iCUE link and ARGB

[TTonk81]

All of my fans are part of the iCUE link ecosystem and are working well. I was not however able to get my motherboard (ASUS) or GPU (EVGA) RGB to work with iCUE.

My case has an ARGB strip that I want to control via iCUE, is there anything I can get that would allow it to work without having the ARGB connected to the motherboard?

I was thinking maybe  the iCUE Lighting Node PRO RGB Lighting Controller would be what I need but I didn't want to order it only to find out its wont work.

[c-attack]

You need a third party adapter to connect the 'motherboard style' 5v connector into a Corsair controller. This is an example of one for a Lighting Node Pro and it can be used from anything from LED strips to custom water blocks or other 5v bling devices.  The trick is CUE will only generate LED strips in CUE sizes, so if you've got more than 60 LEDs, you'll need to use 'external RGB strips" to generate the longer length.  

 

The Lighting Node Pro works fine and has two channels for this stuff.  Make sure you don't over-pay.  That is an inexpensive controller that is in short supply through authorized retailers.  I am seeing some ridiculous prices out there.  Ebay or the like may offer a much better deal and there are a lot of them out there from when it was a freebie in fan multi-packs.  If you have a Commander XT, it already has a RGB channel for this purpose but the Commander Core for AIOs does not as the pump power chain takes its place.  

[TTonk81]

I don't, the only thing i have is the iCUE link controller.

Yeah, I noticed they are going for stupid prices. eBay will be the better option as I only need the hub and not the lights etc.

Not sure how many LEDs are in the strip as it is part of the O11 Dynamic Evo XL and can't find any info on it.

If it's going to be too expensive or a pain ill just unplug the strip.

Thanks anyhow.

[TTonk81]

Sorry for the double post, I just had a look at the Commander XT, if I wanted to use any non-link fans with iCUE would that be the best option?

It looks like it would do fans and ARGB all in one

[c-attack]

11 hours ago, TTonk81 said:

Not sure how many LEDs are in the strip as it is part of the O11 Dynamic Evo XL and can't find any info on it.

This came up recently and it had increased from the 30 LEDs on the prior cases.  Much higher number now, but it will work with a Lighting Node Pro.

 

11 hours ago, TTonk81 said:

I just had a look at the Commander XT, if I wanted to use any non-link fans with iCUE would that be the best option?

If you have non-Link fans and want them speed and RGB controlled through CUE, then the Commander XT is a better option.  No speed control on the LN Pro or Core devices.  However, if you already have a CUE Link Hub + fans or AIO, that's the direction we're headed.  A Commander XT is not overly expensive at $50 USD compared to redoing your case in QX fans, but this is a shift in control technology and most future products will be CUE Link based.  That's why it's funny we still don't have a RGB strip adapter for the CUE Link hub and the Lighting Node Pro appears to be on the verge of discontinuance in the interim.  

[BlaiseP]

@c-attack the O11D XL has 28 LEDs. @TTonk81, here's how I setup the case LEDs for ICUE control as an example for you...

I have the aforementioned O11D XL with a daisy-chained Phanteks Glacier D120 distro-plate (10 LEDs), so 38 LEDs in total. It's setup in ICUE as 4 x LED strips on the Commander Pro's LED port (using a PirateDog Tech RGB adapter) with a custom "Quick Lighting Zone" set to 38 LEDs that I use when defining the lighting layers.

Going to change out the Phanteks distro-plates (I have 2  x O11D XLs identically plumbed) for EK Quantum Volume FLT 120 D-RGB flat reservoirs this weekend that have I believe, 6 or 7 LEDs (will have to check) so I will have to drop my custom "Quick Lighting Zone" to 35 LEDs.

[TTonk81]

9 hours ago, c-attack said:

However, if you already have a CUE Link Hub + fans or AIO, that's the direction we're headed.

I do yes, all fans are iCUE Link fans and also the AIO. In time I'll be changing to a custom loop but will keep all the link fans.

The O11D XL has space for 2 thin fans on the back to provide active cooling to the drive bays, I am considering adding a couple of fans there so wouldnt want RGB and also they need to be thin, around 25mm if I recall so a basic fan is all that's needed.

19 minutes ago, BlaiseP said:

@c-attack the O11D XL has 28 LEDs. @TTonk81, here's how I setup the case LEDs for ICUE control as an example for you...

I have the aforementioned O11D XL with a daisy-chained Phanteks Glacier D120 distro-plate (10 LEDs), so 38 LEDs in total. It's setup in ICUE as 4 x LED strips on the Commander Pro's LED port (using a PirateDog Tech RGB adapter) with a custom "Quick Lighting Zone" set to 38 LEDs that I use when defining the lighting layers.

Going to change out the Phanteks distro-plates (I have 2  x O11D XLs identically plumbed) for EK Quantum Volume FLT 120 D-RGB flat reservoirs this weekend that have I believe, 6 or 7 LEDs (will have to check) so I will have to drop my custom "Quick Lighting Zone" to 35 LEDs.

I was considering a distro plate when I do the custom loop but had heard they don't perform as well as a standard res/pump. How do you find them?

[BlaiseP]

6 hours ago, TTonk81 said:

I was considering a distro plate when I do the custom loop but had heard they don't perform as well as a standard res/pump. How do you find them?

The Phanteks Glacier D120's are passive distro-plates, I still use Singularity Computers Protium D150 pump/res combos. I haven't dabbled with distro-plates that include a pump so I can't comment on performance compared to traditional pump/res combos. Truthfully, I only use the distro-plates because it makes my runs neater. I used to have a Phanteks Glacier D140 (again, passive) distro-plate in a Phanteks Enthoo 719 case that allowed me to run the CPU and GPUs in parallel-loop mode rather than serial-loop mode, but I no longer use that case. Parallel vs. Serial loops – that's a debate best saved for another day!

[c-attack]

Generally speaking a D5 pump is a D5 pump and all of them come from the same original manufacturer with variances in top design.  So the pump on any distro plate or flat reservoir should be the same specifications and flow as any other D5.  Whether or not the distro plate's serpentine design adds to total system flow restriction is another matter.  While it must increase resistance by it's very nature, it is likely less than the difference between a restrictive radiator or CPU block and a less restrictive one.  That means you simply need to up your pump speed when needed.  

 

*Interesting the strip is still only 28.  My "old" O11D was 30 from several years back. Must have been bad info in the other post claiming a rather high number.  Either way any number from 1-104 is doable without too much fuss.  

Edited March 27 by c-attack

[TTonk81]

On 3/26/2024 at 2:36 PM, c-attack said:

If you have non-Link fans and want them speed and RGB controlled through CUE, then the Commander XT is a better option.  No speed control on the LN Pro or Core devices.  However, if you already have a CUE Link Hub + fans or AIO, that's the direction we're headed.  A Commander XT is not overly expensive at $50 USD compared to redoing your case in QX fans, but this is a shift in control technology and most future products will be CUE Link based.  That's why it's funny we still don't have a RGB strip adapter for the CUE Link hub and the Lighting Node Pro appears to be on the verge of discontinuance in the interim.  

How many RGB devices can the Commander XT control?
In time I will be upgrading to a full custom loop. The GPU and CPU blocks both have a standard motherboard RGB connector on them so as well as the case thats 3 non Icue Link RGB devices.

So in total, it will be 2 PWM non-RGB fans and 3 RGB connections, is the commander XT the best option?
Im just not 100% sure as it has the 6 RGB hub connectors as well as the additional 3 pin RGB connector on the side so would I need to split the one on the side or will the others ones work ok with an adapter?

[c-attack]

So theoretically you use an adapter like this to connect to the fan rgb ports on the Commander XT. Previously you would be forced to choose from fan led counts as described on that page. However, Corsair had added support through this device for some of their “non CUE” AIOs, so it’s possible there is a 16 led pump style option. A lot of it comes down to led counts. 
 

Otherwise you have 1 led port on the Com XT vs 2 on a Commander Pro. 

[TTonk81]

It looks like the CPU block has 16 and the GPU block has 17 LEDs and then the case has 28 LEDs

[c-attack]

Case strip 28 -> LED strip (10) x 3  Leave the last two LEDs out of the selected effect.

CPU block and GPU block -> As Hydro XC7 or XG7 if it will let you (16 LEDs each) or as LL fan (16 LEDs as 12+4 rings). The one led on the end will not be noticeable. Other option is led strip x 2 which can work better with some kits because of unique Corsair led numbering. 
 

I am pieces right now moving into a new build. Let me get it back together and connect in a Commander XT to see what it can do. I was playing with this idea as well but am loathe to give up 2 temp sensors and an extra usb passthrough. With a lot of CUE Link in this new one including pump/res and gpu block, it’s actually viable for me to use a XT now. 

[c-attack]

Sorry for the delay.  Unforeseen complications putting things back together. 

 

From any Commander Core/XT FAN RGB port, you have the following options -> HD fan (12 LEDs), LL (16-> 12outer, 4 inner)), 8 Series LED Fans (8), ML-Pro (4), QL (double sided 34 LEDs, or "Pump Cap" (13 - 8 outer/5 inner).  So this can work, but no strip option and it can't do more than 34 LEDs for any one connection.

 

The LED port on the Commander XT has the full range normally found on Commander Pro or Lighting Node Pro controllers.  All of the above except the "pump top", plus LED strips up to 6 x 10 LEDs, all the Hydro X combinations in 16 LEDs straight line strips or as a CPU block 16/8 LEDs, and most importantly external LED strips where you can pretty much do any number up to 204 LEDs.  This makes the LED port the very valuable one and it takes a different adapter from the 4 pin LED one for the fans.

 

There are a couple of possible combinations.  You could do the CPU and GPU on the fan ports and set them as LL fans.  You won't notice the one missing light on the GPU.  However, a LL fan is dual ring device and a lot of it's effects are "inner vs outer" ring designs.  That won't come through on a single ring or straight line 16 LEDs.  It also makes the LED numbering a bit weird for linear effects.  When I was doing this with my Lian Li SL v2 fans (16 LEDs), I would often change the designation from LL to 10 led strips to cover the length so the lighting patterns would follow a linear pattern.  The case LED strip goes to the LED port and become LED strip (10) x 3. 

 

Any other options would involve connecting the case strip to a RGB fan port as a QL fan to cover the 28 LEDs, then some combination of either CPU or GPU on the LED port.  No strong preference and it might depend on how visible the CPU or GPU is from your position.  All else being the same, I put the GPU on the LED port so I can call it Hydro X XG7 and get a GPU UI in the CUE -- just to make things easier to identify.  

 

None of these are perfect options, but the first is likely the least troublesome.  I worry the 28 LED strip will doing moving patterns in sections like a QL fan with it's synchronized two sided design.  You might find that cool or completely annoying.