Crystal 680x fans

[Celev Gadol]

Hi

This is probably a pretty straightforward question for you guys. It's been a long time since I built a PC and things have moved on a tad so I need a little guidance.

I have a Corsair 680x crystal case with an ASUS Hero Maximus Z790 motherboard. I have a ROG Strix LCII ARGB cooler with two fans and a RTX3080 GPU. My question is, where do I plug all the fans in? There seems to be a lot of headers for fans. One of them is labelled in the user guide as CHA_FAN2, CHA_FAN3, CHA_FAN3, W_PUMP+. I have the pump plugged into this. Where do I plug the fans for the case and the fans for the radiator?

Also, there are a couple of midules in the hard drive compartment. What are they and where do they feature in the whole grand scheme of things?

I'd be grateful for any information that you can give.

[c-attack]

The 680x comes with a Lighting Node Core RGB controller for the front LL fans (and up to 6 total).  This is RGB only and there is a separate PWM fan wire to go to a normal fan controller, like your motherboard headers.  The wires on the fans should have tags indicating their function.  If you have the RGB version of the LCII AIO, those fans do not connect to the Corsair RGB controller.

 

The LCDII has a "motherboard lead" that has different functionality depending on the cooler.  Some older or small AIO units still get their pump and fan power from the motherboard.  For those units, using the AIO_Pump or W_Pump header can make sense as it is preset to 100%.  W_Pump headers often have a higher current threshold than a normal fan header and it is intended for custom water cooling pumps that might pull 25-35W at maximum.  Your AIO is not in that category.  Most newer AIO units get their power directly from the PSU via a SATA cable.  I am looking at the RGB version of that unit online and I don't see a SATA connector.  If there is one, then that lead to the motherboard fan header is nothing more than a safety check.  It is supposed to go on CPU fan so if the pump doesn't start at power on, it will trigger a CPU fan error to immediately signal an issue. 

 

Even if your AIO does get power from the motherboard, you still can use CPU fan for power.  The AIO_Pump and W_Pump headers usually can be reconfigured back into their normal chassis fan header state (CHA) making them useful for normal fan control.  CPU and it's mirror OPT will always act like you have a tiny air cooler in place.  They have short delays and override settings based on CPU temp changes that do no apply when water cooling.  You can use CPU/OPT for the radiator fans, but they will be very reactive.  On the other hand, if the fans are chained 3 together on the same line, I might rather have that on W_Pump with the higher current limit.  I am surprised the manual for the LCII does not specify where it should go.  In order to change the W_Pump or AIO Pump headers back into normal mode, you must go to the Advanced BIOS -> Monitoring column -> Qfan and change them back.  The CHA fan headers will be your primary fan speed connections unless you have another fan controller.  

 

[Celev Gadol]

Thanks C-Attack. That's good info. The reason I thought the pump header would be better to use is because of the higher current capability. If the pump doesn't need the extra current that's fine, it'll draw what it needs and there is plenty of overhead. I'm nowhere near accessing the BIOS yet!

The three fans at the front of the case are plugged into a module in the other compartment. The module isn't plugged into anything yet. The fan at the rear of the case isn't plugged into anything either. Can I just plug these into CHA headers?

[c-attack]

The Lighting Node Pro in the back will need an internal 9-pin USB 2 connection to the motherboard so the software and device can talk.  The little 'RGB lighting hub' the fans directly connect to will need a SATA power connector.  The RGB hub then connects to LED Channel 1.  On some cases this might be pre-wired, but the SATA for the RGB hub and USB 2 to MB will not.  

 

I found the instruction manual for it and it is the typical multi-language, lots of words, not so helpful type.  It does appear the pump takes power from the motherboard connection.  The directions state you can use CPU Fan or AIO_Pump.  W_Pump is the same as AIO_Pump but with a higher amperage limit.  You are fine with any of the three as long as the BIOS Qfan control is set to 100% or "disabled" which results in the same 100% lock out.  I don't see any clear reason to use one or the other from this end and I am not using the motherboard fan headers on my Z790 Hero so I don't have specific advice beyond what was said above.  

 

The rear fan can go into any CHA fan header.  That one you likely want by itself but there are no rear placement fan headers on the board.  They are all on the top or bottom edge, so you may need to pair things up on a PWM splitter.  You probably do want at least one PWM splitter for the front fans.  

[Celev Gadol]

Thanks for your help C-Attack.

The front fans are on a module that came already on the case. There are some spare slots for additional fans if required. The rear fan is connected directly to the MB and spins as do the front fans. The cooler fans work and have lighting. The case fans don't have any lighting but I think that may be because I haven't been able to access the BIOS yet. I thought I had a keyboard but I can't find it. Unbelievable I know but there it is. I'll pick one up in the morning and get things set up.

Anyway, thanks again. It's good to know that people like you are around. You're a great guy.

[c-attack]

The front LL fans should be connected like this:

LL fan -> RGB Lighting Hub ports 1-2-3 -> hub to LED port 1 on the Lighting Node Pro. 
 

The RGB lighting hub has a SATA connector. That’s were the lighting power comes from. Fan motor functionality and lighting are completely separate. You will need the Lighting Node Pro connected to the MB via usb 2 to allow CUE to talk with the controller. Power on behavior out of the box varies. Most of the time it will do rainbow, but sometimes it might be set to something else if was tested. 

[Celev Gadol]

That's what I have connection wise. They may have been disabled if tested. I'm not that bothered to be honest. As long as the fans are working the purpose of them is being fulfilled. Anything else is just icing.

[Celev Gadol]

I know I said that I wasn't that bothered about the LEDs on the front fans not working but it was bugging me. I unplugged the fans from the hub and they are labelled 1, 2, 3 and they were in the corresponding sockets on the hub. So far so good. There are 6 different orders in which they could be plugged in (3! for the mathematically inclined). I tried them all. 123 they don't work. 213 and 312 one of them works (2 and 3 respectively). 321 and 231 is the same. I have come to the conclusion that I have a faulty number 1 fan. Just wanted to share this so you can add it to your arsenal of already extensive knowledge.

[c-attack]

11 hours ago, Celev Gadol said:

123 they don't work. 213 and 312 one of them works (2 and 3 respectively). 321 and 231 is the same. I have come to the conclusion that I have a faulty number 1 fan

Seems like you have it sorted.  The Lighting Node Pro and RGB Lighting hub are serial, so one bad LED can end the run right there.  Where it gets tricky is when the break is the first LED of a fan or the last on the prior -- or the return wire itself.  If Fan #1 is out when it's first and when it's last, then it seems to be the one to blame.