Question Can I connect RGB fans to my Tomahawk B450 MAX?

[geri710]

Hello. Basically, I want to add RGB fans to my pc.
I have MSI tomahawk b450 max and it has 4 x 4-pin system fan connectors and 2 x 5050 RGB LED strip 12V connectors.

I want to know if I am able to do add 3 or more RGB fans to this pc with these connectors or do they only support normal fans?
What about the 5050 RGB LED strip 12V connectors? Are they just for led strips or for fans as well?

Also, I've read this mobo doesn't support ARGB. Is there any way I can make this work with these connectors because ARGB has 3-pin connectors and if not what do I need?
I'd appreciate any help. Thank you

 

[CountMike]

Hello. Basically, I want to add RGB fans to my pc.
I have MSI tomahawk b450 max and it has 4 x 4-pin system fan connectors and 2 x 5050 RGB LED strip 12V connectors.

I want to know if I am able to do add 3 or more RGB fans to this pc with these connectors or do they only support normal fans?
What about the 5050 RGB LED strip 12V connectors? Are they just for led strips or for fans as well?

Also, I've read this mobo doesn't support ARGB. Is there any way I can make this work with these connectors because ARGB has 3-pin connectors and if not what do I need?
I'd appreciate any help. Thank you

RGB is same as a strip or as a fan. For ARGB you would need separate controller (not to be confused with a HUB).

 

[Paperdoc]

Since your mobo has ONLY the plain RGB type of lighting header (4-pin, 12 VDC power), buy only fans that have that type of lights in their frames. Do NOT buy fans with ARGB lights.

The common lighted fans of this type all come with TWO cables each. One ends in a normal fan connector for only the motor, and that plugs into a normal mobo fan header. Assuming you buy fans with the MOTORS of the PWM 4-pin type, ensure that the mobo fan headers are configured to use the newer PWM Mode of control.

The second cable ends in a larger connector also with 4 holes IF it is the plain RGB type. This is for the lights and plugs into a mobo plain RGB 4-pin header for power and control of lights only. NOTE the opportunity for confusion in names. The terms "3-pin" and "4-pin" are used BOTH for motors and lights, even though there is NO fixed relationship between those two in the same lighted fan.

How to identify? The MOTOR type (3-pin Voltage Control or 4-pin PWM style) can be either as you like - your mobo fan headers can be adjusted for either. The LIGHT type can be identified with these clues

1. Plain RGB (what you WANT) is also called RGB, 4-pin RGB, 12 V RGB. Its female connector has FOUR holes, and the hole on one end is marked - this is the 12 V line. At EVERY lighting cable connection you MUST match up the marked female hole and male pin. This type can display many colours and brightnesses, but at any one moment the entire light string (fan frame) is ONE colour.

2. Addressable RGB (ADDR RGB, ARGB, Digital RGB) uses a THREE-pin connector (looks like a 4-pin one with one pin missing / one hole blocked) that supplies power at 5 VDC. Do NOT buy this type for your mobo. Photos of them almost always show some kind of multi-colour rainbow in the lights at one time, because that can be done with this design.

 

[geri710]

Since your mobo has ONLY the plain RGB type of lighting header (4-pin, 12 VDC power), buy only fans that have that type of lights in their frames. Do NOT buy fans with ARGB lights.

The common lighted fans of this type all come with TWO cables each. One ends in a normal fan connector for only the motor, and that plugs into a normal mobo fan header. Assuming you buy fans with the MOTORS of the PWM 4-pin type, ensure that the mobo fan headers are configured to use the newer PWM Mode of control.

The second cable ends in a larger connector also with 4 holes IF it is the plain RGB type. This is for the lights and plugs into a mobo plain RGB 4-pin header for power and control of lights only. NOTE the opportunity for confusion in names. The terms "3-pin" and "4-pin" are used BOTH for motors and lights, even though there is NO fixed relationship between those two in the same lighted fan.

How to identify? The MOTOR type (3-pin Voltage Control or 4-pin PWM style) can be either as you like - your mobo fan headers can be adjusted for either. The LIGHT type can be identified with these clues

1. Plain RGB (what you WANT) is also called RGB, 4-pin RGB, 12 V RGB. Its female connector has FOUR holes, and the hole on one end is marked - this is the 12 V line. At EVERY lighting cable connection you MUST match up the marked female hole and male pin. This type can display many colours and brightnesses, but at any one moment the entire light string (fan frame) is ONE colour.

2. Addressable RGB (ADDR RGB, ARGB, Digital RGB) uses a THREE-pin connector (looks like a 4-pin one with one pin missing / one hole blocked) that supplies power at 5 VDC. Do NOT buy this type for your mobo. Photos of them almost always show some kind of multi-colour rainbow in the lights at one time, because that can be done with this design.

But can't I use ARGB with a controller?

 

[Paperdoc]

Yes, you could IF you buy a third-party ARGB Controller. You can power and control ARGB lights in fans from that, and NOT use the plain RGB headers on your mobo. You have a couple of directions to take there. One would be that several makers sell sets of ARGB fans plus their own Controller, but you should be aware that many of these use non-standard components and connectors so you can NOT add other fans or replace failed ones easily. The other route is to buy standard ARGB fans - ones that have two cables per fan, one for the motor with a standard fan connector, and the other for the ARGB lights with that standard connector. The you also buy a third-party ARGB Controller and connect the LIGHTING cables to that - the motor cables just go to mobo fan headers.

There are three styles of user interface for such Controllers. The simplest is a small box with buttons that sits inside your case and connects from a PSU power source to the lighting cables. The buttons on the box allow you to set displays, but you need to be able to reach into your computer case to access that box. A second type has that box inside the case, but the user gets a small hand-held battery-powered Remote Control box with many buttons to set parameters for the lighting display. In SOME cases the fan motors also are connected to the interior box (often in non-standard wiring systems) so that the fan motors also are controlled by the remote box. The third style is a box inside your case that connects both to a PSU power output and to a mobo USB2 header. It comes with a free software tool you run and use to configure lighting details from your keyboard and screen. In that latter group, there are three I know of.

The Cooler Master Addressable RGB Controller does this, and has an added feature that you can connect to it the signals from a mobo plain RGB controller and let those take over lighting control. It "translates" those mobo signals into ones safe for the ARGB lights. That means you can get a more limited range of displays, but that way you can synchronize ALL your lights to a mixture that includes some plain RGB lights.

The Razer Chroma Addressable RGB Controller does this control, but does not include a translating input from plain RGB. You may not need that feature.

The Phanteks Digital Controller Hub model PH-CTHUB_DRGB does not use the software tool and USB2 connection system. It comes with a hand-held button box that is connected to the interior controller by a thin cable to reach outside your case. Phanteks uses non-standard connectors, suited, of course, to the connectors on their fans and lights. But the kit includes adapters to convert the box's output connectors to standard connectors for use with other lighting units. Phanteks also has an interesting option line, called their Halos lights available for plain RGB or Digital RGB. These are thin frames containing the lights that you can mount on one side of any non-lighted fan to give it a lighted frame.