[SOLVED] Deepcool Castle 280 RGB

[Yarberger1]

Hello everyone

I'm readying to build a new system in the next month or so - my first with RGB components. I'm planning on either a Ryzen 5 3600X or Ryzen 7 3700X, which will be paired with an Aorus Master m/board. No overclocking.

I've settled on AIO cooling (also the first time using liquid cooling of any kind).

I've seen generally good reviews on the Deepcool Castle 280 RGB, and wonder whether anyone would recommend it. Are there other 280s with RGB that would be suggested in lieu?

Thanks

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Why are you going to use an AIO if you are not gonna overclock? It is really a waste of money. You can use the prism cooler and it will work just fine for stock settings and it has RGB and it comes with the 3700x.

As for the AIO, I would not go with Deepcool for a AIO. To me, Deepcool is a budget brand and I would not put water in my rig with a budget brand. I would look at Corsair or NZXT. Both make 280mm AIOs with RGB.

 

[Yarberger1]

Thanks for the guidance!

 

[Paperdoc]

A general point first. RGB fans really each have two devices in one unit - the fan motor, and the RGB lighting units in the frame. Each has its own separate cables for power and control, so each of those plugs into a different place. The PUMP of the Deepcool Castle system also has TWO separate connections - one for its motor, and one for its lights.

There are two different and incompatible RGB lighting systems currently dominating the market. The plain RGB system uses a 4-pin connector supplying 12 VDC power and three separate Ground lines. The more advanced system is called Addressable RGB or ADDR RGB or ARGB, and it uses a 3-pin connector (looks like the 4-pin one with one pin missing) that supplies 5 VDC and Ground plus a Digital Control Line. Because of great differences in voltage and method of control you cannot mix these types in a single circuit. So you MUST match the type of lighting device you buy to the type of mobo RGB header you have. Note that the name of the RGB lighting control utility supplied with your mobo does NOT tell you that! Many mobo makers sell some mobos with no RGB header, some with only plain RGB, some with only ARGB, and some with both types. Each maker has their own RGB control utility, like ASUS Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light, etc. In each case the software can control either type of mobo hardware header, so the name tells you nothing - you need to know the real hardware header type on YOUR mobo.

In your case, OP, you are in luck. There are at least a couple of mobos sold under the Gigabyte Aorus Master name. I found both the Z390 and the X570 models. Both of these have two headers each of BOTH types of RGB header, so you could buy and use either type of lighting device. One small item to note: the Z390 model has an unusual feature in this area. Its two D_LEDn (for digital LED's, I guess) headers for ARGB type lights each also have an associated D_LED_V_SWn header nearby. This is to allow for use of an older design of lighting device that used a 12 VDC power line rather than the current 5 VDC type. So this header's jumper needs to be set to the 5 VDC position for use with today's common ARGB systems. The X570 mobo does not have these special jumper headers. If the mobo you plan to use is NOT one of those, post back here which model you do plan so we can help you check these details.

The Deepcool Castle system you propose to buy uses the ARGB type of lighting devices in its two radiator fans and its pump. The PUMP has a cable ending in a 3-pin common fan connector that MUST be plugged into the mobo CPU_FAN header. That header should be configured to use the newer PWM method of speed control. This actually uses a quirk of the fan designs. Connected this way, the pump will always run full speed with NO speed control, and that is exactly what it intended. Connecting the pump to the CPU_FAN header allows that header to monitor the pump's speed signal for FAILURE, which requires quick warnings and action if that happens. The system also comes with two 140 mm fans for the radiator and a four-output Splitter. The Splitter is to be plugged into CPU_OPT header of the mobo so its fans are controlled by the internal temperature of the CPU, and then the two rad fans are plugged into the Splitter. Thus CPU cooling is controlled solely by the rad fans' speeds, with the pump speed fixed at full speed.

That system also comes with an ARGB Splitter with four outputs, a manual control box, and two slightly different cables for mobo connections. You plug the ARGB cables from the two fans and the pump into this Splitter's outputs. Because your mobo DOES have an ARGB header controlled by a mobo software utility, you do NOT use the manual control box. Instead you use one of the supplied cables (different to deal with slightly different header designs on other mobos) to connect this ARGB Splitter to an ARGB header of your mobo to power and control the lighting components.

I don't have enough direct experience with AIO systems to advise on the relative merits of those systems. Others do know, so I expect you'll get advice here. Once you have a better grasp of exactly which mobo and cooling system you plan, you can post details and we can advise further. For example, you have not spoken yet of case ventilation fans. Among those you can choose either plain fans or RGB fans. IF you go for more lights, it would be simpler to stick to the ARGB type IF you also select finally an AIO system with ARGB lighting.

 

[Yarberger1]

Paperdoc, that is a fantastic reply, thank you.

The m/board I intend to purchase is indeed the Aorus Master x570.

The case I have already acquired is the Coolermaster SL600M, which employs a chimney airflow design with two 200mm fans at the bottom of the case. These push air upwards and out through the top (which is where I would mount the AIO radiator). The 200mm fans come pre-installed in the case, and there is no scope for case ventilation fans at the front or rear of the case, because that is not consistent with the case's design. Other RGB components would be memory, accents on the board itself, the GPU and a lighting strip I will mount at the bottom of the case.

 

[Electric.Tom]

A general point first. RGB fans really each have two devices in one unit - the fan motor, and the RGB lighting units in the frame. Each has its own separate cables for power and control, so each of those plugs into a different place.

awesome response, that line just clued me into why only the light portion of my fan works! hahaha thanks alot

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for those details. So you won't have any added fans with RGB components, but other lights may be involved. I'll add a few comments.

I see the case comes with tht two bottom fans pre-installed and connected to the case's fan control switch on the top. The fans are of the PWM type. The switch allows manual setting of fixed speeds, and also an option to turn over control of those fans to whatever the mobo CHA_FAN headers want. That latter would be my choice, However, I did not see exactly how the connection is made from mobo header to switch; I suppose they include a cable for that, or maybe that cable is pre-installed.

RGB lighting in RAM modules and on graphics cards often is NOT done the way RGB fans are done with separate cables to be plugged into mobo headers. Many seem to be done within those devices themselves with their own software lighting control tools. In such cases you are not faced with matching ligthing device type to a mobo header type. So check such details carefully to see whether they are "self-contained" or need a mobo header connection. Likewise some mobos have a few RGB devices built in and do not require a header connection for those. Their control appears also to be built into the mobo configuration tools or the mobo maker's own RGB lighting control software.

There are two details I cannot answer about how the RGB headers on the Aorus Master X570 board work. Since it has both types of header, I am not clear whether both types can be used and controlled simultaneously by the RGB Fusion software. Similarly, there are two headers of each type. I do not know whether the two of one type (say, the ARGB type) must generate the same (synchronized) displays, or whether they can be programmed to be different, or whether both of those options are available to you.

Have fun with your build!

 

[Yarberger1]

Many thanks once again, Paperdoc. Very helpful comments.

 

[Paperdoc]

You're welcome.