Unsure where to connect cooler RGB connector

db73

db73

db73

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I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Edition cooler. A bit confused where to plug in the RGB connector on a Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X Mobo. I'm new to RGB and it's a little unclear from the labels on the mobo and the details in the manual. The connector is a 4-pin female type.

Next to the CPU_Fan header there are 3 other headers. One is CPU_Opt, which from the manual shows as 'Water cooling CPU fan header'. The next one is labelled 'G DV' and is a 3-pin connector. The manual shows this as 'D_LED1/D_LED2'. The 4th header is a 4-pin labelled 'BRG 12V'. In the manual this shows as 'LED_C1/LED_C2'. I thought this was the correct header. But the manual details this as being for 'RGB LED strip headers'! :-/

IMG-5718.jpg


The cooler does come with a controller. Do I just need to use this? Kind of imagined I'd be able to connect it to the mobo seeing as it's a pretty new model. As I said, new to RGB. This is my first RGB device! So :confused:
 
This cooler needs to be used with included controller. The controller has switches on to control the rgb colour and mode. the controller is power by sata and not needed to be plugged into the rgb header on the mobo :)
 
Mr Mcgoo said:
This cooler needs to be used with included controller. The controller has switches on to control the rgb colour and mode. the controller is power by sata and not needed to be plugged into the rgb header on the mobo :)
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Ah okay. That’s a shame. Was kind of hoping it could connect to mobo and be controlled from software. No worries. I’ll probably just set and forget anyway ;)
 
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darael said:
I wonder if you use the RGB controller when your motherboard doesn't have an RGB controller? If it's the same connector, try it.
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That’s what I thought. Wasn’t sure though if it’s not correct I might do some damage somewhere, hence why I posted here for advice. All new to me this RGB stuff :confused:
 
darael said:
Edit - Found this: https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/cooler-master-hyper-212-black-edition-rgb-silencio,5967.html
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The RGB version can use the included Molex-powered lighting controller or be integrated with the RGB controls of a certified compatible motherboard from Asus, ASRock, Gigabyte or MSI.
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Cheers for post ;) So, does that mean I can use the 4-pin RGB header on the mobo for this? Then control / sync with RGB Fusion. That would be good. Trying to work out if my mobo is certified compatible. Still confused! :confused:
 
Not sure if certification is really necessary. It's just an RGB header. Plug it into the 'BRG12v' 4 pin connector on your motherboard, it'll work fine.

The one with 3 pins next to it is for ARGB. Gives options for more advanced effects than just standard RGB.
 
db73 said:
Cheers for post ;) So, does that mean I can use the 4-pin RGB header on the mobo for this? Then control / sync with RGB Fusion. That would be good. Trying to work out if my mobo is certified compatible. Still confused! :confused:
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Unless you are 100% sure then I wouldn't - sticking 12v BRG through a 5v VDG/ARGB device will kill it.


darael said:
Edit - Found this: https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/cooler-master-hyper-212-black-edition-rgb-silencio,5967.html
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Whilst that should be true, I think there's also a newer version of the Hyper 212 that is ARGB - so worth checking exactly what is says on the back of the fan:
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/cooler-master-hyper-212-rgb.289594/

A 4 Pin female connector isn't definitely a sign of 12v RGB either, as some manufacturers have used the 4 pin version anyway for ARGB (without blanking the "key" hole).


If the included controller can do rainbow effects rather than just individual colours, it's likely 5v ARGB
https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/case-fan/sickleflow-120-argb/
 
Tried Hyper 212 fan RGB connector on mobo BRG 12V header ........... worked ;) I can't get the range of effects I was getting from the included controller. Maybe the software? I'm using RGB Fusion 2.0, which seems a bit limited. Anyway, fan LED working on mobo header so all good ;)
 
.......... Bought a Corsair SP140 RGB Elite fan to replace a Be Quiet 140mm fan that came with the case (moved this to the case front so I had two of these fans there). Didn't realise Corsair have their own system of connecting / controlling fans. Unable to connect the RGB connector to motherboard. Don't really want to have to buy extra bits just to get this working. Have a second 4-pin RGB header on the mobo. So thinking just a 140mm RGB fan with 4-pin RGB header would be the easiest way forward. Couldn't find much. Plenty of ARGB options. Only RGB I found so far is the Cooler Master MasterFan MF140. I didn't realise RGB was such a PITA. Thought it was more standardised than this. NOPE!! :D

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/case-fan/masterfan-mf140r-rgb/
 
BACK AGAIN!! :D Working on a new build for my son. Bought a Thermaltake View 200 Tempered Glass ARGB case and a Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX DDR4 motherboard. Small problem - there are no ARGB (or even RGB) headers on the motherboard. I took it for granted that most Mobos by now would have this capacity. Bad assumption!

So, thinking what the best way forward is - get a new Mobo with ARGB headers or is there another solution I could use? I was looking at ARGB fan controllers. It's a bit of a minefield though. I'm not sure what would work or how some of them work. Are there any other solutions for fan and lightning control where a system doesn't have any onboard solutions.

Cheers :)
 
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db73 said:
Small problem - there are no ARGB (or even RGB) headers on the motherboard. I took it for granted that most Mobos by now would have this capacity. Bad assumption!
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You sure? I looked in the manual and I thought you have one of each (bottom of board, near the middle).
 
Tetras said:
You sure? I looked in the manual and I thought you have one of each (bottom of board, near the middle).
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There is something in that area labelled, I think, DLED. Would that be it? On my own Gigabyte Gaming X board there are specific RGB and ARGB headers (as shown in pic in OP in this thread). The B760M DS3H AX definitely doesn't have those.
 
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db73 said:
There is something in that area labelled, I think, DLED. Would that be it? On my own Gigabyte Gaming X board there are specific RGB and ARGB headers (as shown in pic in OP in this thread). The B760M DS3H AX definitely doesn't have those.
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I find RGB stuff confusing in general, it really needs to be better described, but in the manual they talked about 12v and 5v headers, the same way that other boards do for their ARGB and RGB headers, so I think they're the same thing.

This thread suggests that a strip header is indeed the same as an ARGB/RGB header:
 
db73 said:
I can't get the range of effects I was getting from the included controller.
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All my rgb items either show as green because I love the old style green on black of past films/ tv show screens, plus I like the Borg too, when I am bored of that I set everything to rainbow.
Now, I don't bother switching between the two, I just leave it all on rainbow all of the time, it seems the most rgb, of rgb things to do with it all!
 
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Tetras said:
I find RGB stuff confusing in general, it really needs to be better described, but in the manual they talked about 12v and 5v headers, the same way that other boards do for their ARGB and RGB headers, so I think they're the same thing.
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3pin ARGB headers are 5v , while 4 pin RGB headers are 12v so forcing a 3 pin 5v argb item's socket onto a 12v 4 pin header is what all the fuss is about,[pop!!]( for the item, and maybe the motherboard too), at the end of the day, argb are 3 pin, but RGB are 4 pin, so it shouldn't be too confusing really, the socket matches the header, most of ocuk's rgb fan stuff are advertised with what voltage they take, and thus how many pins they use, which they advise on too, even amazon lists rgb fans as what pin header they use and the corresponding voltage they use along with it, board makers trying to make things be lablled as brg. has super confused the market, they are trying to help, but have just made it more confusing! Esp because some of the fan makers are following suit and putting out some BRG labelled fans ,but at a disjointed level of release​
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You don't get 5v RGB 4 pin headers and you don't get 3 pin12v aARGB headers, basically,you only get 12v 4 pin RGB headers, and 5v 3 pin ARGB headers,​
argb fans came out first, addressable red green blue, which set the standard for calling the rgb stuff rgb, but as that went into the future of rgb gear just being called rgb, things got confusing, because newer rgb stuff was 12v and needed 4 pins, not 3, but then you had loads of older motherboars with argb headers, so 3 pin socket argb gear was/is still sold to satisfy that market, and argb headers are still put onnewer motherboards, so people can reuse their old argb stuff.​
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It super confused me wanting to bling out my super dooper current build, I'm still not quite sure how the person who built it for me got them all to work, but my research paid off, and I had exactly the correct amount of bling fans needed for my motherboard's rgb, and argb headers, the tough part for me was then working out how to control them all at the same time, which for me was within the asus armoury crate​
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sorry, I'm not very good at condensing what I am saying any more, so I aplogise for the wall of text post, but I thought that you might benefit from what I learnt recently :)​
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I'll have a small go at condensing..​
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..Voltage doesn't really matter, it's just sockets matching headers really,​
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RGB= 12v = 4pin (red green blue and an earth)​
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ARGB -= 5v = 3 pin (power, data, and an earth,) the data pin is telling the item what lights to run and how (addressable) this is more digital than RGB, which, in turn, is more analogue really​
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(*never* force a 3 pin socket onto a 4 pin header)​
 
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db73 said:
There is something in that area labelled, I think, DLED. Would that be it? On my own Gigabyte Gaming X board there are specific RGB and ARGB headers (as shown in pic in OP in this thread). The B760M DS3H AX definitely doesn't have those.
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Thanks for replies, especially above with detailed explanation.

In reference to my above post - I noticed that the photo in my OP does also show D_LED on those headers. I was looking at the G_DV and BRG12V labels and thinking I needed these on the new build mobo. But, I should actually be looking for the D_LED 3-pin header, which this mobo does have. So, I should be okay.

Only remaining question - how many fans can you daisy chain onto a single header? Or, is it better to buy a splitter/controller and connect all the fans to this and then this to the D_LED header?
 
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