@ballj (and anyone else who may be interested) a bunch of Aqua Computer kit arrived today so I've had a quick play to gain a better understanding of how the Aquaero 6 LT and the two Quadros that I bought interact with each other. This is a summary of my findings which I'll set out under the three four different configurations that I experimented with. I've also included a summary conclusion at the end of this note (so scroll down if you just want the TL/DR version).
Independent Devices (i.e. only one device connected to the PC at a time)
Independent Devices (i.e. only one device connected to the PC at a time)
- Single Aquaero: As was noted further up this page the Aquaero will only allow for a maximum of four curve controllers to be defined under the "Controllers" section which is available under your Aquaero device in the Aqua Suite.
- Single Quadro: There is no "Controllers" section under your Quadro device in Aqua Suite so on first glance it doesn't look like you can set up curves *but* (unlike the Aquareo) it is possible to set curves under the "Fans" section and you can do that for each fan (and presumably if you had a PWM pump connected to one of the fan headers that would work too).
- Conclusion: Both the Aquaero and the Quadro allows for four curves to be defined (I'd assume that the Octo would allow for eight, but I can't test that) when they are operated as independent devices.
- I had understood that the "flow 2" connector on the Aquaero could also function as an Aquabus connection, but with my limited testing it didn't appear to work like that for me - hence I was only able to test with one Quadro attached to the Aquaero in this way.
- Update: It's possible to connect more than one device on the Aquabus by using a Splitty9 or an alternative PWM hub or splitter cable as long as all four lines are connected to all headers (which may require some modification).
- As was noted further up this page when the Quadro is attached by Aquabus to an Aquaero it effectively becomes an extension of the Aquaero making its sensors and fan headers available to the Aquaero, i.e no separate Quadro appears in Aqua Suite.
- The number of curve controllers that can be defined under the "Controllers" section remains at a maximum of four and there is no option to set curves in the "Fans" section as you can for the Quadro when it is operated by itself.
- Conclusion 1: This configuration really doesn't buy you very much; all that it does is extend the number of sensor and PWM headers available to you - the max number of curve controls remains at four.
- Update:
Conclusion 2: Don't waste your money buying Aquabus Cable #53214 - they're not expensive c.f. the rest of the kit but they're largely redundant IMHO.(see update on USB + Aquabus connection)
- In this configuration all connected devices appear as discrete devices in Aqua Suite, meaning that:
- The Aquaero doesn't have access to the Quadros' sensors or PWM headers (this is a limitation but one that is unlikely to be an issue for anyone IMHO).
- You can still define up to four Curve Controllers for the Aquaero.
- You can still define curves for each of the four PWM headers on each Quadro.
- Conclusion: With this configuration you have the possibility to define up to 12 curves, four for each device. The "penalty" for that is that each device only has access to its own sensors and headers.
- In this configuration you have the best of both worlds in that you have the benefit of the full set of curve controllers that are possible via USB; and you also make the sensors and PWM headers of the Quadro available to the Aquaero via the Aquabus.
- Therefore in this particular configuration the Aquabus Cable #53214 does make sense.
- Connecting multiple devices via USB allows each device to operate independently and as such gives you the maximum number of curve controllers possible.
- It's also necessary to have the USB connection for system updates to your device so for the convenience of this alone it's most probably worthwhile to make this connection when you install your devices anyway.
- If you also need access to sensors and headers then this can be achieved by also having an Aquabus connection at the same time as the USB coonection.
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