[SOLVED] Cooler Master Masterfan MF120 A-RGB with RGB LED controller?

Apr 6, 2020
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Hi, recently I bought 5 Cool Master Masterfan MF120 A-RGB fans. Problem is my MSI B450 Tomahawk Max doesn't support the 3-pin led connector.
With the 3 in 1 came an "A-RGB LED SMALL CONTROLLER". Because I wanted to sync all 5 fans, I bought the RGB LED controller. Problem is that these support the 4-pin LED connector and my fans have the 3-pin connector.

Is there any way to fix this?
 
Solution
Do NOT attempt to force a connection between your ARGB lighting cables from the fans and your plain RGB header on the mobo. Making such a connection will burn out all the lights in your fans!!

The two systems are VERY different. One important difference is that the plain RGB system supplies 12 VDC power to its lights, whereas the ARGB system supplies 5 VDC. There are also huge incompatibilities between the methods of controlling the varied light display patterns.

You need a real ARGB Controller. One possibility is the Cooler Master Addressable RGB LED Controller:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/rgb-accessories/argb-led-controller/#Specifications

With this installed you connect from it one cable to a SATA power...

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
Do NOT attempt to force a connection between your ARGB lighting cables from the fans and your plain RGB header on the mobo. Making such a connection will burn out all the lights in your fans!!

The two systems are VERY different. One important difference is that the plain RGB system supplies 12 VDC power to its lights, whereas the ARGB system supplies 5 VDC. There are also huge incompatibilities between the methods of controlling the varied light display patterns.

You need a real ARGB Controller. One possibility is the Cooler Master Addressable RGB LED Controller:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/rgb-accessories/argb-led-controller/#Specifications

With this installed you connect from it one cable to a SATA power output from your PSU for its power, and another to a mobo USB2 header. You can use buttons on it to adjust your displays, but reaching them inside your case is not handy. You can connect a cable from it to your front panel Reset button's wires and use that button for controls. At one time this item also could be used with Cooler Master software to control everything about the lights from your keyboard (uses the USB cable for communication with the Controller), but the current website does NOT say that option still exists, so ASK Cooler Master Sales or Tech Support.

A less expensive option that certainly does not use software is their A-RGB Small Controller:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/rgb-accessories/argb-led-small-controller/#image-Item3

This is a strictly manual control box you connect to a SATA power supply output and your fan lighting cables. It has four buttons on top to control the displays, and you can place it in a spot convenient for access.

In both of these options you do not really have enough output sockets for five ARGB lighting systems. Probably you can use their ARGB 1-to-5 Splitter Cable


to connect two or more lights in fans to one ARGB Controller output port. There's also a 1-to-3 ARGB Splitter of a different design, and I'm not sure which has the better price.
 
Solution