EK water blocks and Corsair fans RGB syncing.

Hi all,

I would like to buy corsair hydro x series but the products feels too cheap and it is too expensive. Rads are too thin or too thick. I don't like the hydro x series at this moment.

 

I have some special discounts on EK products so I would like to buy waterblocks from EK, reservoir from EK and put some corsair RGB fans.

 

Is it possible to sync RGB between ek and corsair's products?

You can, but you'll have to buy the Corsair Commander PRO or Lightning Node PRO in order for the fans to be set to an array of color settings that might be pleasing to your eyes.

 

As for "cheap feel"? Corsair uses the real deal pump (Made in Hungary) and the water block uses nickel-plated copper, the radiators are copper, fittings are brass, THE SAME MATERIALS used by EK.

 

As for the RAD being too thick or too thin? Well, EK uses a 27mm thin RAD whereas Corsair uses a 30mm for the thinnest and the thickest? It's probably not a good idea, considering that when you use thicker the RAD, the closer it gets to the motherboard potentially hitting the RAM or the VRM heatsink, so 30mm is the sweet spot because remember, the fans add extra height.

Putting a thick RAD in the front? The same thing, it's a matter of which case you'd get or have, where the pump is gonna go, how it's gonna be mounted.

 

You probably saw that review with the guy with the funny mustache, where he kept point out that the reservoir material was injection-molded plastic.....well, I don't think Corsair would sell a cheaply made product.

 

And as for expensive? The difference in the 360mm RAD between the thinnest is $13. I don't know about you but I don't think $13 can make or break the bank. Not to mention the EK RAD is 27mm and the Hydro is 30mm thick........so the extra $13 is justified since that you're getting extra material. And yes, you can find less expensive fittings on the e-market store but remember to always use brass fittings. And stick to the same color, apparently dark colors brass doesn't get along with nickel-plated brass.

 

I'd tell you what's expensive, any and every Samsung NVMe, they're way overpriced.......I'd never buy one. And you do own one.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Nazgul

You can, but you'll have to buy the Corsair Commander PRO or Lightning Node PRO in order for the fans to be set to an array of color settings that might be pleasing to your eyes.

 

As for "cheap feel"? Corsair uses the real deal pump (Made in Hungary) and the water block uses nickel-plated copper, the radiators are copper, fittings are brass, THE SAME MATERIALS used by EK.

 

As for the RAD being too thick or too thin? Well, EK uses a 27mm thin RAD whereas Corsair uses a 30mm for the thinnest and the thickest? It's probably not a good idea, considering that when you use thicker the RAD, the closer it gets to the motherboard potentially hitting the RAM or the VRM heatsink, so 30mm is the sweet spot because remember, the fans add extra height.

Putting a thick RAD in the front? The same thing, it's a matter of which case you'd get or have, where the pump is gonna go, how it's gonna be mounted.

 

You probably saw that review with the guy with the funny mustache, where he kept point out that the reservoir material was injection-molded plastic.....well, I don't think Corsair would sell a cheaply made product.

 

And as for expensive? The difference in the 360mm RAD between the thinnest is $13. I don't know about you but I don't think $13 can make or break the bank. Not to mention the EK RAD is 27mm and the Hydro is 30mm thick........so the extra $13 is justified since that you're getting extra material. And yes, you can find less expensive fittings on the e-market store but remember to always use brass fittings. And stick to the same color, apparently dark colors brass doesn't get along with nickel-plated brass.

 

I'd tell you what's expensive, any and every Samsung NVMe, they're way overpriced.......I'd never buy one. And you do own one.

 

EK PE360 rads are 38mm, IMHO the best size for a rad for my use.

in any case this don't want to be a thread EK vs Corsair

 

I only want to know if I can sync EK RGB with Corsair RGB

It will need to be the D-RGB version of the CPU/GPU blocks. All the Corsair stuff is 5v D-RGB. Then you will need a 3rd party adapter to connect the block RGB line out to the proprietary Corsair connector. This where mine came from. I used it for an EK Velocity Acetyl Nickel CPU block. That is a 20 LED strip, so you tell it to be act like 2x10 LED strips in iCUE. Worked well. Specifically this model. Don't let the name mislead you. That is the connector. Edited October 6, 2019 by c-attack

It will need to be the D-RGB version of the CPU/GPU blocks. All the Corsair stuff is 5v D-RGB. Then you will need a 3rd party adapter to connect the block RGB line out to the proprietary Corsair connector. This where mine came from. I used it for an EK Velocity Acetyl Nickel CPU block. That is a 20 LED strip, so you tell it to be act like 2x10 LED strips in iCUE. Worked well. Specifically this model. Don't let the name mislead you. That is the connector.

 

Isn't it possible to connect the ek parts to the Asus motherboard and drive those parts with Corsair ique?

in any case this don't want to be a thread EK vs Corsair

 

I only want to know if I can sync EK RGB with Corsair RGB

 

I understand, I just find your comment funny, Corsair Hydro X "feeling cheap", when Corsair uses the EXACT same materials.

 

And no, I don't think they'll be compatible straight out of the box, so you'll have to buy that adapter C-ATTACK suggested and no AURA SYNC is not compatible with Corsair iCUE software. Mainly because the iCUE software is used to program/control other Corsair components besides RGB.

I understand, I just find your comment funny, Corsair Hydro X "feeling cheap", when Corsair uses the EXACT same materials.

 

And no, I don't think they'll be compatible straight out of the box, so you'll have to buy that adapter C-ATTACK suggested and no AURA SYNC is not compatible with Corsair iCUE software. Mainly because the iCUE software is used to program/control other Corsair components besides RGB.

 

as far as I know Corsair is able to sync up external RGB even with devices connected to the mobo so I hope that someone more informed will shed some light on it.

Isn't it possible to connect the ek parts to the Asus motherboard and drive those parts with Corsair ique?

 

Yes and no. You can certainly connect the EK parts to the motherboard. Most of the ROG boards have both 12v RGB and 5v D-RGB headers, so you are covered there. However, that puts the control under Aura and nothing else controls Aura, not even Asus.

 

I did run my D-RGB EK block from Aura before moving it over to a LNP Corsair controller. It was functional. It was OK on that board because the motherboard lights were strong creating some semblance of lighting balance. However, Aura and Mystic Light offer nothing close to the level of control or choice as iCUE. I suppose it depends what else you've got going on in there. Once I added Dominator RGB RAM into the mix, I needed to get the CPU block on board with everything else.

we are still in the hypotesis area, hope to see some facts and some feedback from someone who done it. :)

 

searching on the net it seems possible to sync ique with asus aura, so it could be possible. but how?

Yes and no. You can certainly connect the EK parts to the motherboard. Most of the ROG boards have both 12v RGB and 5v D-RGB headers, so you are covered there. However, that puts the control under Aura and nothing else controls Aura, not even Asus.

 

I did run my D-RGB EK block from Aura before moving it over to a LNP Corsair controller. It was functional. It was OK on that board because the motherboard lights were strong creating some semblance of lighting balance. However, Aura and Mystic Light offer nothing close to the level of control or choice as iCUE. I suppose it depends what else you've got going on in there. Once I added Dominator RGB RAM into the mix, I needed to get the CPU block on board with everything else.

 

we are still in the hypotesis area, hope to see some facts and some feedback from someone who done it. :)

 

searching on the net it seems possible to sync ique with asus aura, so it could be possible. but how?

 

Yes, good luck in the search for finding someone who has tried this with EK blocks, Asus motherboards, and iCUE.

Edited October 7, 2019 by c-attack

Yes, good luck in the search for finding someone else who has tried this with EK blocks, Asus motherboards, and iCUE.

 

is it so hard to find?

those brands are so widespread

But isn't possible to sync up commander pro with Asus aura?

What's the point in Corsair having it's own proprietary system that isn't able to sync up with others?

Can Aura sync up with Mystic Light? How about RGB Fusion? Or CAM? Or ...

 

That said, there is a third party package that'll do it with varying degrees of success - mainly because the Aura SDK constantly breaks things.

Can Aura sync up with Mystic Light? How about RGB Fusion? Or CAM? Or ...

 

That said, there is a third party package that'll do it with varying degrees of success - mainly because the Aura SDK constantly breaks things.

 

The problem isn't in the aura that breaks things is the problems is that Corsair wrote his own software without doing like everyone else. Support motherboard standards.

 

This is the reason why I will not buy a Corsair product anymore.

I want RGB but surely I don't want to be forced to use Corsair's only products

The problem isn't in the aura that breaks things is the problems is that Corsair wrote his own software without doing like everyone else. Support motherboard standards.

 

This is the reason why I will not buy a Corsair product anymore.

I want RGB but surely I don't want to be forced to use Corsair's only products

 

So ... as I pointed out, the different motherboard vendors aren't interoperable. You cannot control an MSI GPU's RGB with Aura. Nor can you control an ASUS GPU's RGB with Mystic Light. Neither Logitech's nor Razer's peripherals are controllable by Aura or Mystic Light or RGB Fusion or ...

 

Or are you talking about the connectors? Corsair came out with their RGB products well before the motherboards had addressable RGB. And don't even try to say that the Aura-style Addressable RGB connector is standard - it isn't. Far from it - it's become widely adopted solely due to the market power of Asus and, to a lesser extent, MSI as they adopted that absolute horrorshow of a connector because it was based on the 5050 Analog RGB connector and was cheap and easy for them to do. If anything, the JST-SM connector is the closest thing to standard that actually exists in the addressable RGB space - get a no-name, cheap WS2812B strip from Amazon and it's going to have a JST-SM connector. But none of the motherboard vendors use it (which is likely due to its size and the lack of a wire-to-board housing for it; it'd be a poor choice for this application anyway). Furthermore, Corsair's RGB system provides far, far, far more control over devices that you get with Aura. So Corsair is supposed to redesign their entire product line to use an inferior connector and give up functionality just to tie into the motherboard software?

 

But, widely adopted as they are, they aren't standards. Standards are actually ratified by multi vendor consortiums. And there aren't any of these for RGB.

 

Furthermore, NZXT, ThermalTake, Barrows, Swiftech, and Aquacomputer all have their own connectors as well. Swiftech even goes so far as to have a different pinout, reversing Ground and Data from the typical pinout. Phanteks and Lian Li (with their Strimers) use the JST-SM connector (Lian Li's documentation even calls it "standard").

 

Now, with the notable exception of the original SP-RGB fans, all of the Corsair products use the same LED type as everyone else - WS2812B. So the wire control protocol is the same. And yes, you can control other vendor's RGB devices from iCUE ... and control Corsair's RGB from the motherboard (though why you'd give up the flexibility, control and options of iCUE for Aura or Mystic Light is beyond me but I digress). All you need are adapters, which are available or you can make them yourself. Corsair's connectors are not, contrary to popular opinion and wrongly declared by many a TechTuber that should know better, proprietary in the least but are widely available. They are Molex SL series connectors and all of the relevant part numbers are listed in a link that's in my signature.

 

Now, I get your frustration at the mess that is the RGB world. But to single out Corsair is ... well, it's a bit narrow minded. That's just the current state of the industry.

what is the adapter you are talking about?

can't find it on your signature.

The link for making/repairing Corsair Cables. There's even a YouTube video making fan extensions. The process for adapters is the same (though the cables are different and you have to match the pinouts).

guys, corsair's way it's too complicated.

you can't avoid using the "motherboard" software since all the motherboards now have RGB and it is not reasonable to have all corsair's products inside a case.

 

corsair ique is the reason why I abandon corsair, I want a product that can be driven via the motherboard software and not having dozens of software to drive some rgb.

 

hope that you will stop with this madness and start supporting the motherboard's software like all the others.

guys, corsair's way it's too complicated.

you can't avoid using the "motherboard" software since all the motherboards now have RGB and it is not reasonable to have all corsair's products inside a case.

 

corsair ique is the reason why I abandon corsair, I want a product that can be driven via the motherboard software and not having dozens of software to drive some rgb.

 

hope that you will stop with this madness and start supporting the motherboard's software like all the others.

 

I'll have to disagree with you on that one. The effects that you can create in iCUE are far richer than anything I've seen any of the motherboard makers do. It's the difference between "choose from a limited number of effects that we want to give you" to "create just about any effect that you want".

 

But ... to each their own.

I'll have to disagree with you on that one. The effects that you can create in iCUE are far richer than anything I've seen any of the motherboard makers do. It's the difference between "choose from a limited number of effects that we want to give you" to "create just about any effect that you want".

 

But ... to each their own.

 

very few people prefer christmas tree over simplicity.

motherboard way is easyer, cheaper, and widely supported by many manufacturer.

this are only my two cents, hope that you will stop with this nonsense or at least that you will offer the possibility to choose between your small ecosystem and the big one.

very few people prefer Christmas tree over simplicity.

motherboard way is easyer, cheaper, and widely supported by many manufacturer.

this are only my two cents, hope that you will stop with this nonsense or at least that you will offer the possibility to choose between your small ecosystem and the big one.

 

I will stop with this nonsense? Expressing an opinion different from yours is "nonsense"? Keep in mind that I don't work for or speak for Corsair, as detailed in my signature.

 

As for the "motherboard way" ... yeah, it's 'easier' and 'cheaper' but it's also less flexible and, after a month, boring. I started with RGB there. And I've worked with Aura, Mystic Light, RGB Fusion and RGB Sync - so pretty much all of the main ones - as well as ThermalTake, NZXT and Razer. I chose Corsair for my own system.

 

And ... there are adapters for other, non-Corsair devices to work with iCUE and the Corsair ecosystem. Not Corsair branded but they work well. You can't do that with another vendor's ecosystem (whom I won't mention but they are in that list above). There are also adapters to control Corsair stuff from the motherboard too. Oh, and MSI even has a Corsair header on some of their motherboards. So ... yeah ... you can do the "motherboard way" if you like. But ... meh.

Edited November 2, 2019 by DevBiker

I don't mean you, I mean corsair, sorry for my unpolite way :)

in any case, I don't like the corsair ecosystem, I don't need all the christmas effect and I like the cheaper easyer way.

it's only my hopinion but I think that many people will abandon corsair for this.

 

it would be cool to know how many people prefer to spend more and be "less compatible with other products" for the added corsair's features and how many people agree with me.

I don't mean you, I mean corsair, sorry for my unpolite way :)

in any case, I don't like the corsair ecosystem, I don't need all the Christmas effect and I like the cheaper easyer way.

it's only my hopinion but I think that many people will abandon corsair for this.

 

it would be cool to know how many people prefer to spend more and be "less compatible with other products" for the added corsair's features and how many people agree with me.

 

I don't think that Corsair is "less compatible with other products". I, in fact, heartily disagree with that statement and I, personally, have several non-Corsair RGB products connected to iCUE right now. Just the fact that adapters are available and work well gives lie to that statement. With one of their competitors (whom I won't name), they've ensured that things like adapters absolutely positively will not work on any of their stuff.

 

The other thing that you don't seem to take into account is that Corsair released their addressable RGB line when motherboard makers were still on analog 12V RGB. There was no addressable Aura at the time, much less the "motherboard connector". In fact, that connector didn't exist in any form until Asus and MSI released motherboards with them. And, in all honesty, it's a poor choice for a connector - it's relatively easy to put 5V products onto a 12V header and they don't have an active lock, only friction lock. So they come loose easily. A little bit of electrical tape fixes the problem but that's not something that you see with Corsair's stuff. So - that Aura style connector? It's only a "standard" because of the market power of Asus and MSI combined. The closest thing to a standard RGB connector for 5V analog is actually the JST-SM connector that you'll find on the Lian Li Strimer and many Phanteks products.

The fact that you need "non Corsair adapters" to use non Corsair products says it all.

All those Christmas effect that sincerely I really dislike needs to know how many led is connected to the devices, if you connect a third party device, can you specify how many led the device have in ique?

 

Even if yes, I repeat, I can't uninstall the motherboard software, so really no need for another software from Corsair that adds Christmas effect and drain my wallet.

 

I'm not buying Corsair products anymore just for this.

No Corsair fans where I prefer them, no custom loop because of this RGB ecosystem.

 

Hope that things will change in the future, that every manufacturer will use the common ws2812b and that this "non standard way of doing simple things" will stop.