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9 QL120 fan setup, iCUE keeps changing order of 2 Light Node Cores, how to fix?


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I recently built and installed my new PC and have been having issues with my 9 QL120 RGB fan setup. The iCUE software is switching the order of my 2 Light Node Cores that I have plugged into my Commander Pro USB ports. I have tried swapping the USB ports which seems to work initially, but the next time i restart my computer it switches the order of the Light Node Cores in the iCUE software again. Is there a way to switch the order of the Lighting Node Cores in iCUE software, or do I have to go about this a different way?

 

Here is how I have my Corsair products hooked up:

6 QL120 RGB fans plugged into 1 Light Node Core the 6 power cables are plugged into the Commander Pro, and the Light Node Core is plugged into the Commander Pro's USB and Sata cable is plugged into the PSU

3 QL120 RGB fans attached to H150i radiator on the top of the case, the 3 power cords are plugged into the radiators splitter and the RGB cables are plugged into a 2nd Light Node Core. That 2nd Core is plugged into the Commander Pro's 2nd USB port and Sata cable is plugged into the PSU

The Commander Pro's Sata is plugged into the PSU, and the USB is plugged into the Motherboard.

 

Thank you for any help, I have attached a photo to show the numbering order on my 2 Lighting Node Cores. I am trying to get the visor effect to go through 1-6 red and then 1-3 green (according to my photo) but it's going 1-3 green and then 1-6 red

IMG_20200616_113819.thumb.jpg.92a0d8f995b5d9e3294ff3ae623b4ff0.jpg

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Unfortunately you can't guarantee the load order and this is something I have cautioned about in the past. I had similar issues when using two Commanders and this likely is true for 2 Node Pros as well.

 

The only possible work around I can suggest is if you have an extra RGB Lighting Hub from ML or LL fans lying around, you can take the 3 up top off a Core and move them to the RGB Hub and one of the Commander Pro channels. In the time I ran this way, I noticed the software consistently prioritized the Core lighting ahead of Ch 1 on the Commander. This will not be represented in the device bar up top, but was clear with sequential lighting effects like Lighting Link color wave, visor, etc.

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I think I may have figured out the issue. It seems that with multiple Nodes it is registering the node with fewer fans first. I have swapped my fan order around and so far this seems to have fixed the issue. Time will tell though.
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I think I may have figured out the issue. It seems that with multiple Nodes it is registering the node with fewer fans first. I have swapped my fan order around and so far this seems to have fixed the issue. Time will tell though.

 

No, I can tell it for sure.

I'm using 2 LNC and the first numbered 1 has 6 fans connected, the second only 4.

Maybe it's the order you plug the LNC into CoPro's USB ports.

 

Baio

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  • 9 months later...

RGB is amazing. RGB is extremely frustrating.

 

The setup: I have 8x QL-120's in my case. I have two Lighting Node Cores, each with four fans connected. These two LNC's connect to a Commander Pro.

 

The CP powers the six fans which aren't installed on the AIO, which is a Corsair iCue H100i Elite Capellix. The Commander CORE that came with the Capellix is only powering the AIO pump header. The two fans installed on the AIO are powered through CPU fan headers on the motherboard.

 

I have spent hours fighting with my computer, and have been unable to find a way to get the fans to answer up in the order I want. The Commander Pro insists on recognizing the Lighting Node Cores in the reverse order. Even if I swap their connections to the Commander Pro (switch their USB connections), the Commander Pro will still recognize them as 2/1 instead of 1/2. And when I say "Switch," I mean uninstall iCue completely including all saved settings, power down, make the change, boot back up, and reinstall iCue. Still 2/1.

 

After reading this thread, I've tried lopsided fan connections (2/6, 3/5, 4/4, 5/3, 6/2). Nope. iCue still recognizes the Lighting Node Cores as 2/1. Now, this only matters when I'm testing the sequence of fans using something like Lighting Link Visor.

 

What I think is happening is that the fans power up from their power connections (not their RGB connections), and have some amount of boot time. I'm assuming there isn't a way to update a fan's firmware, only the various Corsair controllers.

 

The Lighting Node Core that is always recognized second has the two fans which are powered from the motherboard's CPU fan headers attached to it. My suspicion is that the Commander Pro powers up its six fans quickly, which means they boot quickly, and the LNC with four fans all powered by the Commander Pro is completely up and gets recognized first. The mobo fan headers are powering up later, which means the LNC with those fans is being recognized second. That's my guess.

 

It's frustrating because the problem is consistently wrong, no matter what I've tried. Jotting down my thoughts here in case they turn out to be helpful to others.

Edited by Gibsins
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One possible path for you out of this is to reduce the number of RGB controllers you have going. At present is seems like you have Commander Pro, Commander Core, and 2 Lighting Node Cores. That's 24 fans worth of control. The Com Core is essential and cannot be removed. That's 6 PWM and 6 RGB. You could probably get away with two "2 way PWM splitters" on the Com Core or use a PWM hub to offload some of the fans. That would allow you do dump the Commander Pro. However, I think I would be more keep to drop the double LNCores which are the source of the problem. If you can find a two RGB Lighting Hubs ($10 USD each), then you can use those are Commander Pro ch 1 and 2, drop the LNPs, and then you will have a clear fan order path from Com Core -> C-Pro ch 1 -> C-Pro ch 2.
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One possible path for you out of this is to reduce the number of RGB controllers you have going. At present is seems like you have Commander Pro, Commander Core, and 2 Lighting Node Cores.

Yes. Crazy, isn't it? I started assembling components for this build back in December. By the time I had enough of them to put something together, I was past the point of returning anything. Literally the point of no returns.

 

I went with the Com Pro with both LNCores because that enabled all eight fans to turn on at the same time at system boot. I tried sooo many different configurations: the Com Core plugged into the Com Pro, the Com Core and the Com Pro plugged into separate motherboard headers, Com Core with an LNCore. No other configuration looked as good at boot as the Com Pro with both LNCores.

 

And that's the thing: I was tweaking over the five seconds or so before Windows and the iCue service loaded. Yes, it was irrational. Or I was just being meticulous. Your call.

 

That's 24 fans worth of control. The Com Core is essential and cannot be removed. That's 6 PWM and 6 RGB.

Is it 24? I get 6 RGB for each LNCore, and 6 from the Com Core. 18 RGB. I get 6 PWM from the Com Pro, and 6 from the Com Core. 12 PWM. I don't see how it's 24 fans unless you're talking about splitters or hubs. I mean, it's definitely overkill.

 

You could probably get away with two "2 way PWM splitters" on the Com Core or use a PWM hub to offload some of the fans. That would allow you do dump the Commander Pro. However, I think I would be more keep to drop the double LNCores which are the source of the problem. If you can find a two RGB Lighting Hubs ($10 USD each), then you can use those are Commander Pro ch 1 and 2, drop the LNPs, and then you will have a clear fan order path from Com Core -> C-Pro ch 1 -> C-Pro ch 2.

Thank you for the suggestion! By "C-Pro ch 1," are you referring to the LED 1, 3-pin channel? I'm not familiar with an RGB hub. Here's a twist: I have a 5V aRGB LED strip that I was planning on using with one of those LED channels. iCue won't manage 5V aRGB devices through Aura Sync. It can only manage 12V aRGB devices. Sigh.

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Yeah, I was wrong. It's not 24 fan RGB control. It's 30. Com Core=6, LN Cores=6+6, Commander Pro=6+6 (2 cahnnels). I am assuming you have 10 fans, 8 QL and 2 ML-Elite from the cooler.

 

All of the controllers can effect the lighting for their fans when CUE is not running. This is the Hardware Lighting Tab for each device. There is no advantage to one controller over another for this purpose. This thread was originally discussing how to make the global lighting patterns that move (color wave and visor) follow a specific path, as well as the general annoyance of having 2 identical devices that don't keep their place in the CUE order. To that end, one immediate fix on CUE is to rename the Lighting Node Core(s). Go the top right corner of the app and click on the icon to change the pictures to names. Those names are editable and you can rename the two LNCores and everything else, anything you want. It may be easier to distinguish them by LNC 1/LNC 2 or LNC top/LNC front, etc. That does not help with using global lighting.

 

The USB passthrough ports on the Commander Pro are just that -- passthroughs. They are not a direct connection from one device to another. It only allows the device to piggy back to MB USB 2 internal port so it can communicate with the software. However, if you want to get rid of some bulk, getting two RGB Lighting Hubs so you can use the Commander Pro's RGB 1 and RGB 2 channels will let you drop both LN Cores, give you two easily distinguishable devices (Com Core and Com Pro), as well and set a definite global lighting order. The Com Pro's RGB channels will always fire 1->2. You'll have to decide if that is worth the expense of the two RGB Lighting Hubs. See the thread below for pictures and more to help with identification and rules. I am also assuming the 4+4 split on the QL is a deliberate solution to deal with the 6 fan limit and there is a logical reason for 4 + 4, like 4x120 front and 4x120 top. If not, there might be other ways to work it with the Commander Core picking up more fans.

 

Corsair's iCue/Hardware RGB FAQ, Information/setup Diagrams

 

 

There are 3rd party adapters that will allow you to connect a standard 5v RGB strip to a Corsair controller. The normal pathway is to those RGB Channel ports on the Commander Pro or Lighting Node Pro. That would put a kink in the plan above. However if it is just 1 strip with a normal number of LEDs, there may be an adapter to connect it to a fan port on a Lighting Node Core. You then designate the strip as a fan with a like or greater number of LEDs. For example, a 10 LED strip could pose as a 12 LED HD Fan. That should work up to 16 LEDs, but some of the effects might be a little odd with 12+4 LL fans with outer/inner rings.

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Yeah, I was wrong. It's not 24 fan RGB control. It's 30. Com Core=6, LN Cores=6+6, Commander Pro=6+6 (2 channels). I am assuming you have 10 fans, 8 QL and 2 ML-Elite from the cooler.

Wow, 30. So it's not just overkill. It's... whatever is more than that. Orbital kill. :laughing:

 

I just have the 8 QL's. I replaced the 2 ML's with QL's to keep everything the same.

 

All of the controllers can effect the lighting for their fans when CUE is not running. This is the Hardware Lighting Tab for each device. There is no advantage to one controller over another for this purpose. This thread was originally discussing how to make the global lighting patterns that move (color wave and visor) follow a specific path, as well as the general annoyance of having 2 identical devices that don't keep their place in the CUE order.

Yes. That is also what I am trying to achieve: have Visor in hardware mode look right. When I was running some fans on the Com Pro plus one LNCore, and the other fans on the Com Core, I had two visor patterns going at the same time. Side note: the Com Core lights up a fraction of a second behind the Com Pro on boot. Maybe a full second.

 

To that end, one immediate fix on CUE is to rename the Lighting Node Core(s). Go the top right corner of the app and click on the icon to change the pictures to names. Those names are editable and you can rename the two LNCores and everything else, anything you want. It may be easier to distinguish them by LNC 1/LNC 2 or LNC top/LNC front, etc. That does not help with using global lighting.

Right, it doesn't help with global lighting. And in fact it doesn't help with software lighting, either. At least not with iCue v3.38.61. I tried using iCue 4.x, but it ended up not recognizing my ASUS Aura Sync resources. I'm considering trying again since both software suites have been updated.

 

The USB passthrough ports on the Commander Pro are just that -- passthroughs. They are not a direct connection from one device to another. It only allows the device to piggy back to MB USB 2 internal port so it can communicate with the software. However, if you want to get rid of some bulk, getting two RGB Lighting Hubs so you can use the Commander Pro's RGB 1 and RGB 2 channels will let you drop both LN Cores, give you two easily distinguishable devices (Com Core and Com Pro), as well and set a definite global lighting order. The Com Pro's RGB channels will always fire 1->2. You'll have to decide if that is worth the expense of the two RGB Lighting Hubs. See the thread below for pictures and more to help with identification and rules.

That's the answer, right there. Thank you for this! I wound up with 2 LNCores because at the time I was buying fans it was cheaper to buy 2x 3-packs of QL-120's each of which included an LNCore than it was to buy the individual fans. I used what I had available.

 

What's weird is that the LNCores did at least handle Visor correctly in hardware mode when connected to the USB pass through ports on the Com Pro; I didn't have two separate Visor patterns going in this configuration, even if the sequence was incorrect.

 

I am also assuming the 4+4 split on the QL is a deliberate solution to deal with the 6 fan limit and there is a logical reason for 4 + 4, like 4x120 front and 4x120 top. If not, there might be other ways to work it with the Commander Core picking up more fans.

The 4/4 split was done just to balance the power draw between the two LNCores. I tried lopsided fan distributions as well (2/6, 3/5) but they didn't affect how the LNCores were recognized. The LNCore with the AIO fans powered by the mobo fan headers was always recognized second. My preference is for those fans to be recognized first.

 

It might be worth mentioning that my ideal Visor rotation as far as fans go begins with the AIO radiator fan closest to the rear of the case, then the other radiator fan which is closer to the front of the case, then the three fans in the front of the case going from top to bottom, then the two bottom fans going from front to back, and finally the fan in the back. If I went with a 6/2 fan distribution on the LNCores with the AIO fans being last and on their own LNCore then it would probably work.

 

There are 3rd party adapters that will allow you to connect a standard 5v RGB strip to a Corsair controller. The normal pathway is to those RGB Channel ports on the Commander Pro or Lighting Node Pro. That would put a kink in the plan above. However if it is just 1 strip with a normal number of LEDs, there may be an adapter to connect it to a fan port on a Lighting Node Core. You then designate the strip as a fan with a like or greater number of LEDs. For example, a 10 LED strip could pose as a 12 LED HD Fan. That should work up to 16 LEDs, but some of the effects might be a little odd with 12+4 LL fans with outer/inner rings.

I have one of those adapters coming: I ordered it off of Ebay a few days ago. I was intending to use it to plug the 5V RGB strip into the one of the LED channels on the Com Pro. Your compelling solution of using 2x RGB Hubs is simple and elegant enough that I'll figure something else to do with the strip. It has 37 elements on it, so pretending that it's a fan will probably not work.

 

Again, I sincerely appreciate all of your assistance and advice. I am being overly verbose in my descriptions because when I was doing my research, I couldn't find details for an 8-fan configuration that also took hardware lighting for Visor into account. So much of what I've learned working with RGB has been through trial and error! My hope is that these details and your advice will help future system builders avoid so much lost time. :):

Edited by Gibsins
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If you only have 8 QL to manage, there may be a solution in hand. You must use the Commander Core to power the AIO pump. That’s 6 PWM and 6 RGB ports. You can then use 1 Lighting Node Core for the remainder. How you break them up 4/4, 5/3, or 6/2 does not matter from a 5v current perspective. It very much matters from a software mode programming standpoint and each will act like a separate lighting group. I can’t quite tell from your case how the 8 are arranged. Certainly 3 front and 1 rear, but then push/pull on the top radiator? Is there a place on the side for two more?

 

For global lighting link effects, the Com Core will go first and the LNCore next. This will also allow you to drop the pesky 2nd LNC and you don’t need RGB hubs for the Commander. The strip adapter is likely intended for the RGB channels on the Commander Pro and those will be available.

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I think you're on to something there! You know, since the LNCores work in sequence when they're both plugged into the USB passthroughs on the Com Pro (just the wrong sequence), I wonder what will happen when I have one LNCore plugged into the Com Pro, one Hub plugged into an LED channel, and the LED strip plugged into the other LED channel. It's worth a try!
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This has been a long, sometimes frustrating journey. I anticipate I'll have the final-final configuration completed this weekend, and the case all buttoned up (again). When it's all done, I'll post some video.

 

The introduction of the LED strip changed my entire outlook on what I was trying to achieve. Plugging it into an LED channel on the Com Pro looks so good! What happened next was getting the LED strip to participate in Visor at the right time. It took a lot of trial and error to finally find a sequence that I loved. Hooking the strip into the motherboard where it's not recognized by iCue is no longer an option.

 

That was the first domino.

 

That means using two RGB hubs instead of two LNCores, and having the Com Pro run all 8 fans from its LED channels is out. Which means getting the fans to rotate in the desired sequence in hardware mode is out. I've gone with a 5/3 fan split due to where I want the LED strip to be in the sequence. And it turns out that the LNCore turns on the RGB of its 5 fans before the 3 fans on the RGB hub attached to the Com Pro. We're still talking about fractions of a second, but if I'm willing to put up with that delay at boot then I should explore connecting fans back up to the Com Core. I may end up being able to get rid of both LNCores.

 

Thanks again for all your help!

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