Anyone help a fella out?

So i am going to be building a new system next week and are in need of some help my mind is melted with the commander pro/ commander core/ rgb hub / link. I bought the Crystal Series 680X case and the Corsair HX1200i along with the iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX cooler.

 

The CPU cooler comes with the commander core, the case comes with the commander pro and the rgb hub and the psu says it needs link, my motherboard has two usb headers one i need for my case front usb

 

My first question is where do i put the cable from the power supply (link) so i can see the info on the icue software.

 

The second question is can you daisy chain them as i would like to have 8 fans in total.

 

After reading a little will it work with mixed fan types as the cpu cooler uses different fans to the case

Edited October 20, 2020 by garysmith82

The HX1200i will have a dongle that can connect any internal USB 2 header. You can use the passthrough on the Commander Pro for this. The Commander Core (in the box with the cooler) will not have USB passthrough.

 

The Commander Core will have RGB and fan control for 6 fans. That leaves you 2 short. I think there are two ways you can go with this.

 

1) Use the Commander Pro for 2 fans PWM control, and potentially any other LL fans in the case besides the front 3. It can then also take the PSU and theoretically the Commander Core can piggy back through it as well. I am not sure what motherboard this is for, but sometimes multiple pass throughs don't work on some device + MB combinations. The downside is the Commander Pro is somewhat large and you will have 2 of these to place in the back.

 

2) Don't use the Commander Pro. Get a much smaller USB 2 hub for the PSU and Commander Core to share. These are generally inexpensive. 8 PWM fans on Com Core shouldn't be a problem. Use a standard PWM splitter to group the bottom two and the two ML140-Elite on the radiator. Neither pair needs independent fan control. However, this leaves an issue with RGB control if all 8 fans in the case are RGB. Max on the controllers is 6. Regardless of whether you choose option 1 or 2, you will likely need to break 8 RGB fans up into two groups. I have done this multiple ways in that frame and I think most people are better off doing 6 + 2 with either the bottom or top fans on the separate controller and as a separate group. If the case sits comparatively low in relation to your line of sight, the top won't be visible and you can use those 2 as accent lighting. Opposite holds true if the case is on a high stand.

 

You can mix fan types on the Commander Core, but it may not be exactly as desired. The program will turn everything into base 16 like the LL and the ML-Elite may look stretched. That is another reason to put two fans (ML Elite) on their own controller so they follow their native base 8 layout. You will get 3 LL with the case. 2 ML-Elite with the cooler. If you've bought another 2xLL140 multi-pack, that will be another controller you could use to solve the issue in #2.

Thanks for the reply c-attack i will be using the Maximus XII Extreme comes tomorrow i know i could use there fan headers as there are plenty on that board but i wanted to use the ICUE software for changing the rpm.

 

Q. Would the ICUE software detect them if i used the boards fan headers.

 

What you said makes sense and i believe i know what cable it is now i was a bit mixed up as i was looking for the dongle also but the psu only comes with the cable that needs to be plugged into a usb header.

 

The motherboard only comes with 2 usb headers so i am thinking i will just need to buy another commander pro and power the 6 case fans using one and the coolers 2 fans using the other one and 2 rgb hubs that would give me two free header on the commanders for my front usb and the psu link i think.

CUE will show your MB header speed in the dashboard, but it will not give you control over them. However, I think there is a better solution anyway.

 

I responded to your initial post as written and it wasn't until after I recognized the error that also solves the quandary from above. The 680X does not come with a Commander Pro. It does come with a Lighting Node Pro, which is a lighting controller only. This is a good thing and simplifies the path to take.

 

1) You have a fan controller for CUE. That's the Commander Core in the H115i Elite box. It will give you 6 headers for PWM fan control. 2 of those can be fitted with inexpensive PWM wire splitters to give you speed control over all 8 case fans.

 

2) You now have 2 lighting controllers - Commander Core and Lighting Node Pro (LNP). Both can do lighting for up to 6 RGB fans and you will need two if you have 8 RGB fans. That then leaves the question of what you are doing with the bottom and rear exhaust slots? LL140?

 

3) This means the only other thing you need is the USB 2 hub. The Commander Core, PSU, and Lighting Node Pro will all need a USB 2 port. Make sure you have at least 3 slots and 4 would be better. Something always comes up.

 

You do not need a Commander Pro nor would I recommend buying one for what you are planning.

So the case came today and you are right it comes with the node pro and 1 fan hub, i am just thinking of buying more LL120 fans and getting another hub controller that way the 2 hubs can plug into the node pro and give me 12 rgb ports 6 for the case and 2 for the cooler will this work i will just control the rpm using asus software. Do you see any issue in doing this ie both software at the same time as i have read it doesn't like it.

I don't think you need another Lighting Controller (at least installed) right now. The Commander Core can take up to 6. The LNP that comes with the case can take up to 6. I am assuming you will add LL140x2 to the bottom and 1 for the rear. So that's 6 LL and 2 ML-Elite. I think the natural pairing is to put the ML-Elite on one controller and the 6 LL on the other. That will keep their functioning native to their LED count and I think it also makes sense for the layout.

 

Remember the RGB lighting power and fan motor power are two separate wires. They do not have to be on the same device and act complete independent of each other. All the fans can go on the Commander Core (or none) for speed control and the lighting can go someplace else.

 

As for buying more LL... regardless of whether you need the extra lighting controller, buy based on per unit price. Most of the time the LL120 triple pack sells for nearly the same price as the 3 individual LL120s. In the triple pack you get an extra LNP and RGB Lighting hub. Those have value either for expansion or quick replacement of a defect and are otherwise hard to come by. If the price is close, you always get the multi-pack. Where it gets trickier is the 140mm size has not always been so even in its pricing, with a clear per unit cost different. If you do wind up getting singles, you have all the controllers you need and there is no benefit to having the extra at this time.

 

Fan control - I don't see a lot of need for you to be running AI Suite at all. All of the features it used to offer are now available in the BIOS, including overclocking and more detailed fan control. Your going to be running CUE anyway and your lighting options take a bit hit if you don't. There is nothing in the AI Suite package you can't get somewhere else. CUE fan control through the Commander Core is vastly better than what Asus offers through AI Suite or the BIOS and will be accessible from the desktop and tie in with the cooler's functioning.

I used one of these in my build to add extra internal headers. Been using it for 18 months without issue.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermaltake-H200-Internal-USB-Hub/dp/B0792GPWYZ