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Can i make my own led strips for a lighting node pro?


FastraxNL

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Hello everyone,

I've got a standard Enermax Saberay, and the LEDs in the case are non-ARGB strips. I've found 144 LEDs p/m strip, now I need to connect up 2 full meters of it at least.

 

But can I run them into an RGB fan hub? or is there a possibility to buy a node pro without the LEDs? so I don't get a 600 euro led setup in a 1300 euro build lol

 

Here's a picture of what I mean to do: https://forum.corsair.com/v3/attachment.php?attachmentid=37296&stc=1&d=1578942596

 

Thanks in advance

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The attachment was marked as "invalid" so I can't pull it up. There was one user, some time ago, that did do this though - and he wound up running into power limitations because he didn't properly account for the total power draw of his LEDs.

 

However, you've got some limitations on how many LEDs you can control with a LNP or fan hub due to the available power on a SATA power connection. 144 LEDs would likely pull close to 5A, maybe more. SATA only provide 4.5A on the 5V rail.

 

Fan Hubs are available separately but don't provide any control or intelligence; they simply distribute power and signal. The LNP is not available as a standalone product. The CoPro has the same lighting capabilities and is available separately.

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so it will not work with the fan hub, even if I split 232 LEDs into 4 separate strips? that's the exact amount I need. 57X2 on the top panel of my case and 59 on the front panel.

so if i cant use the rgb fan hubs ill need to buy a grand total of 3 commander pro`s 1 for my fans and incase lighting and 2 for the other leds?

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It's a question of available power and the max draw on the LEDs and the SATA power specification.

 

You've not mentioned what that is so I've gone with the typical draw for most WS2812B LEDs out there to calculate it - 120 LEDs pull almost 4.5A, which is the max for SATA power. But you cannot just throw as many LEDs as you want in and expect them to be powered properly. You really need to consider that.

 

Once you address that properly, then you need to consider the control signal for the LEDs. You'll configure the channel as strips or fans, depending on the number of LEDs that you have. Some effects may be off if you use, say QL fans.

 

Now ... with that out of the way, the RGB Fan LED hub will power up to 120 typical LEDs so it's possible that you could use a fan hub and some custom, 3rd party cables to run all of these from iCUE. Or you can make your own. Personally, I have 2 sets of 12 Corsair strips (further divided into 2 runs of 6 strips each) running from 2 fans hubs connected to a single LNP.

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At a high level, yes.

 

But the devil is in the details.

 

The Molex SL series connectors for the Corsair RGB only support up to 3A for a single connection. So ... up to 60 on a port is OK. But only if you use 24 gauge wire. 26 gauge wire can only support up to 1.8A. 28 Gauge is limited to 1.6A.

 

On the fan port, you'll want to duplicate the signal from Port 1 to Port 2. That means jumping Pin 2 and Pin 3. This will also allow you to configure them as strips in iCUE.

 

And then you can split the control signal from the CP/LNP to more than 1 fan hub. Or daisy-chain fan hubs if you are jumping Pin 2 and Pin 3.

 

It should also go without saying that this is all at your own risk. ;) And my sig has a link to a post with all of the part numbers for the Corsair connectors.

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On the Fan Hub, Pin 1 is +5V. Pin 2 is Data Return (from fan). Pin 3 is Data (to fan). Pin 4 is Ground.

In order to put a device on port 1 and a second one on port 2, you need to have the data control signal returned to go to the second device. So you need to jump them (connect together) for it to work.

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