MikaelS Posted March 19, 2020 Posted March 19, 2020 Greetings and Salutations, First off - I'm an old school PC guy so I'm out on deep water when it comes to RGB. My 12yo son however, is a complete fan (pun indended) of RGB, so I purchased the Corsair Crystal 460X with 3 SP120 RGB fans pre-installed to use for a build for him. Now, I've installed everything and thank God the controller and hub are pre-installed :-) But this is where the challenge arise. As far as I understand each fan has a power cable that needs to go into the motherboard either directly or via a splitter. My motherboard doesn't have 3 connections for the fans, so I'm guessing a splitter is a must. Can anyone recommend any form of splitter that have room for 3/4 fan connections? And while we talk about fans - I would like to install a 4th fan in the back of the case, to ensure a better airflow. Can anyone recommend a RGB fan that works well with the already installed ones? Thanks a bunch and may you and your family be safe :) /Mikael
Zotty Posted March 19, 2020 Posted March 19, 2020 hi buddy... for a start.. read the below thread https://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=173880 covers the whole Corsair RGB ecosystem. not sure on your budget.. but if you can stretch to a Commander Pro, this would give you both RGB and RPM control of said fans (amongst other options).. and welcome back to PC building lol.. i did the same.. its a new world dude!. but i have faith you will soon understand it all.. much easier than days of old when none of it was labelled lol Craig
MikaelS Posted March 19, 2020 Author Posted March 19, 2020 Hi Craig, Thanks for the response! I've already been through that thread, but I'm having some issues understanding it all :-) So to answer my own questions: 1. Instead of purchasing a splitter to cover all 3/4 fans, I could get the Commander Pro that will take care of RGB and power. This does provide a secondary question: 1a. Will it replace the current hub/controller setup or be an addition? And the 2nd question: 2. In order for the 4th fan to work, it must be a SP RGB fan. Correct? and Thanks! It is really a confusing world and I'm just glad I'm not the one that has to stare into a PC case with lights in it all the time :D /Mikael
Zotty Posted March 19, 2020 Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) so... 1 yes.. it will control the 3 fans you already have in your case.. both RGB and RPM in iCUE 1a your case comes with an RGB Fan LED Hub, this will plug into one of the LED channels on the Commander Pro 2 yes if you want to plug it into the same RGB Fan LED Hub as the other SP RGB Fans then it has to be another SP RGB Fan. and no worries man, holla for help when ever you need :).. i also have a Discord server which is active and comes with instant answers.. mostly.. https://discord.gg/b6x8HpM Edited March 19, 2020 by Zotty
MikaelS Posted March 19, 2020 Author Posted March 19, 2020 Aaah, but what if I don't want to use iCue? Currently my son doesn't have any interest in or knowledge of controlling stuff through software, so for him it is more convenient to control it via the top panel buttons. I'm guessing it is either buttons or software and if it is buttons, I will have to go the splitter way, correct? Thanks!
Zotty Posted March 19, 2020 Posted March 19, 2020 yeah thats correct.. but would have to control fan speeds via bios or motherboards software....
Zotty Posted March 19, 2020 Posted March 19, 2020 i will add.. The differences between button controlled rgb effects and software controlled rgb effects is huge.. some games offer ingame lighting also.. thats a no go on the button controllers...
MikaelS Posted March 19, 2020 Author Posted March 19, 2020 Oh man... decisions decisions :-) The budget is not an issue. Its more a matter of whether my son would like that or not :) But thanks for the replies - I really appreciate it.
MikaelS Posted March 19, 2020 Author Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) Another thing: The manual for the case describes the fans for rear exhaust and front intake as AF120L and AF140L fans. Does that mean I cannot put in a fan similar to the 3 already installed, e.g. SP120 RGB? I could also use some help on the fan - we agree this one will do the trick - also if I end up going the Commander Pro route? (apologies for the language ;-)) https://www.proshop.dk/Kabinet-Koeler/Corsair-SP120-RGB-LED-with-controller-Kabinet-Koeler-120-mm-26-dBA/2566805 /Mikael Edited March 19, 2020 by MikaelS
c-attack Posted March 19, 2020 Posted March 19, 2020 AF120L and AF140L are generic model numbers for stock fans most often included with cases. They are usually plain grey with black frames. They are perfectly functional as a fan, but are a lower cost item compared to the fans you are looking at. You likely would want to replace them with whatever you decide to use for the rest of the case.
MikaelS Posted March 19, 2020 Author Posted March 19, 2020 AF120L and AF140L are generic model numbers for stock fans most often included with cases. They are usually plain grey with black frames. They are perfectly functional as a fan, but are a lower cost item compared to the fans you are looking at. You likely would want to replace them with whatever you decide to use for the rest of the case. Thanks! That cleared out a lot :-)
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