Lots of RGB- need some advice!

darrendb · 25 Sep 2023 at 18:25

Just starting to build a pc, I've got 9 corsair RBG fans, a corsair hydro x RGB CPU block and an EK RGB reservoir.

The 9 fans are easy, I've got 2x LED hubs that I can use for the RGB plugged in to a commander pro. 3 x PWM splitters to plug into the commander pro for the fan control.

Now stuck as what to do with the hydro x and res?

ttaskmaster · 25 Sep 2023 at 18:51

Start looking at Aquacomputer's offerings.
They do a fan hub designed to handle Corsair's proprietary connectors, and other kit such as the Farbwerk range for RGB devices.
You also get Aquasuite to work with it all, which is well worth it.

Jamin280672 · 25 Sep 2023 at 19:11

darrendb said:
Just starting to build a pc, I've got 9 corsair RBG fans, a corsair hydro x RGB CPU block and an EK RGB reservoir.

The 9 fans are easy, I've got 2x LED hubs that I can use for the RGB plugged in to a commander pro. 3 x PWM splitters to plug into the commander pro for the fan control.

Now stuck as what to do with the hydro x and res?

Why not just plug those final 2 devices into the argb headers on the motherboard rather than bother with another controller, you could always use a splitter if you only have 1 available header.

TheVoice · 26 Sep 2023 at 15:55

What Corsair fans did you go with, out of interest? I've recently swapped some plain ML140s for AF140 RGB Elites and the noise and vibration from them is absolutely horrendous, so they're going back.

darrendb · 26 Sep 2023 at 22:01

Jamin280672 said:
Why not just plug those final 2 devices into the argb headers on the motherboard rather than bother with another controller, you could always use a splitter if you only have 1 available header.

so, i have:

2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2)

I've actually got 3 further devices, the corsair cpu block, the EK reservoir and an asus (aurora) graphics card.

Will i be able to connect them up and control the rgb on those two headers?

darrendb · 26 Sep 2023 at 22:02

TheVoice said:
What Corsair fans did you go with, out of interest? I've recently swapped some plain ML140s for AF140 RGB Elites and the noise and vibration from them is absolutely horrendous, so they're going back.

LL120's - can't comment on them yet as i'm a way off getting it powered up

Jamin280672 · 27 Sep 2023 at 04:17

darrendb said:
so, i have:

2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2)

I've actually got 3 further devices, the corsair cpu block, the EK reservoir and an asus (aurora) graphics card.

Will i be able to connect them up and control the rgb on those two headers?

Yes.

The Asus GPU shouldn't need connecting to a header, you should just be able to control the RGB on it as it is, plugged into the GPU slot using the Asus software, works the same way RGB ram does, no cable required.

darrendb · 27 Sep 2023 at 10:56

Jamin280672 said:
Yes.

The Asus GPU shouldn't need connecting to a header, you should just be able to control the RGB on it as it is, plugged into the GPU slot using the Asus software, works the same way RGB ram does, no cable required.

no I'm confusing things not giving all the info, apologies. its an EKWB card, so RGB is on the water block, separate cable. Also, mobo has an extra connector for rgb, so in total it is:

Corsair water block
gpu water block
EK reservoir

mobo has:

2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2)
1x RGB LED connector(JRGB)

So i am thinking of using one of them for the corsair water block, standard corsair rgb cable, this will then be picked up in icue.

and the other to daisy chain the gpu water block and res, seeing as they both have the same connector, seen below.

can you help what cables I need to get those three connected to the mobo?

Jamin280672 · 27 Sep 2023 at 16:12

darrendb said:
no I'm confusing things not giving all the info, apologies. its an EKWB card, so RGB is on the water block, separate cable. Also, mobo has an extra connector for rgb, so in total it is:

Corsair water block
gpu water block
EK reservoir

mobo has:

2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2)
1x RGB LED connector(JRGB)

So i am thinking of using one of them for the corsair water block, standard corsair rgb cable, this will then be picked up in icue.

and the other to daisy chain the gpu water block and res, seeing as they both have the same connector, seen below.

can you help what cables I need to get those three connected to the mobo?

That image is a 3 pin ARGB cable

1x RGB LED connector(JRGB) ---- This sounds like a 4 pin to me, not really used much anymore, dont try and plug anything 3 pin into it, you will kill it, this port supply's 12 volts to devices.

2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2) ---- This sounds like 2 ARGB connectors, addressable RGB connectors, 5 volts.

So yes, you can plug the Corsair water block into one.

And all you'll need to buy is a 2 way RGB splitter cable, they are only a few quid and then you'll be able to connect that to the other ARGB 3 pin header on your motherboard and connect the other end to both the GPU water block and res. This is what you need, https://www.overclockers.co.uk/akas...Yklk2a0xowfoafBlQILufhqwMiW_dDIEaAoMFEALw_wcB

darrendb · 27 Sep 2023 at 17:54

Jamin280672 said:
That image is a 3 pin ARGB cable

1x RGB LED connector(JRGB) ---- This sounds like a 4 pin to me, not really used much anymore, dont try and plug anything 3 pin into it, you will kill it, this port supply's 12 volts to devices.

2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2) ---- This sounds like 2 ARGB connectors, addressable RGB connectors, 5 volts.

So yes, you can plug the Corsair water block into one.

And all you'll need to buy is a 2 way RGB splitter cable, they are only a few quid and then you'll be able to connect that to the other ARGB 3 pin header on your motherboard and connect the other end to both the GPU water block and res. This is what you need, https://www.overclockers.co.uk/akas...Yklk2a0xowfoafBlQILufhqwMiW_dDIEaAoMFEALw_wcB

Thanks so much, ordered the splitter cable and confirmed i have a cable to convert the corsair to argb.

Desperate to get this thing fired up!

darrendb · 1 Oct 2023 at 01:59

Jamin280672 said:
That image is a 3 pin ARGB cable

1x RGB LED connector(JRGB) ---- This sounds like a 4 pin to me, not really used much anymore, dont try and plug anything 3 pin into it, you will kill it, this port supply's 12 volts to devices.

2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2) ---- This sounds like 2 ARGB connectors, addressable RGB connectors, 5 volts.

So yes, you can plug the Corsair water block into one.

And all you'll need to buy is a 2 way RGB splitter cable, they are only a few quid and then you'll be able to connect that to the other ARGB 3 pin header on your motherboard and connect the other end to both the GPU water block and res. This is what you need, https://www.overclockers.co.uk/akas...Yklk2a0xowfoafBlQILufhqwMiW_dDIEaAoMFEALw_wcB

So all was going well....

fans and RAM controlled in iCue.
CPU block no light and not showing in iCue
GPU block seems to have a light but not detected
res rainbow

installed MSI Centre

No I can control RGB on the res, great.

But it took over the RAM from iCue

Still no CPU block, or GPU

Installed Armoury crate, doesn't detect GPU.

on one of the ARGB headers i have a splitter with both the GPU and res connected, on the other I have the corsair cpu block, via supplied ARGB converter cable.

Mind blown.....given up for the night.

Jamin280672 · 1 Oct 2023 at 05:01

darrendb said:
So all was going well....

fans and RAM controlled in iCue.
CPU block no light and not showing in iCue
GPU block seems to have a light but not detected
res rainbow

installed MSI Centre

No I can control RGB on the res, great.

But it took over the RAM from iCue

Still no CPU block, or GPU

Installed Armoury crate, doesn't detect GPU.

on one of the ARGB headers i have a splitter with both the GPU and res connected, on the other I have the corsair cpu block, via supplied ARGB converter cable.

Mind blown.....given up for the night.

What motherboard do you have ? MSI or ASUS, stick to your motherboards specific software, either way it should be working fine, check your connections.

EDIT: just seen your image in the other thread, looks good, bit of a nasty bend there between what looks like the pump output and bottom rad, short piece, or is that a drain ?, the res is lit up so I would say thats a connection issue, it could also be the software, you need the MSI software, when you install it and it starts up, its very common for things to get knocked out before its configured, personally, im using a piece of software called OpenRGB, takes a bit of getting used to, im not sure if it will control your corsair equipment or not, but its free and saves having multiple RGB software on your PC, its kind of a 1 for all https://openrgb.org/

darrendb · 1 Oct 2023 at 09:03

Jamin280672 said:
What motherboard do you have ? MSI or ASUS, stick to your motherboards specific software, either way it should be working fine, check your connections.

EDIT: just seen your image in the other thread, looks good, bit of a nasty bend there between what looks like the pump output and bottom rad, short piece, or is that a drain ?, the res is lit up so I would say thats a connection issue, it could also be the software, you need the MSI software, when you install it and it starts up, its very common for things to get knocked out before its configured, personally, im using a piece of software called OpenRGB, takes a bit of getting used to, im not sure if it will control your corsair equipment or not, but its free and saves having multiple RGB software on your PC, its kind of a 1 for all https://openrgb.org/

Thanks I'll take a look at that. I'm going to double check the connections today, the bottom one is a pain to get to now lol.

If you mean to the right of the pump thats a drain. the bottom rad is flipped so input/output are to the left of the case

darrendb · 1 Oct 2023 at 10:05

Jamin280672 said:
What motherboard do you have ? MSI or ASUS, stick to your motherboards specific software, either way it should be working fine, check your connections.

EDIT: just seen your image in the other thread, looks good, bit of a nasty bend there between what looks like the pump output and bottom rad, short piece, or is that a drain ?, the res is lit up so I would say thats a connection issue, it could also be the software, you need the MSI software, when you install it and it starts up, its very common for things to get knocked out before its configured, personally, im using a piece of software called OpenRGB, takes a bit of getting used to, im not sure if it will control your corsair equipment or not, but its free and saves having multiple RGB software on your PC, its kind of a 1 for all https://openrgb.org/

I just moved the CPU block to the splitter plugged into the top argb header. that now works, GPU LED has gone out, but I couldnt control it before anyway!

Partial success, I have removed Armour Crate as I got that for the GPU but wouldnt detect it. So no problems left are:

1. I can get a tripple splitter to plug the GPU back in, will try the software you mention above to see if that detects it
2. The only thing that detects the reservoir and CPU block is MSI Center! the Corsair CPU block isn't detected in iCue!
3. MSI centre takes over control of the RGB ram from iCue :-/

Wish i knew what I was doing haha!

In other news, I ran a stress test on CPU and temps remained stable under 70, assuming this is decent. Just need to stress GPU now with Afterburner?

Jamin280672 · 1 Oct 2023 at 11:37

darrendb said:
I just moved the CPU block to the splitter plugged into the top argb header. that now works, GPU LED has gone out, but I couldnt control it before anyway!

Partial success, I have removed Armour Crate as I got that for the GPU but wouldnt detect it. So no problems left are:

1. I can get a tripple splitter to plug the GPU back in, will try the software you mention above to see if that detects it
2. The only thing that detects the reservoir and CPU block is MSI Center! the Corsair CPU block isn't detected in iCue!
3. MSI centre takes over control of the RGB ram from iCue :-/

Wish i knew what I was doing haha!

In other news, I ran a stress test on CPU and temps remained stable under 70, assuming this is decent. Just need to stress GPU now with Afterburner?

I just moved the CPU block to the splitter plugged into the top argb header. that now works, GPU LED has gone out, but I couldnt control it before anyway! - What do you mean you couldnt control it ? did it light up, control would be through Dragon Centre.

1. I can get a tripple splitter to plug the GPU back in, will try the software you mention above to see if that detects it - Yes you can get a 3 way splitter, thats what im using, Alaska 1 to 3 aRGB splitter AK-CBLD07-50BK https://www.overclockers.co.uk/akas...6b_pagO1ZA_z812lfDscg0T72nrcFQYpK5sGA-iM0cNpU

2. The only thing that detects the reservoir and CPU block is MSI Center! the Corsair CPU block isn't detected in iCue! - No it wont be as its plugged into your motherboard, so that sounds right, icue will only pick it up if its plugged into the commander.

3. MSI centre takes over control of the RGB ram from iCue :-/ - Yes that sounds about right, but have a look through Dragon Centre, there should be a way to disable that if you want icue controlling it, again, because its plugged into the motherboard

Has the GPU block ever worked, ie if you unplug the CPU block from the splitter and plug the GPU into the splitter, does it work then ?

Jay85 · 1 Oct 2023 at 16:18

ttaskmaster said:
Start looking at Aquacomputer's offerings.
They do a fan hub designed to handle Corsair's proprietary connectors, and other kit such as the Farbwerk range for RGB devices.
You also get Aquasuite to work with it all, which is well worth it.

this, i use the Farbwerk as well and its so easy to setup and config can be a little tricky but once you get the hang of it, there's so many options for RGB. Highly recommend it.