ML / LL Fans and RGB Control

Ok dumb question here.... Every one says LL and ML fans have to be on Separate RGB Channel for iCUE to operate the RGBs.

 

Now I say that's a load of codswallop as if you hit the Instant Lighting they all are controlled Simultaneously so why cant I control ML and LL RGBs with scripting the same way or am i being dumb here ?

It's not that they can't physically be connected to the same hub. It's that you won't get the lighting effects to work as intended.

 

The programming unit uses the fan LED count as a base number for lighting and timing. So if you have LL x 4 fans, it programs 16-16-16-16 for the lighting and timing. Specifically 12 outer/4 inner and that does matter for certain effects. The limitation is you can only designate 1 fan type per channel.

 

If your fan arrangement is LL-LL-LL-ML-ML-LL, you must tell the controller LL x 5 to get it generate enough LEDs to cover. The problem is that when it gets to the first ML 4 LED fan, it sees that as 1/4 of an LL, the next ML is the 2nd 1/4, and then the last LL gets 1/2 of "LL #4" and 1/2 of "LL #5". For static or non-moving effects, it doesn't really matter as long as the lights are on. However, any kind of preset like Pong, Heartbeat, Rotary stack, or other moving dynamic pattern will be both off in terms of per fan lighting and uneven in speed as it races through the 4 LED ML, while appearing slower on the 16 LED LL.

 

Ultimately, you can mix and match most everything (except SP-RGB), but it puts limits on what you can do cleanly and easily. The warning is strongly made to try and prevent people from making accidental purchases that put them in an awkward position for lighting control. If you do have to mix fans, you likely get the best results by putting the non-designated fan at the end of the chain. (LL-LL-LL-ML vs LL-LL-ML-LL)

i habe 4 x LLs and 2 x MLs (ones on the Hydro 115i) they wouldn't work at all plugged into the RGB HUB :-( 1234(lls)56(MLs)

You mentioned instant lighting worked (as it should). In your Lighting Setup Tab for the controller (Lighting Node Pro, Commander Pro, or Core device) make sure you have set it up as "LL fans x 5". That should apply the lighting to all LEDs. You'll have to check and see which of the LEDs in the "LL picture" correspond to your two ML fans, although covering the whole thing is the easiest thing to do.

 

Those extra 8 'software generated' LEDs in that pattern will create a slight pause at the end of any moving pattern. Static patterns should appear normal.

Is this a "Platinum" H115i? If so, that does give you another Lighting Controller for the 2 ML, although it will make them act like a separate group to the 4 LL.

 

If this is not a H115i Platinum (or new Elite), then the ML with the cooler are not RGB.

So we should not mix ML fans and LL fans if we want the best lighting effects?

 

I have 6 ML RGB fans in my computer system.

 

I am now thinking to leave the 3 ML RGB fans on the H150i radiator as they are but changing the 2 top fans and 1 rear fan from ML to LL RGB.

 

Is it advisable?

So we should not mix ML fans and LL fans if we want the best lighting effects?

 

I have 6 ML RGB fans in my computer system.

 

I am now thinking to leave the 3 ML RGB fans on the H150i radiator as they are but changing the 2 top fans and 1 rear fan from ML to LL RGB.

 

Is it advisable?

 

It depends, really, on the effects you choose, how you order them on the hub and if the occassional wonkiness with some effects is OK with you. They'll work - but effects, especially sequential ones, will be off ... and possibly very weird. For example ... just for giggles, I put 4 strips that then connected to a Fan Hub with 6 ML fans on a single channel. This is a total of 64 LEDs that I then configured as 4 LL fans (16 * 4 = 64 LEDs). It all worked and everything lit up but effects like Visor and Sequential were nothing at all like they would be on the fans. But keep it on Spiral Rainbow and you won't really notice the weirdness.

So we should not mix ML fans and LL fans if we want the best lighting effects?

 

I am now thinking to leave the 3 ML RGB fans on the H150i radiator as they are but changing the 2 top fans and 1 rear fan from ML to LL RGB.

 

It depends on your expectations. If you want to quickly pick an effect and everything does exactly what it is supposed to do, no messing around, no math... then don't mix the fans. As mentioned above, if you just want to turn your fans static red or sparkle blue (marquee), then it doesn't matter and combinations will work fine.

 

Specifically for your 3 ML + 3 LL proposed set-up, You most likely would want to run it in reverse from back to front. LL-LL-LL (1-3) then ML-ML-ML in slots 4-6. You tell CUE you have 4 LL fans. This gives you the special effects LL gets with the front ML fans acting like 3/4 of a LL or the outer ring. This can get you through some of the dynamic effects, but for complex patterns like Pong, Infinity (QL-Elite), Gate (QL-Elite), etc., it just won't look right. You can use the manual wave, gradient, static settings to create patterns that will work, but that is a fair amount of work and experimentation.