Help with RGB fan setup

[helpyeehelpyee]

Hello!

I'm currently installing my first PC and would very much appreciate some help with hooking up my case fans. My setup is as follows:

Cooler master h500p case
ASUS Prime z370 A motherboard
2 x 200mm cooler master RGB fans in the front, both are on a cooler master adapter that came with the case and have both a male and female RGB/LED 4 pin connector remaining.
2 x 200mm cooler master RGB fans on top, both with 4 pin female RGB/LED connector and 3pin female PWM.
1 x 140mm coolermaster RGB fan on the back, with 4 pin female RGB/LED connector and 4 pin female PWM.

FYI, they may not be called RGB/LED connectors, but you check out the adapter here.
http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cooling-rgb-accessories/1-to-3-rgb-splitter-cable/

Ideally, I'd like all connected to the motherboard with the ability to change the color either through the software, or possibly with the reset button.

My mother board has the following headers.
1 CPU fan header (occupied by CPU fan) with 4 pin PWM
1 CPU OPT header (unoccupied) with 4 pin PWM
2 x CHAS fan headers (both unoccupied) with 4 pin PWM
1 x AIO fan/pump header (unoccupied) with 4 pin PWM
1 x M.2 header (unoccupied) with 4 pin PWM
1 x EXT fan header (unoccupied) with 5 pin PWM header
1 x RGB header (unoccupied)


I've spoken to ASUS's customer service and they gave me a few bits of information that may help. The rep said that the RGB header was only used for LED strips. He also said that the CPU OPT, AIO and M.2 headers can be used for case fans. And he said that ideally the rear case fan should be hooked to the EXT header.

So my current plan is to adapt the rear 4 pin female PWM to a 5 pin female for the EXT slot. Hook the two top fans, using their 3 pin PWM connectors, to the CPU OPT and CHAS Fan 1 header. Then I'm left with the 2 front fans, attached to the adapter (1 female and 1 male RGB/LED connector remaining).

Questions:
1. Will RGB fans work on the listed fan headers? How will I be able to control the color? Do I need the RGB controller?

2. What type of adapter do I need for to convert the female or male RGB/LED connector to a 4 PWM female connector?

3. Is what the rep told me correct? I called during an off hour and motherboards weren't his specialty.


Thanks so much for the help! Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[Paperdoc]

I think you misunderstood the use of the 5-pin EXT_FAN header on the mobo. It is NOT a fan header. It is a non-standard connector used exclusively to add an extra-cost option part (order from ASUS) that gives you more standard fan headers in addition to the ones already installed on the mobo.

Next, let me clarify some terms, especially for fans. They come mostly in two types. The older 3-pin fans have three wires from the motor to the small female (with holes) connector; wires usually are Black on Pin #1 (Ground), Red on Pin #2 (+VDC supply, voltage varies to change speed) and Yellow on Pin #3 (speed pulse signal generated by motor and sent back to mobo). The connector has two ridges on one side that fit over the plastic "tongue" sticking up beside the pins of the mobo male fan header so you can only plug it in the right way. This fan type can have its speed controlled ONLY by a mobo header that uses Voltage Control Mode (aka DC Mode).

4-pin fans have (surprise!) 4 wires from motor to connector. The connector looks VERY much like the 3-pin one, except there is one extra hole beyond the space defined by the two side ridges. Wire color codes are different. But connections are almost the same: Pin #1 is Ground, Pin #2 is +12VDC (fixed voltage, not varying), Pin #3 is the Speed signal again, and Pin #4 carries the new PWM signal. Inside the motor is a small chip that applies that PWM signal to the +12 VDC supply to modify the flow of current through the motor windings to achieve speed control. Ideally this type is best controlled by a mobo header that uses PWM Mode, but its speed CAN be controlled by the older DC Mode, also.

Your mobo has a very useful feature. EACH of the several fan headers can be configured in BIOS Setup to use either DC Mode or PWM Mode, so you can adjust each to the type of fan plugged into it.

LED fans can be confusing, but fortunately the ones you have are easy to figure out. Each of the RGB LED fans you have has TWO cables from it: one is for the fan motor (3- or 4-wire), and the other (4 wires, with a larger connector on the end) is for the LED features. This latter connector can be plugged into your mobo's RGB header (item 11 on manual p.1-23) which powers and controls the LED's through the mobo. The case comes with a LED Splitter that allows you to connect up to 3 LED strips to a mobo RGB header. HOWEVER, you have FIVE fans with RGB features in them, so I'm not quite sure how this can work for you. The mobo header specs say it can supply up to 2A total current to LED's. I did not find on the Cooler Master website any specs for the current used by the LED's on each of those five fans. Check with Cooler Master Tech Support for that info. IF the total current load can fit that mobo header limit, then you still will need to find a way to connect five fans. MAYBE you can get a second LED Splitter and a male-to-male adapter from Cooler Master and "stack" them: plug the second one into one output arm of the first, yielding five outputs for the fans' LED connectors.

I think you've made a small error in describing your fans. I suspect all four 200mm fans are of the same type, and you describe some of them as being PWM fans. Look again. If the FAN motor connectors on their wires are 3-pin then they are NOT the PWM type, but are Voltage Control type older fan design. Now the thing to deal with here is that 3-pin fans can only be controlled by DC Mode, and that Mode cannot be used with the common 4-pin fan HUBS that can obtain fan power directly from the PSU. So you end up connecting such fans to mobo headers that use the older DC Mode (not PWM Mode) AND have a limit of max 1.0 A total current to the fans on it. This can be done with simple fan Splitters (not Hubs) like this:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812423168&cm_re=coboc_fan_splitter-_-12-423-168-_-Product

or this:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812423161&cm_re=coboc_fan_splitter-_-12-423-161-_-Product

That last one has longer arms, and is a 4-pin type but it works just fine with 3-pin fans.

You should get TWO Splitters. Use one each to connect two fans (say, both front ones) to a single CHA_FAN header, of which you have two available. This is because the only 200 mm fans I found on the Cooler Master site are their MF200R RGB units that are spec's to max out at 0.3A. It is NOT clear whether that is for the fan motors only, or for motor plus LEDs. But being careful, two of those MIGHT use 0.6 A, so you cannot connect FOUR such fans to one mobo CHA_FAN header.

Now, that leaves you with one other fan at the rear of 140mm size that you say surely IS of the PWM type with 4 wires form the motor. That you could plug into the unused mobo CPU_OPT header.

Now to configure the fan headers when they are connected this way. In BIOS Setup (manual p.3-7) you can examine and configure each fan header separately. For the CPU_FAN header you probably already have figured it out. For each CHA_FAN header that feeds a pair of 3-pin 200mm fans, set it to use the DC Mode and normal automatic control. You should also have a choice available to you about which temperature sensor to use for these headers. Since these are for case ventilation fans, tell it to use the common Motherboard sensor (it MAY be called the VRM (Voltage Regulator Module)) sensor, and do not use the sensor inside the CPU chip. Lastly, for the CPU_OPT header that you connect the rear fan to, set it to use PWM Mode if it really is a 4-pin fan. Also IF you have a sensor choice available on this header, use the motherboard sensor the same as the CHA_FAN headers were set to.

To your last questions directly.
1. If you connect your five fans as above, the mobo headers will control all of their speeds automatically, based on measured temperatures on the mobo. Control of the COLOUR of the RGB system on the fans is done separately by the mobo RGB Header. IF you are able to connect all of them to that header (subject to its max current limit), then the mobo will do their colour control. The mobo comes with a utility to customize those colours. However, if the total current load for all five fans will exceed the 2.0 A limit of the RGB Header, you may need an additional separate control (from Cooler Master) for all of some of them.
2. The mobo RGB Header has 4 pins (male), and the RGB connectors on the fan's cables also have pins (male). That 3-armed LED Splitter cable that comes with your case has female connectors on both ends, so it does the job directly. Your issue will come IF you can connect all five fans' RGB connectors together to the single mobo header. In that case you MIGHT be able to use two of those Splitter units from Cooler Master and "stack" them. But to do that you would need a small adapter with PINS on both sides that you can plug into one female output arm of the first Splitter, and then into the female input arm of the second.