Help setting up Commander Core with commander pro

[JayL1]

Hello,

 

I think I'm in the right thread hopefully.

 

I'm currently building the Lian-Li o11XL and I have the 10 fan setup. I looked over the diagrams and setup options from the other threads but I have a few questions.

 

Setup -

H150i Elite capellix and came with the commander core

corsair ax1600i

corsair QL 120mm fans x10

 

I'm trying to get this setup with less hubs and I was wondering if I can just use two commander core's to control all the rgb and fan speed then connect both commander core's to a internal usb hub along with the corsair ax1600i link. Currently my Asus crosshair VIII dark hero only has one usb port on the mobo. Will this work?

 

Any help or options would be helpful.

I also do have a commander pro on hand if needed.

 

Thank you.

[c-attack]

You could use two Commander Core devices, but I am not sure I would do that. It may limit you later. A "Core" device does one channel of 6 fans. That's it. Pro devices have RGB channels that can be used for fans, strips, Hydro X, or other RGB 5v devices. If you have to by another Com Core, you might as well get the Pro to give you more options. A Core + powered USB hub is going to be the same price as the Commander Pro with 2 USB ports anyway.

 

However, there is likely a better solution for this. RGB Lighting is straightforward. You need to break your 10 fans into two groups. The logical combination for the O11 is 6+4. The 6 and the 4 will each act like a separate programmable unit of fans. You could do the top 3+1 rear on the Com Core as a tie in with the pump. Then the side/bottom six on one of the Lighting Node Core controllers you get with the QL multi-packs. My preference would be to put the side 3 + 1 rear together and do top/bottom as the 6, but it is a user choice.

 

The second obstacle is PWM control. You have 10 fans and 6 ports. You do not want to load them up on PWM splitters. The Commander Core is critical for the pump to work. You don't want to blow the device. The cheapest solution is to use a PWM repeater or PWM hub. This is a SATA powered PWM extension. It takes the PWM signal from 1 of the Com Cores control headers and then provides for the all the other fans connected to it. They come in various sizes from 4-10 fans. With an XL and its sets of 3 fans, you don't need independent control of adjacent fans. You could place the bottom and side 6 on the PWM hub, leaving the top and rear for the Commander Core. Somewhat depends on where you place the radiator and whether you are picky about which fans are tied in which others.

 

The other option is the Commander Pro. Now you have 12 fan ports + 2 USB passthrough ports. That is gong to be relevant. At present you need 3 x USB 2.0 ports (Commander Core, AX1600i, Lighting Node Core). Not too many boards have 3, so you will need a powered USB port one way or another. With the Commander's 2 taking the PSU and LN Core, that means 1 each for the two Commanders, something your board can likely handle.

 

Also, you landed in the Link forum and it is a bit of a graveyard. This is the old control software that ended about 3 years ago. All your new products will require CUE.