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Best way to swap from SP button lighting to iCUE-controlled lighting?


Yoda7224

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Hello! This is going to be a fairly long, and drawn out post... These circumstances are extremely uncommon as far as I'm aware. Any help on the subject is much appreciated.

 

So I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I have the corsair 460x RGB case which comes with a built in button controller for the SP120 fans that are included, and up to 6 total fans. That's great and all... But the button controller severely limits your colour choice as well as the lighting options. I want to remove the button controller, and swap my system over to iCUE-based lighting.

 

Where I run into one of my biggest issues, is that my H100i v2 cooler failed on me a couple years back, and I requested an RMA. That RMA went through but they did not have the H100i v2 in stock, but instead asked if I was okay with upgraded to the H100i RGB platinum. I am aware that the H100i V2 does not have RGB capable fans by default. So they were just normal SP120's, not the RGB variant. As for the coolers, they were both the same sized radiators, and same sized fans, so I thought nothing of it. Corsair support assured me that they would work in the same way as well. Wonderful! Free upgrade! Little did I know that the fans on the RGB platinum AIO are different than what comes with my case, they are the ML120 fans instead of the SP120 fans that my whole system was using at the time.

 

I need a workaround, or just options in general, where I can combine both of these fans to get my RGB syncing properly.

 

My original plan was to attempt to find a lighting node CORE (to replace the current built in RGB hub, and connect it to the motherboard for iCUE support), but it is not something that's available for purchase?? Because I cannot purchase the lighting node CORE, I feel as if I need another way to sync all 6 of my fans. I am also aware that the SP120 fans will not even work on the same RGB hub as my ML120 fans.

 

How do I workaround this? Do I need to scrap my ML120 fans and purchase two additional SP120's? But then which RGB hub would I need to buy? I would love to buy the lighting node CORE, but it is not sold standalone as far as I can tell. It is always in bundles. Do I need to purchase a 3 pack of SP120 fans with a lighting node core included to get the core? As for the lighting node PRO, it always comes with at least 4 RGB strips as far as I can tell, pumping the cost up tremendously. I only have use for the lighting node PRO, which I would then connect to my 6(if I replace the ML120 fans) SP120 fans all which are plugged into the integrated RGB hub with the Corsair 460x RGB case.

 

Sorry for the massive wall of text. I'm really struggling here in terms of adjusting my RGB for my case. I feel like it just gets exponentially more and more expensive for getting all my lights together. It especially hurts when I see the new 4000X case from corsair which by default has it all controlled via software. I wish I could buy that hub standalone, but once again I've looked to no avail.

 

TL;DR: How can I swap the 460x RGB to a iCUE controlled (lighting-wise) system, with the ML120 fans in addition to the SP120's?

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The SP fans that come with the Lighting Node Core are the SP-PRO fans. You can't put them on the same channel (fan hub/LNC/etc) as the original SP-RGB that you have. So ... if you were looking at replacing the SP-RGB fans that you have, that might be an option.

 

And you don't want to put SP-RGB fans (or SP-PRO) on the cooler either. The coolers require PWM fans; they won't control 3-pin DC fans.

 

Finally, you can control the SP-RGB fans from software - getting a Commander Pro or a Lighting Node Pro (which would come with 4 strips) would allow you to control the SP-RGB fans from software. This would connect to the fan hub that you currently have.

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Hey thanks for the fast reply!

 

So if I don't have the SP-PRO fans, you think the commander pro is my best bet? Is there any way that I can use SP fans across the board for my AIO as well as my system? Or if not, what would be the best way to go about keeping the ML120's on the AIO, and using the SP120's as well. Is there any way to connect their RGB's together?

 

Thanks a lot for the help.

 

EDIT: honestly it's looking like it's just flat out cheaper to get the new 4000x RGB with iCUE. The whole case is 160 CAD where as the commander pro itself is 100 CAD, and each fan I add is another 15 bucks. If I just buy the whole new case it's actually cheaper than wiring up a bunch of other brand new fans it seems.

Edited by Yoda7224
a thought
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The only way to use the SP-RGB across the board is to have the fan speed for the cooler's fans controlled from the motherboard - the AIO simply cannot control 3-pin DC fans.

Another option is to get a multipack of ML fans - this will come with a Lighting Node Pro and Fan Hub. You could then replace all of the SP-RGB fans with ML-RGB fans and everything would match.

If you want to keep the SP-RGB fans, then you'll need to either get a CoPro or a NoPro (via the kit with 4 strips - this is probably your least expensive option). You cannot put the SP-RGB fans on a channel with any other fan type, period. So you can control the RGB for the AIO fans from the AIO and the RGB for the existing SP-RGB fans from the LNP. And yes, you'd be able to sync them.

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That makes sense. That actually sounds like a great idea if I can sync them. Do you know how the software would go about syncing the two different types of fans?

 

So for instance the 4 SP120 fans would be hooked up to the RGB hub which comes with the 460x case, and then I could just hook up the two ML120 fans to my motherboard and read them via iCUE? That would mean all I would need would be a lighting node pro to connect the RGB hub to my motherboard, yes?

 

Thanks again!

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