H100i question for wires coming off CPU Cover

I was working on my build and have routed my radiator fans into the commander pro for fan control and the RGB is routed into the RGB control. My question is do I have any need for the 4 wires that come off of the CPU cover now? I know one set is for fans and I don't need those but is the other set for the RGB on the CPU cover? Thanks in advance!

The CPU cover? Presumably you mean the pump and it's cover and yes, the power wires for the system are important. It is also model specific, so you'll need specify what cooler you have. There are 7 H100's and I presume you don't mean the "H100i" from 2013.

 

Also, if this is a Corsair "i" AIO, the radiator fans should be on the splitter from the pump, not the Commander. They will still be software controllable in iCUE, but automatically tied to the cooler's function and not something else.

Edited June 21, 2020 by c-attack

Sorry, it's the H100i Platinum 240mm I was getting a little delirious. I have the USB coming off the pump connected to a USB slot on the Commander Pro and the Sata is ready to be plugged in. My question is for the 2 sets of wires in the pic below which I'm assuming one is the splitter for the fans you were talking about. Can you link or explain the advantage of connecting it to the splitter vs. commander pro? Sorry, it's my first time building a pc in about 15 years and I haven't used an AIO before. Thanks for the help!

Hah, I guess I typed the right combination of key words and found an explanation you gave in another post.

 

"As mentioned above, you really don't need to power those fans from the Commander Pro instead of the cooler unless they are 3 pin DC motors. There is no inherent advantage. There is one disadvantage. When using the cooler's internal fan controller, it will keep the fans going at your preferred settings with or without the software. That is includes the boot cycle. If you run them from the C-Pro and set the control variable to coolant temp, the C-Pro will loose contact with that data any time the software is not running. You will get a max fan blast at boot."

 

I will now be reconnecting those fans to the H100i. Do those fans go onto the 4 pin splitter with the 1 labeled on it? If so, now I guess my question is what are the other halves of the splitters used for?

On the Platinum coolers not only do you have an internal fan controller, you also have an internal lighting controller for the two RGB fans. Those are the flatter looking connectors and they should have an “RGB” sticker on them. Each fan has 2 wires. 1 for power speed control. 1 for RGB lighting.

 

The only reason you might not use the Lighting controller on the cooler is if you already have a case full of matching ML-RGB fans. Then you might connect them with the others on the existing lighting hub.

The only reason you might not use the Lighting controller on the cooler is if you already have a case full of matching ML-RGB fans. Then you might connect them with the others on the existing lighting hub.

 

I actually found this thread for the same reason. I have the Lightning Hub and CoPro with six matching LL120 light loop fans, two of which are mounted on the H100i RGB platinum AIO. The fan speed and RGB cords from the AIO messed with my head heaps. From what I understand you're saying definitely connect the radiator mounted fans to the AIO's PWR cable section of the splitter, and it's up to preference for the radiator fans RGB cords. As in you're able to connect the radiators fans to both the six slot Lightning pro with the other non-radiator fans. Or, alternatively can have the radiator fans connected to the RGB splitter section on the AIO cords? Am I understanding that correctly. Is there any disadvantage either way? What would you recommend. Help very, very appreciated!

If you connect the RGB cables from the fans to the Platinum, then it acts as lighting controller and those 2 fans act like a group. This is useful if you don't have any other lighting controllers or if you have a different type of RGB fan for the rest of the case.

 

If you connect them to the 6 port RGB Lighting Hub or Node Core device, then those 6 will act as a unit. For it to work correctly, all fans on the same controller need to be the same type. If not, it will throw off the LED counting and the effects will become skewed.

For me I have six LL120's. The h100i platinum RGB came with two M120's but I purchased a x3 pack of the LL120's and swapped two of them onto the radiator. I have the Corsair 465x for my case, so I'd much prefer if all my six fans (3 on front, 2 on top exhaust, 1 at back) worked in a syncronised manner. However, I was tearing my hair out wondering if having all six on the Lightning Hub was preferential over having four on the Lightning Hub and two connected to the shrouded AIO RGB cables.

 

From what you've told me I'm good to connect the 2x radiator fans to the AIO power cables and re-route their RGB cables to join my other four LL120s already on the hub. This would mean the two RGB cables on the AIO go unused. Is this correct?

 

I pretty much put my build on hold trying to find an answer because it was so frustrating. So I really do appreciate the help.

If you have removed the ML-RGB and are working with 8 LL, then you have moved into a different arena. I don't think the standard Platinum can handle 2 x LL and if you don't see a "fan selector" setting in the Lighting Set-up for the AIO it will only generate the 8 LEDs for the ML. Quite a bit difference in lighting current as well.

 

You have to play a different game a lot of 680x and 740 owners grapple with - how to break up the 8 fans. You will need to two lighting hubs/controllers no matter what. So it's down to 6+2, 5+3, or 4+4. The decision should be based around how you want any sequential patterns to run. They can all do the Spiral Rainbow all day long and it makes no difference. But for custom waves, ripples, visor, color wave, pong, or anything else sequential, you want those to be on the same controller.

 

So person 1 has a low side table and can't really see the top fans. Maybe you put the 3 front, 2 bottom, and 1 rear as a group. Perhaps the reverse is the case is sitting up high on a bookcase or something similar. Either way, the two Lighting Hubs each will act a programmable group, so pair them up as you want to program.

Sorry, I think there might be a misunderstanding. I have six fans total. There are three on the front of my case, two on the top and one at the rear. This is what my set-up would look like if you want to visualise it -

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/mP6RsY

 

Don't be discouraged though, I still would very much like a definitive answer. The core difference between my own build and that one is the builder has mounted the radiator to the top, whereas I have mounted mine to the top two fans at the front of the case.

Edited June 26, 2020 by Degenterate

Post #7, right where you came in.

 

 

If you connect them to the 6 port RGB Lighting Hub or Node Core device, then those 6 will act as a unit. For it to work correctly, all fans on the same controller need to be the same type. If not, it will throw off the LED counting and the effects will become skewed.

Great!

 

I'm building for the first time ever, so second-guessing such choices seems to be par for this course, hahaha. All the YouTube videos of people setting up the AIO say something along the lines of 'now plug the radiator fans power and RGB cables into the shrouded cables that come off the back of the AIO'. So, not entirely following the instructions (just plugging in the Power cable in this case) makes me nervous. But I'm glad there are still forums out there for posing these questions, and users like yourself willing to help. Much appreciated my dude!

So that is the complication. Nearly all of the current generation of RGB fans have two wires - one for lighting power and the traditional one for fan motor power. The lighting current draw is the larger piece to manage. All of what we are talking about above is just the lighting wires. You will still keep the two normal fan speed control wires on the AIO splitter. That keeps the fan controlled natively by the cooler, but allows the fans to join the rest of the chassis fans for lighting control and programming.