adapter for 3pin JST-SM connectors to Addressable RGB header (4-1 pin ADD_HEADER)

[jordanjdickow]

I am trying to find something to connect an RGB LED strip to my asus motherboard, the strip is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZHB9M6A and the motherboard is https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/ROG_STRIX_Z370-E_GAMING/E13238_ROG_STRIX_Z370-E_GAMING_UM_WEB_082417.pdf?_ga=2.191362154.1918983732.1536601335-810473961.1536167517#p15. The strip is 3pin JST-SM and the motherboard connector requires Addressable RGB header (4-1 pin ADD_HEADER). Can someone point me to the right adapter I can't seem to find one.

 

[Paperdoc]

You probably cannot do exactly what you want. Connections can be made, even if you have to do your own custom soldering. BUT there's a real limit on power!

The RGB strip you linked is 5 m long containing 150 LED's, and consumes 45W at 5 VDC. That is, 9 Amps total if you use all of that strip. It is of the Addressable RGB design, and your mobo HAS one header of that type to use. HOWEVER, it is limited to 3A, (60 LED's of some types of strips) max. Given the specs' of that Alitov system, you could use at max only one third (50 LED's) of the strip to conform to the Amperage limit of your mobo header. You may see on the strip's page that the note attached to the wiring diagram specifies that you must select your power supply unit according to just how much of the strip you plan to use.

I looked around for an Addressable RGB Hub that gets power from a PSU output sufficient to power 9A total load, and accepting a control signal input from the mobo Addressable RGB header. I could only find two such devices, and each was limited to about 35 W (7 A, still not enough for ALL of the RGB strip kit you linked. Unless, of course, you try to buy TWO such Hubs and "stack" them feeding the second one's control input port from an output port of the first. Then you might be able to use all of that Alitove kit if you split the long strip into two or more pieces connected to the Hubs separately. I can not tell from the descriptions of the Hubs I found whether EACH output port can do up to 7 A, or whether the limit for a single output port is less than that.

 

[jordanjdickow]

You probably cannot do exactly what you want. Connections can be made, even if you have to do your own custom soldering. BUT there's a real limit on power!

The RGB strip you linked is 5 m long containing 150 LED's, and consumes 45W at 5 VDC. That is, 9 Amps total if you use all of that strip. It is of the Addressable RGB design, and your mobo HAS one header of that type to use. HOWEVER, it is limited to 3A, (60 LED's of some types of strips) max. Given the specs' of that Alitov system, you could use at max only one third (50 LED's) of the strip to conform to the Amperage limit of your mobo header. You may see on the strip's page that the note attached to the wiring diagram specifies that you must select your power supply unit according to just how much of the strip you plan to use.

I looked around for an Addressable RGB Hub that gets power from a PSU output sufficient to power 9A total load, and accepting a control signal input from the mobo Addressable RGB header. I could only find two such devices, and each was limited to about 35 W (7 A, still not enough for ALL of the RGB strip kit you linked. Unless, of course, you try to buy TWO such Hubs and "stack" them feeding the second one's control input port from an output port of the first. Then you might be able to use all of that Alitove kit if you split the long strip into two or more pieces connected to the Hubs separately. I can not tell from the descriptions of the Hubs I found whether EACH output port can do up to 7 A, or whether the limit for a single output port is less than that.

Thank you for putting all the time into helping me with this question I appreciate it. I have a few questions:
1. I was planning on cutting the strip to the max 60 LEDs actually, would this work?
2. You mention using 50 of the LEDs, why 50 and not 60?
3. If I connect the strip as is (all 150 leds), will something break or will the LEDs just not have enough power to work?
4. Is making a connector on my own the only option, or does an adapter exist off the shelf?

 

[Paperdoc]

Well, the mobo header specs say max 3A, which also MAY mean 60 LED's, but that depends on the actual LED specs. The Alitove system specs say it has 150 LED's and consumes 45 W, which is 9 A at 5 VDC. So 3 A max from the header can power up to 1/3 of the entire Alitove system - that's 50 LED's.

If you are doing it this way, you probably have to manufacture your own adapter cable. To start you need three things:
(a) a cable with a "standard" ARGB female connector that you can plug into your mobo header, like this

https://www.amazon.com/XSPC-3-Pin-Extension-Cable-Black/dp/B07D51MJM5/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1536852771&sr=8-9&keywords=addressable+RGB+cable

You can then cut off the male end, bare the wires, and splice in onto the wires for your shortened Alitove strip.

(b) the wiring code of the Alitove strip. The diagrams on that Amazon page show that it uses RED for the +5 VDC supply, BLACK for Ground, and GREEN for the signal line.

(c) the pinout for your mobo's ARGB header, as shown on p. 1-21 of its manual. Using that and a resistance tester you can figure out exactly which bared line of the decapitated extension cable in (a) above should connect to which wire of the Alitove unit, then connect, solder and tape them.

 

[jordanjdickow]

Well, the mobo header specs say max 3A, which also MAY mean 60 LED's, but that depends on the actual LED specs. The Alitove system specs say it has 150 LED's and consumes 45 W, which is 9 A at 5 VDC. So 3 A max from the header can power up to 1/3 of the entire Alitove system - that's 50 LED's.

If you are doing it this way, you probably have to manufacture your own adapter cable. To start you need three things:
(a) a cable with a "standard" ARGB female connector that you can plug into your mobo header, like this

https://www.amazon.com/XSPC-3-Pin-Extension-Cable-Black/dp/B07D51MJM5/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1536852771&sr=8-9&keywords=addressable+RGB+cable

You can then cut off the male end, bare the wires, and splice in onto the wires for your shortened Alitove strip.

(b) the wiring code of the Alitove strip. The diagrams on that Amazon page show that it uses RED for the +5 VDC supply, BLACK for Ground, and GREEN for the signal line.

(c) the pinout for your mobo's ARGB header, as shown on p. 1-21 of its manual. Using that and a resistance tester you can figure out exactly which bared line of the decapitated extension cable in (a) above should connect to which wire of the Alitove unit, then connect, solder and tape them.

I may be able to manufacture my own adapter (i.e get help from someone else), but is there a similar RGB strip you know of or could find that makes the process overall easier?

 

[Paperdoc]

Alitove makes several items, including ones that are shorter (60 LEDS) but still would need to be shortened to 50. BUT it appears all their RGB strips use those same JST-SM connectors, so they all need an adapter to connect to a common mobo ARGB header. It seems all their products are aimed more at a DIY crowd who want to create custom lighting systems, including programming the systems themselves using supplied software packages. It happens that, IF you make an adapter or modify the wiring on their strips they CAN be controlled by a mobo header if you tell the mobo software tool the type of controller chip inside the strip.

Now, for simpler applications where you just plug it into a mobo header and it works, Alitove is not the supplier. Corsair sells several versions of this sort of thing, but they all basically require that you use one of their own controllers with their connectors, and that increases price. On Amazon I found this set from Phanteks

https://www.amazon.com/Phanteks-PH-DRGBLED_Combo_01-Digital-Adapter-Compatible/dp/B07C1ZFRWW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1536938438&sr=8-7&keywords=Addressable+RGB+Strip

It consists of two Addressable RGB strips each about 15" long, an adapter cable to connect from one of them to the common mobo ARGB header, and an extension cable to connect one strip to the next. Each strip has both a male and a female connector on its opposite ends so you can daisy-chain them together. Each strip consumes at max 0.72A, or 1.44A for the pair in one set. Thus you could buy two sets and string together four strips for a total just under the 3.0 A limit. That would make a total lighted strip length of about 60" or 5 feet, but in four separate strips. The strips are thicker than the Alitove ones and not specified that you can just cut them shorter if you want. They contain magnets so they are easy to place inside your case, and come also with adhesive strips to make their attachment more secure.

 

[jordanjdickow]

Alitove makes several items, including ones that are shorter (60 LEDS) but still would need to be shortened to 50. BUT it appears all their RGB strips use those same JST-SM connectors, so they all need an adapter to connect to a common mobo ARGB header. It seems all their products are aimed more at a DIY crowd who want to create custom lighting systems, including programming the systems themselves using supplied software packages. It happens that, IF you make an adapter or modify the wiring on their strips they CAN be controlled by a mobo header if you tell the mobo software tool the type of controller chip inside the strip.

Now, for simpler applications where you just plug it into a mobo header and it works, Alitove is not the supplier. Corsair sells several versions of this sort of thing, but they all basically require that you use one of their own controllers with their connectors, and that increases price. On Amazon I found this set from Phanteks

https://www.amazon.com/Phanteks-PH-DRGBLED_Combo_01-Digital-Adapter-Compatible/dp/B07C1ZFRWW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1536938438&sr=8-7&keywords=Addressable+RGB+Strip

It consists of two Addressable RGB strips each about 15" long, an adapter cable to connect from one of them to the common mobo ARGB header, and an extension cable to connect one strip to the next. Each strip has both a male and a female connector on its opposite ends so you can daisy-chain them together. Each strip consumes at max 0.72A, or 1.44A for the pair in one set. Thus you could buy two sets and string together four strips for a total just under the 3.0 A limit. That would make a total lighted strip length of about 60" or 5 feet, but in four separate strips. The strips are thicker than the Alitove ones and not specified that you can just cut them shorter if you want. They contain magnets so they are easy to place inside your case, and come also with adhesive strips to make their attachment more secure.

Thank you for the very useful reply, I may go with those! How do I know if the LEDs will be bright enough, or have accurate color?

 

[Paperdoc]

Can't really tell you that. The Phanteks web page specifies that each 15" strip contains 30 LED's, but does not specify light output or color, or even what LED types they use.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

Anyone else notice that most PC enthusiasts are completely unaware of products that aren't produced and/or branded by a PC company e.g. corsair, phanteks, asus, etc? Instead of using your motherboard's addressable header (which btw, is complete BS that Asus, for example, uses a completely non-standard 4 minus 1 pin addressable connection instead of the industry standard and generic 3 pin JST connector like 99.9% of the led strips produced) you should consider using a NON PC brand digital controller to control your addressable RGB LEDs, that's what I do and there's numerous advantages. First, generic digital controllers are CHEAP starting at under $10. Second, they can control, even the cheapest ones, way, way more pixels than ANY addressable motherboard header in existence, usually they're able to control at least 2048 (that's right, two thousand forty eight) while the Asus header maxes out at 150 and I believe Gigabyte/Aorus is the most with a paltry 300 pixels. Third, they don't necessarily have to be powered off your PC's PSU, though they can be. Fourth, many allow for full software control through free, open source programs like LED Strip Studio 2, Chromation Systems ColorMotion v1 LED Control Software, GLEDIATOR, LED Strip Studio which are all 100% free, require absolutely no knowledge of programming, have easy to use graphical interfaces, and best of all, allow for many, many more control options than any motherboard manufacturer's proprietary software like Asus Sync, Gigabyte Fusion, Asrock Polychrome. The final, and perhaps the greatest advantage, is that by using a standard, non PC generic controlller, you can easily use addressable RGB strips that aren't branded by a PC company and therefore way, way more expensive for absolutely no reason. For instance, this Asus branded addressable strip is only 60cm long, and has only 30 or 60 LEDs/meter while costing $30 ( https://www.amazon.com/ROG-Addressable-LED-Lighting-addressable/dp/B07BQ2MSXC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540133926&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+addressable+rgb+strip ), meanwhile, this addressable strip (which is what I have used) is 1 meter (100 cm) long, and has 144 LEDs/meter while being only $16, about half the price while have more than double the LEDs and 33% longer ( https://www.amazon.com/ALITOVE-Individually-Addressable-Programmable-Waterproof/dp/B019DYZNU0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1540134022&sr=8-4&keywords=144+addressable+rgb+strip ).

If You go with a generic controller and strips, you'll never have to worry about proprietary connections, being locked into some manufacturer's ecosystem, and then ripped off price wise after being locked in. You also get to use free software that allows for much greater control as well. Also, you then have the option to use exotic LED strips like I do, for example double and triple row strips, flexible "neon" strips which are housed in a translucent silicon tubing so that it acts to diffuse and eliminate hot spots and basically looks like a neon sign. Not sure if HTML markup is allowed, but I just ordered this:

 

[jcjw]

did you figure anything out? I cant find any suitable cheap controllers or anything but I just want to connect a 1 metre 60 LEDs 5v RGB strip into my JRAINBOW1 connector (4-1) on my motherboard but cant find the adaptor cable online anywhere!!!

 

[josh98531]

you can use this https://www.ebay.com/p/ASUS-RGB-Addressable-LED-Extension-Cable-14011-01450400-8m19/26016812198 its a female 3 pin jst to 4-1 pin rgb, you can see it used in this video https://youtu.be/fwk4C86p854?t=175

 

[hamdan89]

Hey jcjw, actually its possible to make diy adapter by your own...i will received my custom made adapter today made by my pc community member.

https://pasteboard.co/HWNZzQF.jpg.

I will opened up and show hows it look..hope its helpful later.