Question Cooler Master C700P - how to attach fan controller to motherboard?

[linuxdeveloper.io]

Hello,

I have a new Cooler Master C700P case (https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/full-tower/cosmos-c700p-black-edition/) and so far it has been great. I have two issues:

1) There are four USB 3.0 connectors for the case, with two connectors. My motherboard only has one of these headers that fits the connector for the front panel USB ports. Does that mean half the USB connectors on my case will never work? Is there some way I can buy a splitter to attach both of them?

2) This case comes with built in fans and a fan and RGB controller. I have not been able to figure out how to connect the RGB controller to the motherboard, nor the system fans. From the RGB controller I see there is a single 4 pin female connector, which I have tried hooking up to both JRAINBOW and JRGB, but nothing happens. I do not see any connector for the system fans. How do I get the fans spinning?

My motherboard is the MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus (https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/MPGB550GAMINGPLUS.pdf).

The case manual does not have a very good description of how to connect the controller, plus I don't understand how the fans are supposed to be controller if there is no fan connector to hook up to the system fan connector on the motherboard.

Any help is appreciated.

Kind regards,
Nate

 

[Darkbreeze]

That case doesn't even HAVE front panel USB 2.0 ports. It has four USB 3.0 ports and a USB 3.1 Gen 2 type C port.

4x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x 3.5mm Audio Jack, 1x 3.5mm Mic Jack, Fan Speed, RGB Control Buttons

Besides which, based on the manual, and this is rather unusual, there are TWO USB 2.0 internal headers on that board. This is weird because as new as it is, it should have USB 3.0 internal headers but does not seem to have any and probably should NOT have USB 2.0 headers, which it does (2) based on the manual. It's possible that the specifications in the manual are wrong. I'll have to look more closely at this. But, your front panel ports on the case are not 2.0. They are 3.0.

 

[linuxdeveloper.io]

Thanks, I edited my post to correct that the case USB front panel inputs are USB 3.0.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, it looks like there is a single internal USB 3.0 compatible header on that board, but, if you desire to have full use of the front panel headers, you can get an add in PCI board that will give you additional capability.

https://www.amazon.com/PCI-Ports-He...internal+usb+3.0+expansion+card,aps,99&sr=8-3

 

[linuxdeveloper.io]

Is it still possible to add that PCI board, if I already have two full size GPUs installed? Do full size GPUs mean you can't use all the features on the board since it's blocking the socket?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I can't answer that. Only you can. It depends on if you still have a free PCI slot AND whether they interfere or not. Because if they do, then you are likely out of luck. I don't know of any other solution that exists or is even possible.

 

[linuxdeveloper.io]

I can't answer that. Only you can. It depends on if you still have a free PCI slot AND whether they interfere or not. Because if they do, then you are likely out of luck. I don't know of any other solution that exists or is even possible.

Thank you. Any ideas on the second part of my question?

2) This case comes with built in fans and a fan and RGB controller. I have not been able to figure out how to connect the RGB controller to the motherboard, nor the system fans. From the RGB controller I see there is a single 4 pin female connector, which I have tried hooking up to both JRAINBOW and JRGB, but nothing happens. I do not see any connector for the system fans. How do I get the fans spinning?

My motherboard is the MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus (https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/MPGB550GAMINGPLUS.pdf).

The case manual does not have a very good description of how to connect the controller, plus I don't understand how the fans are supposed to be controller if there is no fan connector to hook up to the system fan connector on the motherboard.

So far I only have the CPU fan attached and running. The systems fans are not connected.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, what model are these fans, because looking at the reviews of that case, the ones that come with it don't have any RGB capability. They are very basic fans for a premium case like that, which doesn't really surprise me when it comes to CM. But, there should be a model number listed on the specifications decal on the back of the fan. Should be anyhow.

 

[linuxdeveloper.io]

So I tested out the front USB ports, and as expected, 2 of the 4 don't power up (because they aren't connected to the motherboard) and the other 2 do powerup the USB stick. However, I can't see the USB stick in Linux for an unknown reason. I might need to reseat the USB connector on the motherboard.

As far as the fans, I read today on the internet that I need to attach a SATA power adapter to the fan controller -- I didn't realize it needed power. I believe this will power on the fans and RGB lighting. I assumed the fans would be connectged to a SYS_FAN header on the motherboard, but it seems these fans are independent. I will leave the RGB connector unattached since their doesn't seem to be anywhere to attach it on the motherboard (despite having both a JRGB and JRAINBOW header, neither seem to fit the port).

I will try these tweaks out and report back with the results.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You must have fans other than what comes with the case then, because the review of that case I looked at said they were not RGB fans of any kind. But maybe it was an older revision of that case or something. Hard to say.

Can you post a picture of the connectors for the RGB coming from the fans. Keep in mind, there should usually be two connectors from RGB fans. One that goes to a fan header on the motherboard or fan controller and one that connects to an RGB or ARGB header on the RGB controller or motherboard.

How to PROPERLY post images on the Tom's hardware forum​

But, the specs for your case say there is an RGB controller and connector on the case itself, so you might want to take a look around for that as well. In that case, they are probably not going to need to be connected to the board however it seems you have both a 4 pin RGB header and a 3 pin 5v ARGB header on your motherboard, which should cover the majority of RGB device connections out there whether fans, strips or whatever.

 

[linuxdeveloper.io]

So I figured out a couple things:

1) USB ports on front of case don't work, despite the USB stick glowing on, showing it's getting power. But the front panel USB ports fail to charge anything from these ports, and fails to show up in the OS.

2) I learned finally that the RGB/Fan controller that comes with the case requires a SATA power cord. Once plugging in the power, the build in RGB in the case along the outside top turned on and the system fans starting spinning. The system fans don't appear to connect to the motherboard at all, so they don't seem to be RPM controlled based on the temperature. They seem to simply spin at full speed, unless they have a build in thermistor or something.

Unfortunately, the case system fans were extremely loud and rattling, and I couldn't leave the fan controller plugged in - I removed the power cable and I am back to just having the CPU fan and GPU fans, although this seems sufficient.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Did you connect the front panel USB wiring to the motherboard? Because if not, they are not going to work. And there are generally different types. Usually USB 1.0/2.0 headers AND USB 3.0/3.1 headers. Some newer cases may also have USB 3.2 headers which can be Type A or Type C, and can be Gen 1 or Gen 2, and Gen 2x2 will probably start popping up soon as well since they are coming on motherboards now. But regardless, whatever type your case supports you need to connect that wiring to the correct headers on the motherboard.

I'd put different fans then. Most fans that come with cases are very cheap models with poor performance and generally either noisy or can't be controlled, or are 3 pin. Whatever is cheaper for the manufacturer because none of them are going to give anything of decent quality away for free. Now, if you buy very high end cases you mostly get halfway decent fans, but even then you aren't going to get great ones.

When you are ready, unless you MUST have RGB, I'd look to Noctua, either in their traditional Earth tones or their all black Chromax lineup, or you could look at the Corsair Maglev fans which are expensive but high quality and I believe the Maglev fans have ARGB capability in some models now so as long as they support the header type you have on your motherboard you'd then be able to use that. The build in controllers for fans and RGB on most cases, frankly, sucks anyhow, and is usually poorly implemented as you have already seen.

 

[linuxdeveloper.io]

Did you connect the front panel USB wiring to the motherboard? Because if not, they are not going to work. And there are generally different types. Usually USB 1.0/2.0 headers AND USB 3.0/3.1 headers. Some newer cases may also have USB 3.2 headers which can be Type A or Type C, and can be Gen 1 or Gen 2, and Gen 2x2 will probably start popping up soon as well since they are coming on motherboards now. But regardless, whatever type your case supports you need to connect that wiring to the correct headers on the motherboard.

I'd put different fans then. Most fans that come with cases are very cheap models with poor performance and generally either noisy or can't be controlled, or are 3 pin. Whatever is cheaper for the manufacturer because none of them are going to give anything of decent quality away for free. Now, if you buy very high end cases you mostly get halfway decent fans, but even then you aren't going to get great ones.

When you are ready, unless you MUST have RGB, I'd look to Noctua, either in their traditional Earth tones or their all black Chromax lineup, or you could look at the Corsair Maglev fans which are expensive but high quality and I believe the Maglev fans have ARGB capability in some models now so as long as they support the header type you have on your motherboard you'd then be able to use that. The build in controllers for fans and RGB on most cases, frankly, sucks anyhow, and is usually poorly implemented as you have already seen.

Yes, the USB front panel ports are connected to the motherboard USB header. I know this, because two of the USB ports light up the USB stick when I insert it, and the other two don't (because there isn't a second USB header on the motherboard to connect the second two). However, even the ones that are connected and show power, do not seem to work or do not seem to have the correct data pins working for the USB to work properly. Maybe I hooked up a 3.1 connector to a 3.0 header. I would need to double check, but I believe I did it correctly.