HydroX Lighting Options (Do I Really Need LED Strips?)

Hello all. I am planning a Hydro X build with all ML120 Pro (NOT RGB) fans. I notice the product pages for the CPU, GPU, and Pump/Res components mention lighting controllers are sold separately.

That's fine, until I realized my two options are a $75 Commander Pro, and a $65 Lighting Node Pro that comes with 4 LED strips.

The problem is I will only use the lighting ports on the Commander Pro, and I will not use the LED strips that come with the Lighting Node Pro. In either case I feel like I'm paying more for things I won't use.

Are these really my two only options for getting my blocks and pump/res combo lit?

Thanks!

From the Corsair product line, yes. And the Commander Pro would actually be a good addition to the HydroX build as it has default fan and pump curves as well as temp sensors to monitor the liquid temperature.

If, however, you want to manage your fans and pump in another way, you can get an adapter for motherboard/Aura RGB to Corsair RGB from PirateDog Tech ( https://www.ebay.com/str/piratedogtech) or you can make one (see the parts listed in the link in my signature - the HydroX items use the same connectors as strips).

Those prices seems high, although I suppose you could be listing $AUS or CAD. Yes, you need one or the other. There might be some 3rd party adapters that could connect the three components to a motherboard 5v RGB addressable header, but it would be a bit disappointing compared to the individual control available in iCUE.

Additionally, you still need some type of fan speed control. Perhaps your motherboard has 10K thermistor temp inserts that will tie into coolant temp readings, but that still is a half measure compared to full software control available in real time on the desktop -- without having to dive into the BIOS. The Commander Pro covers both the fans, pump, and lighting requirements. There is no reason for you to buy a LNP Expansion kit.

Those prices seems high, although I suppose you could be listing $AUS or CAD. Yes, you need one or the other. There might be some 3rd party adapters that could the three components to a motherboard 5v RGB addressable header, but it would be a bit disappointing compared to the individual control available in iCUE.

 

Additionally, you still need some type of fan speed control. Perhaps your motherboard has 10K thermistor temp inserts that will tie into coolant temp readings, but that still is a half measure compared to full software control available in real time on the desktop -- without having to dive into the BIOS. The Commander Pro covers both the fans, pump, and lighting requirements. There is no reason for you to buy a LNP Expansion kit.

Thanks for the reply. I was actually referencing retail USD pricing from Corsair's official site.

In all I will be using 10 fans. With one port of the Commander Pro being consumed by the pump/res, I'm left with 5 ports to run dual fan splitters. I asked a very detailed question in another post here 2 and half months ago about potentially overloading the power draw of a Commander Pro, and received no response.

Regardless, my motherboard has two temp inserts and 8 fan ports that can handle dual splitters without breaking a sweat. This is all with the ability to control fan speed based on the temp reading. So, aside from the proprietary HydroX lighting, my motherboard has the functions of the Commander Pro covered and then some. And once I've dialed in fan curves, really all I'll mess with occasionally is lighting.

Ultimately I believe the Lighting Node Pro is my only practical option. But I can't shake the feeling that I'm paying twice as much as I would if Corsair offered the controller box as an individual purchase for us "basic" HydroX customers.

From the Corsair product line, yes. And the Commander Pro would actually be a good addition to the HydroX build as it has default fan and pump curves as well as temp sensors to monitor the liquid temperature.

 

If, however, you want to manage your fans and pump in another way, you can get an adapter for motherboard/Aura RGB to Corsair RGB from PirateDog Tech ( https://www.ebay.com/str/piratedogtech) or you can make one (see the parts listed in the link in my signature - the HydroX items use the same connectors as strips).

Thanks for the tip! I hadn't considered the adapter cable approach, which doesn't look difficult at all. I just wish Gigabyte had decent software to control their addressable headers. :p: Rock, meet hard place, right?

Don't get me wrong, I do like the concept of the Commander Pro. But, I have 10 fans that would need to be split off the 5 available fan headers once the 6th is consumed by the pump header. After reading about the power draw limit of the Commander Pro, it's clear my motherboard can handle the task better. Sure I could get powered fan splitters, but to spend more on top of the CoPro when my motherboard has it all covered and more just seems silly. :laughing:

With the Commander Pro - you can run 10 fans. I'm running 10 fans off of one of my Commander Pros right now.

Another alternative is to use a power PWM hub. This actually has an advantage of making it super-simple (and easy) to synchronize multiple fans (like in push/pull on a radiator) with a single control.

And the 4.5A limit on the power for the fans is due to the limits on the SATA connector.

You posted your original question in a dead software section. iCUE replaced Link about 2 years ago. It's likely no one saw it.

You can run 10 ML120 Pro fans from the Commander Pro. Better to do it in pairs as triple splitters can be erratic. The best option is the one mentioned above about using a powered PWM hub, especially in a full water system where most of your fans are all going to run the same speed anyway.

If you are determined to use the motherboard, make sure you find out if you actually have control variable choice across all of those MB fan headers. Most often you do not and that information is deliberately obscured. It does have 2 thermistor inputs that could take a coolant temp sensor, but the question if that is a control choice for all. Certainly not for CPU/OPT.

You are the first person I can recall asking for RGB control on the blocks, but who explicitly does not want software speed control over the rest or RGB fans. That puts you in a funny niche.

You posted your original question in a dead software section. iCUE replaced Link about 2 years ago. It's likely no one saw it.

 

You can run 10 ML120 Pro fans from the Commander Pro. Better to do it in pairs as triple splitters can be erratic. The best option is the one mentioned above about using a powered PWM hub, especially in a full water system where most of your fans are all going to run the same speed anyway.

 

If you are determined to use the motherboard, make sure you find out if you actually have control variable choice across all of those MB fan headers. Most often you do not and that information is deliberately obscured. It does have 2 thermistor inputs that could take a coolant temp sensor, but the question if that is a control choice for all. Certainly not for CPU/OPT.

 

You are the first person I can recall asking for RGB control on the blocks, but who explicitly does not want software speed control over the rest or RGB fans. That puts you in a funny niche.

Ahh, thanks for pointing that out. In retrospect I have no idea why I posted in Corsair Link.

The powered hub is a pretty good idea. You're right that all fans will pretty much need to run in sync based on water temp anyway.

Thanks for taking the time for my questions!