[SOLVED] Help with connecting all RGB devices to motherboard

Nov 2, 2019
2
0
10
Hello,

I'm just finishing the planning for a RGB build and not quite sure how to connect all the RGB devices to the motherboards RGB headers. The RGB devices are outlined below:

MOBO - GIGABYTE Z380 Aorus Master - supports RGB Fusion, 5V D-RGB (3-pin) and 12V RGB (4-pin)
CASE - COOLER MASTER COSMOS C700M - comes with a 12V RGB Controller (RGB Fusion supported)
GPU - EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER FTW3 HYDRO COPPER GAMING (A-RGB and RGB Fusion supported)
PUMP - EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 RGB PWM (12V RGB 4-pin supported)
MONOBLOCK - EK-Momentum Aorus Z390 Master D-RGB - Plexi (A/D-RGB and RGB Fusion supported)
FANS - 7x Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition (A-RGB 5V and RGB Fusion supported), bridge cable is provided

Don't completely understand how to hook these up together to be controlled by RGB Fusion. I suppose that I need some kind of A-RGB hub such as the XSPC 8 Way, 3Pin, 5V, Addressable RGB Splitter Hub - SATA Powered and something similar for the 12V RGB 4-pin.

Any advice is appreciated!
 
Solution
I can't give you all the details, but let me point out two issues you need to check into.

1. Any mobo or controller for plain RGB or ARGB has a limit of how many devices you can connect to it. This may be expressed as a max output current, in which case you need the current consumption max specs for each lighting device. Or they may specify a max number of light STRIPS you can plug into one source, and this kind of assumes that each strip has a "standard" max current use. With so many lighting devices (some as fan frames, some as lights in other items, etc.) you will need to take these limits into account.

By the way, even this can get confusing trying to find and read the specs. An RGB Fan (or ARGB Fan) has TWO separate devices in...

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
I can't give you all the details, but let me point out two issues you need to check into.

1. Any mobo or controller for plain RGB or ARGB has a limit of how many devices you can connect to it. This may be expressed as a max output current, in which case you need the current consumption max specs for each lighting device. Or they may specify a max number of light STRIPS you can plug into one source, and this kind of assumes that each strip has a "standard" max current use. With so many lighting devices (some as fan frames, some as lights in other items, etc.) you will need to take these limits into account.

By the way, even this can get confusing trying to find and read the specs. An RGB Fan (or ARGB Fan) has TWO separate devices in one unit - a fan motor, and lights. Each has its OWN separate cable for power and control. And so, there are separate specs for the voltage and max current of each device in that unit, and sometimes they don't provide those specs for both devices!

2. You have a mix of both common types of RGB lighting devices - plain and ADDR RGB. While your mobo has at least one header of each of those types, what I do not know is whether the RGB Fusion software tool that comes with the mobo can actually manage BOTH types of lighting output header st the same time. Or, does it only manage one type OR the other? Ask Tech Support at Gigabyte on this.
 
Solution

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
Yes. An RGB Hub should work exactly similar to a fan Hub. That is, for the LIGHTING units only, the Hub gets the control signals from the mobo header, but also gets POWER for all the lights directly from the PSU, so the load limit of the mobo header is not involved. Be VERY sure to get a Hub for the correct type of lights. Because you have BOTH types of RGB systems there, you MAY need to get two different Hubs. Or, maybe you need a Hub for lots of lights of only one type, and the other can be done solely with the relevant mobo header.
 
  • Like
Reactions: vMax

Squeemeister

Reputable
Oct 25, 2019
11
0
4,510
Hey eleibzon and Paperdoc,

I recently finished a new build with 9x argb fans and a Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi.
7 of the fans needed a hub and I actually got the XSPC 8-Way 5V 3-Pin SATA powered RGB Fan Splitter (white) and plugged everything in and everything worked. HOWEVER, I later discovered that having the SATA power plugged in resulted in the following:
  1. CPU problem LED lit after PC shutdown (not hibernate, full-blown shutdown)
  2. GPU problem LEDs, same thing.
  3. GPU AiO radiator fans spin non-stop after shutdown. (so quietly I didn't realize it until my hand brushed against one)
  4. PSU fan spins non-stop after shutdown. (again, very quiet)

Unplugging SATA power solved everything instantly. All BIOS and related settings for LEDs on in sleep/shutdown/etc were set to off and the 3-pin connector is definitely in the 5V D_LED1 header intended for these devices (and its jumper is correctly positioned for 5V, not 12V). Disconnecting the GPU obviously solved the GPU issues, but none of the others. I'm a couple of days away from testing another new PSU just to rule it out as a possibility, but so far, in my mind, the culprit is either the XSPC Splitter, or the Gigabyte MB.

eleibzon, I'm interested to know if you got the XSPC splitter as well and how your build went (or is still going).

Paperdoc, without putting a multi-meter to my system, do you have any ideas why or what could have caused my problems? I have seen one splitter on the market that actually has a capacitor for each hub port and it made me think (limited electronics knowledge) that might be a great solution to my specific problem that no one has ever heard of before. Any thoughts?
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
I don't know what the CPU problem LED signal means. Maybe Tech Support for your mobo could tell you that. Similarly for the GPU problem LED - Tech Support for the GPU Card maker, or is this a GPU chip on the mobo?
 
Last edited:

Squeemeister

Reputable
Oct 25, 2019
11
0
4,510
I hope you like laughing...
According to the fine people at Gigabyte, "Leds on MB only light up when bios detected error, If system runs fine leds will not light up, if system current runs fine, there has nothing need to be worried. "
Caught your breath? Ready for more? They make the GPU too. (Gigabyte RTX 2080 Super Waterforce)

The seller of the hub shrugged their shoulders. The manufacturer of the hub hasn't replied. Gigabyte has been the worst though. I have to assume their products are fantastic, because no one with "support" like this would have lasted this long. Despite this one really weird issue, I have no problem with their hardware.

If I were to guess, I'd say that the current running through the MB and GPU (while off) are setting off the LEDs, but when the solution is removing SATA power from a hub connected to an argb header it seems the flow of current was from hub to mb. So why did the power end up in the fans of the GPU in the pcie slot? Sounds like a mb issue, but also maybe a hub issue if it's not "regulating" the flow (however one would accomplish that feat), right? Idk, oviously.
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
I saw a negative review of this ARGB Hub on an Amazon page that sounded just like your post here, so maybe that was you, too. Anyway, one possible issue is the LIMIT of power available from a SATA power output connector from a PSU. It is LESS than the older Molex systems can do. But narrowing it down further, I found one reference that says each power line on a SATA connector can supply up to 1.5 A max current. For an ARGB application, only the 5 VDC lines will be used, and there are three of them in a SATA connector. So, that's a max of 4.5 A at 5 VDC available to the Hub, even though the Hub itself claims it can deliver 6.5 A. Does not "add up"!

Now, add in this complication. Irrespective of the capacity of the wires and connector points in one SATA line, at the PSU the SATA lines all come off of their respective Busses for 3.3 V, 5 v and 12 V. Each of those can have several power wires going to different output cables, and each has its own limit. So it would be possible to connect the ARGB Hub you have to a SATA 5 VDC bus in the PSU that already is powering other devices on the same or different output wires. That means it is possible to exceed the current supply limits either of the bus inside the PSU or of the wires in the individual SATA lines to the connector you have used. If that were to be the case, then the voltage arriving at your device AND at other devices in your system (including any mobo SATA power monitoring devices) might be low and trigger a warning of some sort. So just MAYBE that's the issue oin your case. Of course, there's always the possibility, as you suggest, that your Hub is faulty.
 

Squeemeister

Reputable
Oct 25, 2019
11
0
4,510
Yes, that's my review on Amazon. ;) Thanks for that breakdown of PSU and SATA power. Now I'm considering using separate SATA cables for the hub and my HDD, just to see if there's any change.

As of now, on Wednesday my new rgb hub and my custom cables arrive (good timing) so I can:
  1. Swap the PSU for the new one to eliminate that possibility. (Don't worry, custom cables are not part of the testing.)
  2. If PSU swap isn't the fix, I'll swap the rgb hub for the new Lamptron SP101 which, according to Lamptron, "Lamptron SP101 can be a hardware firewall between your fans,lights and motherboard. so it can solve part of your problems." (They emailed me back, yay.)
If neither of those swaps fix the issue, I'll start pressing Gigabyte harder than they're expecting for some effort on their part.
Either way, I'll finally get everything cable-managed and looking pretty for its upcoming photo shoot, so that's a silver lining.