting the ML120-RGB singles are 25 Euros in France. So three would be 75 + 10 for the RGB Lighting Hub making it about 4 Euros less, igoring shipping charges or anything else. Even then, in the box is the LNP which is worth a lot more than 4 Euros. The triple pack + Commander Pro would seem to be the way to go. In the future if you add more ML-RGB fans, you will only need singles. If you decide to take down all the ML-RGB fans and buy 6 HD/LL, you can re-use all this hardware and just buy the fans. If you decide to mix fan types (3 ML-RGB, 3 HD/LL) you will need another RGB Lighting Hub. Each fan type needs it's own RGB Lighting Hub.

Is it better to go with the ML for ratio performance / Silence?

and for the chassis fans, what would you suggest to replace the Silent Wings 3 and thus have an overall control via commander?

With 3 RGB fans + 1 led strip, i won't need to use the LNP right? the commander will be enough?

I will wait a bit for all of those if i want to go for that it's quite an amount of money..

http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/49/3/1543997271-capture.jpg

and i still have another fan to replace but i'm not sure it's quite usefull, it's on the bottom of the case