First build in many years, completely hit a wall trying to understand RGB

Hi all,

First things first, I’ve been into our hobby since my first pay check in 2008, and along the way I started to pick up Corsair products here and there, and became a very strong fanboy for the brand thanks to many reasons. A few weeks ago I finally got into a position I could build my first ‘all-out’ pc (in my perspective anyway)

Two things I love product-wise about this return into custom-pc gaming; Corsair are involved in water cooling (I’ve always wanted to but never had the dollar) and have expanded their existing range/product areas from years gone by.

Which brings me here. Literally last minute, after building my well-researched basket of Ryzen build components, I found out that the new ‘classier’ breed of RGB products had the Corsair name in the fold!

And I guess without enough planning, I filled my basket like a good lil’fanboi :D:

So, Phanteks sitting there pretty much built looking all glossy and finger-printy-minty-new, with the following RGB bits;

Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO RGB

Corsair LL120 RGB, 120mm Dual Light Loop RGB LED PWM Fan, 3 Fan Pack with Lighting Node PRO [for the above 3x120mm rad)

Corsair LL140 RGB, 140mm Dual Light Loop RGB LED PWM Fan, 2 Fan Pack with Lighting Node PRO [for 2 of the 3 front 140mm intakes]

Corsair LL140 RGB, 140mm Dual Light Loop RGB LED PWM Fan X 2 [1 to go with the above intakes, one for the back exhaust]

CORSAIR iCUE LS100 Smart Lighting Strip Expansion Kit 450mm [because... it exists and I was on a spree at this point]

850W Corsair HX850i

So ignoring the fact I have what looks like a rats nest of cabling behind my MOBO tray (I did not know there were two physical plugs per rgb fan, nor do I know what I was expecting), I think I need 3 MOBO usb headers for the fans alone, another for the cooler, another for the rgb control of the case, plus rgb control of the cooler...plus somewhere to plug the lighting strip

I’m in a mess and I don’t know what to do, where to go, what’s possible and what isn’t :bigeyes: anybody fancy the challenge of helping an idiot plan rgb lighting? :)

Thanks for reading either ways!

Edit; I found the rgb guide on the forum so I’m about to do some more reading

I think I have too many RGB devices (plus the link to the psi) for my headers, but a Corsair Commander pro would enable me to run the 7 fans, plus the lighting strip and link to the pump and psi?

Feel like this has all left me behind a little!

Yes, the CoPro will help here. And you can run 7 fans off of it. You'll need a PWM splitter but you'll be good.

You will also have enough RGB. You won't need every Lighting Node Pro (or fan hub) that you have. In fact, it looks like the CoPro will be enough to control all of the RGB (until you get strips ... then you'll need a NoPro but you'll have a couple of spares).

Breathe deep. Relax. You got this. And you found the Corsair RGB Gospel already. :)

Yes, the CoPro will help here. And you can run 7 fans off of it. You'll need a PWM splitter but you'll be good.

 

You will also have enough RGB. You won't need every Lighting Node Pro (or fan hub) that you have. In fact, it looks like the CoPro will be enough to control all of the RGB (until you get strips ... then you'll need a NoPro but you'll have a couple of spares).

 

Breathe deep. Relax. You got this. And you found the Corsair RGB Gospel already. :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!

Ok so the commander pro will do it - what I can’t work out is how/if I can bring Asus Aura into play?

Edit: ok here’s where I am;

Commander pro will take care of 6 LL fans and I can use a splitter for the 7th

The commander pro takes up 1xnmobo usb header but provides 2x

The cooler pump can plug into one of those headers to be controlled?

The case rgb can be plugged into the other available header?

Then I’m stuck with the power supply connection, although that’s not important- I’m only concerned if I should want to control the fan speed etc, does anybody actually find themselves utilising this?

Lastly, the lighting kit extension I purchased looks like it can plug into the commander? Can be used for internal case lighting if so.

iCue already picked up my ram, psu and motherboard but hasn’t seen the fans yet

Hey, hey!

Your case (Phanteks) RGB will connect to a motherboard RGB Header 12v or 5v. Check your case manual. If you have an Asus supported motherboard that iCUE can detect and the case RGB is 12v you can control it with iCUE. Still, the connection is the same - to your motherboard RGB header. If you don't have an Asus motherboard then you will have to control the RGB of the case via your motherboard RGB software.

Your cooler pump can be plugged into a Commander Pro USB Header, yes.

7x LL RGB cables to RGB Fan Hub RGB headers. (using y-splitter)

7x LL Power cables to Commander Pro fan headers. (using y-splitter)

The RGB Fan Hub will connect to the Commander Pro LED #1 Header.

The RGB strips can be connected to the Commander Pro LED #2 Header.

Fans need to be configured under the Commander Pro. Select Lighting Setup, tell the Commander Pro which Lighting Channel the RGB Fan Hub is connected to. Then use the selection to configure 6x LL fans.

You repeat this for the other Lighting Channel under the Commander Pro to specify how many RGB strips you have connected.

Hi all,

 

First things first, I’ve been into our hobby since my first pay check in 2008, and along the way I started to pick up Corsair products here and there, and became a very strong fanboy for the brand thanks to many reasons. A few weeks ago I finally got into a position I could build my first ‘all-out’ pc (in my perspective anyway)

 

Two things I love product-wise about this return into custom-pc gaming; Corsair are involved in water cooling (I’ve always wanted to but never had the dollar) and have expanded their existing range/product areas from years gone by.

 

Which brings me here. Literally last minute, after building my well-researched basket of Ryzen build components, I found out that the new ‘classier’ breed of RGB products had the Corsair name in the fold!

 

And I guess without enough planning, I filled my basket like a good lil’fanboi :D:

 

So, Phanteks sitting there pretty much built looking all glossy and finger-printy-minty-new, with the following RGB bits;

 

Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO RGB

 

Corsair LL120 RGB, 120mm Dual Light Loop RGB LED PWM Fan, 3 Fan Pack with Lighting Node PRO [for the above 3x120mm rad)

 

Corsair LL140 RGB, 140mm Dual Light Loop RGB LED PWM Fan, 2 Fan Pack with Lighting Node PRO [for 2 of the 3 front 140mm intakes]

 

Corsair LL140 RGB, 140mm Dual Light Loop RGB LED PWM Fan X 2 [1 to go with the above intakes, one for the back exhaust]

 

CORSAIR iCUE LS100 Smart Lighting Strip Expansion Kit 450mm [because... it exists and I was on a spree at this point]

 

850W Corsair HX850i

 

 

So ignoring the fact I have what looks like a rats nest of cabling behind my MOBO tray (I did not know there were two physical plugs per rgb fan, nor do I know what I was expecting), I think I need 3 MOBO usb headers for the fans alone, another for the cooler, another for the rgb control of the case, plus rgb control of the cooler...plus somewhere to plug the lighting strip

 

I’m in a mess and I don’t know what to do, where to go, what’s possible and what isn’t :bigeyes: anybody fancy the challenge of helping an idiot plan rgb lighting? :)

 

Thanks for reading either ways!

 

Edit; I found the rgb guide on the forum so I’m about to do some more reading

Hi I just wanted to help you with the usb ports on your motherboard.

I bought an asus maximus x hero and although it´s very cool to control all our hardware by the icue app I also had the usb 2.0 ports problem.

one for the aio cooler, one for the psu, one for the fans controller and I would need two more for my front case usb connectors.

usb 2.0 is getting older and the motherboard has just 2 slots on board. I solved my problem with an usb splitter.

Go on amazon and search for "Kalolary USB 9 Pin Header ". it´s an internal usb port splitter. you get 4 connectors from 1 connector.

it costs about 15€.

good luck with your rgb building. I also built a new rig after several years and I must say that rgb is a mess.

each brand has its own eco system and they don´t match with other brands.

My asus aura sync app couldn´t even detect its own video card.

sometimes i manage to "sync" more or less all my devices somehow....

then I come back after one hour and each group it´s showing its own fancy colors.... the "whole" experience is quite disappointing