[SOLVED] Do you need an Aura Sync MOBO for Aura Sync compatible fans? (RGB Aura Sync compatible fans with Non Aura Sync compatible MOBO)

[ZuRriX]

Basically, this is part of a bigger picture, a bigger problem and question I have.

I want to know can I connect Raidmax NV-R120B RGB fans to my ASRock H270M Fatal1ty Performance MOBO and control the fans using Aura Sync software.

Yes, the MOBO has an RGB header, but it is not Aura Sync compatible itself.
From what I know, I will only not be able to sync up my MOBO with other peripherals and have them working in unison, but I should be able to control my fans with Aura Sync software. Please confirm this for me.

The MOBO has 2x Chassis Fan Headers, so I will connect all 3 fans to my PSU via a molex for power. It is easier for the cable management and just easier overall.

The fans are able to connect with each other (so there should be no need for an 1-to-3 RGB Splitter) and then be connected to the one and only RGB header on the MOBO. The header, as the ASRock site says: "Supports 12V/3A, 35W LED strip". The current for one fan is 0.15A, so 3x0.15 = 0.45A, still much less than the 3A of my MOBO.

I think all of this should work, from what my research has told me.

Please confirm this will work (and I will be able to control them through Aura Sync software) or tell me what I've missed and why it won't.
Please stay on the topic and don't go onto giving unnecessary details that will just bring confusion.
And don't recommend other products. I an interested in these particular fans.

Thank you in advance and cheers.

 

[Paperdoc]

Most of this is correct, but there are a few items to change.

As you seem to be aware, each of these fans really has TWO devices in one - a motor/fan, and some RGB lights in the frame. Each has its separate cable for connection.

Let's start with the motors. Their cables each have two connectors on the end - a 3-pin female to plug into a mobo CHA_FAN connector, and a male 4-pin Molex (with only 2 pins) to plug into a PSU Molex output. You use one OR the other but never plug in both connectors! Doing that can ruin your mobo haeader! If you choose the Molex connection system to the PSU, all those fans will run full speed all the time and you will NOT see their speeds anywhere. On the other hand, if you use connections to mobo CHA_FAN headers their speeds WILL be controlled by those headers according to the temperature on the mobo, and you WILL "see" their speeds. As you say, you have 3 fans and 2 headers, so how to do? A very simple SPLITTER like this

https://www.amazon.com/Easycargo-Sp...=fan+splitter&qid=1563207925&s=gateway&sr=8-3

will do the job. Although it is designed for 4-pin fans, it will work just fine with your 3-pin fans. Use one of these to connect two of your fans to one CHA_FAN header, and no Splitter needed for the third fan on the second header. When you use this Splitter, of the two fans on it, only ONE will have its speed shown, but that has NO effect on ability to control the speeds of all. Your mobo's manual says that its CHA_FAN headers will automatically detect whether the fans in use are 3- pin or 4-pin, and adjust themselves accordingly to do the automatic speed control.

Now, regarding the lighting effects, these fans are of the plain RGB variety (4-pin connectors, 12 VDC power). Some of the photos shown for them are deceptive. This type of RGB device can display many colours that change over time, but at any one moment the entire light string (or fan set) shows one colour only. The "rainbow" effect shown in some photos is only done with the other system called ARGB lights, and those come in different models of fans from Raidmax. You could not use those, anyway, because your mobo has only the plain RGB type of header that you do need for your fans. The fans' RGB cables come with male and female connectors on them so you can "daisy-chain" them together off one mobo plain RGB header. One user suggests that, for the last fan in the chain, you cover the exposed pins of the unused male connector with tape to prevent accidental shorts.

Normally to control the lighting effects from that mobo header you would use the software tool provided by the maker of your mobo. For your board, this is the ASRock Aura RGB LED utility, probably included on the CD that came with your mobo. If you don't like the effects it can display, I do not know whether the Aura Sync software made by ASUS for their mobos will work on your ASRock mobo.

 

[ZuRriX]

Thanks for the reply.

I have actually decided to go with the Raidmax NV-R120FBR3 ARGB kit.
My MOBO does not have an ARGB header, so I will use the dedicated controller of the kit to, well, control them.

When I decide to buy a new ARGB compatible MOBO, I will switch the fans from the controller to its` header, so I can control them via software.

Cheers.

 

[Paperdoc]

Good plan!