RM 650 PSU - Commander Pro - Corsair Link ...

Planning Stage for New build for the wife, non gamer but setting her up for many years cool running. The key is low cost, cool running, not performance mecca. Her last motherboard lasted almost 10 years ... thats the goal.

Cooling and air access is an issue due to enclosed box placement at the desk, this setup is all about specific direction high airflow. I want to run a RM 650 PSU and Commander Pro for full independent PWM fan control (noctua U12A cooler and F12 4 pin PWM fans). They wont run fast and noisy, and only when temps trigger. No RGB needed or will be run ... will never see it.

Questions below re: RM vs RMi vs RMx, using a Commander Pro and/or Link software for fan control.

- I am aware that RMi uses Digital Link and RMx does not. Both those are $$ options. Rather go RM or off brand.

- I know that RM does use analog link with A/D converter cable to USB on motherboard.

- Planning to use Commander Pro for full 4 pin PWM fan control. Prefer this as the fan connections are the simpler setup and temp tweak solution.

Keep in mind I'm planning a RM 650 full modular (black label) PSU

Q's;

1 - Do I need Corsair Link AND the Commander Pro? Are they 2 software pieces, or one? Or do they work together or are they different competing beasts that will conflict? Does one override the other?

2 - If I run the RM650 A/D cable, do I run it to the commander, or to the motherboard? Or not run it at all as I am using a Commander Pro? any conflicts?

I am thinking that with this PSU, I dont run the A/D cable at all, and sidestep it all by running the Commander Pro and its software (or is it bios firmware ... cant figure that out either).

3 - If I go off brand to another PSU to save $, like a Seasonic 650 modular, I assume the Commander Pro is still fully functional but Link isnt available. Confirm?

Not a complete build noob, but its been a while and I find when i get deep into the research woods with this, it gets unclear between the PSU, Commander Pro and Link options.

Cooling decisions:

Noctua NH-U12A Cooler

Noctua fans F12 front, top and rear.

Commander Pro to run it all

Thanks everyone.

A) Be careful with Noctua fans and the Commander Pro. They don't always get along very well. I'm not sure if it's due to something that Noctua does or something on the CoPro side ... in the end, not sure it matters. But it's a thing we see here from time to time. An alternative may be the ML fans.

B) The CoPro is definitely a good choice for precise fan control and silence. Make sure to use the temp sensors.

1) You'll need iCUE (software) and the CoPro (hardware). iCUE will control the CoPro.

2) You can run it to either. It'll show you power usage but any custom fan curves on the PSU have a minimum of 40% fan speed. While I do like my i-series PSU (HXi) because I monitor the power usage, I'm not sure that it has much value for your build.

3) The CoPro and iCUE are both fully available.

Great info, thank you.

I guess its a dice roll to see if theres a Nocua/Co Pro issue.

"You'll need iCUE (software) and the CoPro (hardware). iCUE will control the CoPro." ... didnt know that, great, makes more sense.

Quick question; Is it better to run the Heatsink/cooler to the motherboard directly, or the CoPro?

For air cooling, I'd put it on the CPU_FAN header on the mobo. The rest of the fans would be on the CoPro.

Reasoning: You want the CPU_FAN warning if the fans don't work for whatever reason.

Ahhh ... good logic, I like it.

Thanks.