Question Aura Sync RGB fan advice

[lxstuart]

Hi, I would like some advice on RGB fans.

I had a look around the forum, but not certain I've got the right answers.

Trying to figure out which RGB fans to get for a new build. Motherboard is an ASUS STRIX X570-E (2 x 4-pin Aura RGB headers, 2 x 3-pin Addressable Gen 2 RGB headers), case is a Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL.
I also want to keep it all running in Asus Aura, so I don't have too much going on in the background.

The fans I had in mind were the Lian Li Bora Digital.

It is my understanding that all RGB fans will have 2 cables. 1 for the pwm signal, and one for the LED signal.
Can I daisy chain all the fans to one header, or do I need to buy one of the hubs? (which would be included if I get the Lian Li kit I mentioned).
In either case, does this mean that all the fans connected to one particular pwm header will run at the same speed?

Same question for the RGB element, can I daisy chain these, or do I need a hub?

Also also, which RGB header do I want to use? The 3-pin addressable, or the 4-pin Aura? (are the Aura headers not addressable?)
If I use the 4-pin addressable header, can I still control the lighting through Asus Aura Sync?

Sorry for the list of questions, but I want to make sure I get the right fans.

Thanks.

 

[Karadjgne]

You have 2x 3pin ARGB and 2x 4pin RGB on that mobo, and they are quite different.

Easiest way I can think of to explain the difference is the ARGB is like PWM, and RGB is like DC fans. The ARGB has +5v/ground/signal and the RGB has R/G/B/+12v, so the 2 cannot be mixed. Which one you use will depend on the fans you get.

Apart from inputs, the difference physically is that RGB is all one color, can be any shade or brightness, but all the leds are set by the R/G/B side of the plug, which goes to ground. Like a voltage fan. With ARGB, you supply 5vpower to the led controller on the strip/fan and the signal wire says what color. So it's entirely possible to have multiple colors/rainbow effect on the same strip/fan. PWM.

If using ARGB, through a hub, you power the hub, which powers each individual controller in turn, just like a powered pwm splitter powers every fan, and each controller has its own individual address, so the 1 signal contains all the addresses and tells every controller what to show.

If using RGB, just like DC fans, you are limited to what the header can handle, which is generally 12w, whether you use a hub/splitter/chain or not. This is because power has to go through the R/G/B diodes on the motherboard. More power goes through R diode, more power is allowed through the R anode in the led, brighter the Red. Or Green. Or Blue. Changing power levels changes the color saturation your eyes see.

That's the basics, and if you look at the fans themselves, they'll tell you if they are Aura compatible or not, but Aura will control either type, even mixing headers, but you'll be limited by the fans as to colors/effects.

If you want rainbow, you need ARGB, if ok with just solid changes then the RGB is ok, just be aware of fan count limits which means looking at the RGB load per fan and adding all the fans together, per header.

 

[lxstuart]

Ok, so my motherboard has 2 PWM headers, and 2 addressable RGB headers. I will be using more than 2 fans, so I will need one hub/splitter for the fan speed, and one hub for the RGB element.

The fans I was thinking of getting were the Lian Li Bora Lite http://www.lian-li.com/bora-lite-120
These come with a small 1-6 Hub/splitter, though it doesn't appear to be a powered one.
Will it be sufficient, or would it be better to use a powered one?
Also, will the fan speed of all the fans connected to the hub be the same?

If so, is this good, bad, or irrelevant?

As for the addressable RGB element, I was looking at this hub https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=869&bno=128&tb=53&area=en
This has a SATA power cable, so I assume I don't need to worry about power draw from the motherboard here?

Many thanks for the advice.

 

[lxstuart]

Further to this, it seems the Bora Lite aRGB element can be daisy chained from one fan to the next.

Is this better or worse than using a powered aRGB hub?
Is the limitation purely LED count per header?

 

[Karadjgne]

Those are rgb fans, not argb.

That's an elemental difference. With RGB power goes through the header, which has a definite ceiling. With ARGB power doesn't need to go through the header, so the ceiling is limited to the strength of the signal.

You can't mix those. Don't confuse them.

 

[lxstuart]

Ah, my bad.
It was the Bora Digital that were aRGB http://www.lian-li.com/bora-digital/

 

[Karadjgne]

Exactly. Everything will make sense once you get things straight. Think of that lighting like PWM fans.

But you'll have a choice. Either use the fans with the controller, or without. The controller is designed for motherboards that do not have argb capability, which most lower end and older boards don't have, they usually have just RGB or are too old to even have that.

So hooking via splitters directly to the mobo will use the Aura software, hooking through the controller uses that instead.

You could use a 10way hub, 6way hub, 2x 3way splitters, a 2way splitter + 4way splitter, choice is up to you.