[SOLVED] How to get ARGB working

[Bautafran]

I have recently finished build but do not know how to get the ARGB working in the system.

Firstly I am not the most competent person when it comes to PC building so if I use any words or terms in the incorrect way, that's why. For example I am still not completely sure what ARGB is or how to use it.
I also now see that buying a PC build bundle might not have been the best option regarding having knowledge about the parts included.

The case which I have used is the "Svive Halo S650". It has one ARGB fan in the rear and also in the front panel of the case. The case has a ARGB hub mounted in the back with several ports for input.
Both the aforementioned fan and front panel where already pre connected. What I also suppose should connect to the hub is the CPU cooler, "Cooler Master ML240L V2 ARGB".
The problem with the cooler is that there are two headers and I do not know if indeed is should be connected to the hub or maybe the motherboard. Finally I do not know how to get power to the ARGB hub.
There is a spot for "ARGB input" but I cannot figure what I sould connect.

 

[Dj0gany]

Always,and i mean always,plugg your cpu cooler cable IN THE MOTHERBOARD.Not the hub.
ARGB means that you can change colours on multiple LED's on your fan.
I gotta say the case looks sick.
Also make sure u connect the hub to the motherboard.

 

[Paperdoc]

There is lots of room for confusion here, even in the names used for the devices, so welcome to a club with many others! To start with, recognize that an "ARGB Fan" is really two devices in one unit. It has a FAN motor to blow air, and a LIGHT set mounted in the frame. Both are powered and controlled separately, so it has TWO cables from it. In the case of that Cooler Master system, it has two fans on a radiator plus the pump unit that mounts on the CPU; that pump also has TWO cables from it - one for the pump motor just like one for a fan motor, and another for the lights in the pump.

FANS come in two dominant types now. The older design is called 3-pin because it has three wires from the motor ending in a female connector with 3 holes. It is about 10mm wide and has two ridges running down one side so that it can plug into a mobo male header (with pins) only one way. These are also called Voltage Control Fans because their speed is controlled by altering the voltage supplied to it by the mobo header. The newer design uses a very similar connector just a bit wider with FOUR holes, and it's called a 4-pin fan or a PWM Fan, and its speed is controlled differently. The new designs took care to make the two types a little compatible, so you can plug either fan into either 3- or 4-pin male mobo headers; hence, modern mobos use only 4-pin headers, but they offer options in the header configuration settings in BIOS Setup for which method the header uses to control fan speed.

Multi-coloured LIGHTS now come also in two dominant types. The plain RGB type can produce lots of colours and change them around, but at any one moment the entire light strip is all one colour. These use a 4-hole female connector wider than a fan connector, and it goes to a mobo plain RGB header, NOT like a fan header. The power supplied on this system is 12 VDC. Then the more complex style that can do fancy rainbow displays, called Addressable RGB or ADDR RGB or ARGB or Digital RGB uses a 3-hole female connector that looks like it had 4 holes, but one is blocked off. It goes to a matching male connector on the mobo that supplies power at 5 VDC and a different type of display control system. So, it is common to label the LIGHTING systems a 4-pin (plain RGB, 12 VDC) and 3-pin (ARGB 5 VDC). Since the power supply lines and the methods of display control of these two systems are so different, you can NOT mix the two in one circuit.

See! There are 3-pin and 4-pin FANS, and 3-pin and 4-pin LIGHTS, and they are NOT related in any way!

Now to narrow down to your specific situation. You say clearly (and the web page backs you up) that the fans in the case are of the 3-pin ARGB type for the LIGHTS in them. You also say your CPU cooler will be one with ARGB lighting in it, but I could not find that model on the Cooler Master website. So for each of the fans, examine the two cables and sort out which is for the LIGHTS (it's called a (4-1) connector with space for 4 holes, but one blocked off). Then see that the other is for the fan MOTOR. Now you also say that the case includes a HUB at the back you think is for the ARGB lighting systems ONLY. But it MAY also be for the fan motors, using a set of fan ports different from the lighting ports. Can you tell if it has two DIFFERENT types or output ports?

Anyway, assuming it has at least ports for ARGB lighting, you can connect light cables from both the the two case fans and the CPU cooler system rad fans to that. It should also have a single input port and associated cable to connect to some control system for the light displays. Unfortunately I could not find an on-line manual for that case, so I can't be sure what that may be. Often they offer an option to connect the wire pair from the Reset Switch or a specially-marked button in the front of your case to that Hub (it may be pre-connected that way), and you use that as a way to set displays. Sometimes they also supply an added cable you can connect from a mobo ARGB header to an input port of the Hub so you can let the mobo's ARGB lighting system control the lghts instead of using a manual pushbutton.

Connecting the fan MOTORS is a different matter, whether they are 3-pin or 4-pin. And that is because your mobo will have TWO types of similar cooling system controls. There is always one designed for cooling the CPU, and it concentrates on the temperature inside the CPU chip as measured by a sensor there. Often the mobo has two headers working this way, to allow for systems like yours that include both a pump and some fans. There is a second set of headers designed for power and control of the case ventilation fans (front an back you have) guided by a different temperature sensor on the mobo. So you need to plug the two case fans into those SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN headers, but the pump and radiator fans will go to mobo CPU_FAN and the like.

To help us give you more detail, tell us exactly which mobo maker and model number you have so we can look up its details.

 

[Bautafran]

There is lots of room for confusion here, even in the names used for the devices, so welcome to a club with many others! To start with, recognize that an "ARGB Fan" is really two devices in one unit. It has a FAN motor to blow air, and a LIGHT set mounted in the frame. Both are powered and controlled separately, so it has TWO cables from it. In the case of that Cooler Master system, it has two fans on a radiator plus the pump unit that mounts on the CPU; that pump also has TWO cables from it - one for the pump motor just like one for a fan motor, and another for the lights in the pump.

FANS come in two dominant types now. The older design is called 3-pin because it has three wires from the motor ending in a female connector with 3 holes. It is about 10mm wide and has two ridges running down one side so that it can plug into a mobo male header (with pins) only one way. These are also called Voltage Control Fans because their speed is controlled by altering the voltage supplied to it by the mobo header. The newer design uses a very similar connector just a bit wider with FOUR holes, and it's called a 4-pin fan or a PWM Fan, and its speed is controlled differently. The new designs took care to make the two types a little compatible, so you can plug either fan into either 3- or 4-pin male mobo headers; hence, modern mobos use only 4-pin headers, but they offer options in the header configuration settings in BIOS Setup for which method the header uses to control fan speed.

Multi-coloured LIGHTS now come also in two dominant types. The plain RGB type can produce lots of colours and change them around, but at any one moment the entire light strip is all one colour. These use a 4-hole female connector wider than a fan connector, and it goes to a mobo plain RGB header, NOT like a fan header. The power supplied on this system is 12 VDC. Then the more complex style that can do fancy rainbow displays, called Addressable RGB or ADDR RGB or ARGB or Digital RGB uses a 3-hole female connector that looks like it had 4 holes, but one is blocked off. It goes to a matching male connector on the mobo that supplies power at 5 VDC and a different type of display control system. So, it is common to label the LIGHTING systems a 4-pin (plain RGB, 12 VDC) and 3-pin (ARGB 5 VDC). Since the power supply lines and the methods of display control of these two systems are so different, you can NOT mix the two in one circuit.

See! There are 3-pin and 4-pin FANS, and 3-pin and 4-pin LIGHTS, and they are NOT related in any way!

Now to narrow down to your specific situation. You say clearly (and the web page backs you up) that the fans in the case are of the 3-pin ARGB type for the LIGHTS in them. You also say your CPU cooler will be one with ARGB lighting in it, but I could not find that model on the Cooler Master website. So for each of the fans, examine the two cables and sort out which is for the LIGHTS (it's called a (4-1) connector with space for 4 holes, but one blocked off). Then see that the other is for the fan MOTOR. Now you also say that the case includes a HUB at the back you think is for the ARGB lighting systems ONLY. But it MAY also be for the fan motors, using a set of fan ports different from the lighting ports. Can you tell if it has two DIFFERENT types or output ports?

Anyway, assuming it has at least ports for ARGB lighting, you can connect light cables from both the the two case fans and the CPU cooler system rad fans to that. It should also have a single input port and associated cable to connect to some control system for the light displays. Unfortunately I could not find an on-line manual for that case, so I can't be sure what that may be. Often they offer an option to connect the wire pair from the Reset Switch or a specially-marked button in the front of your case to that Hub (it may be pre-connected that way), and you use that as a way to set displays. Sometimes they also supply an added cable you can connect from a mobo ARGB header to an input port of the Hub so you can let the mobo's ARGB lighting system control the lghts instead of using a manual pushbutton.

Connecting the fan MOTORS is a different matter, whether they are 3-pin or 4-pin. And that is because your mobo will have TWO types of similar cooling system controls. There is always one designed for cooling the CPU, and it concentrates on the temperature inside the CPU chip as measured by a sensor there. Often the mobo has two headers working this way, to allow for systems like yours that include both a pump and some fans. There is a second set of headers designed for power and control of the case ventilation fans (front an back you have) guided by a different temperature sensor on the mobo. So you need to plug the two case fans into those SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN headers, but the pump and radiator fans will go to mobo CPU_FAN and the like.

To help us give you more detail, tell us exactly which mobo maker and model number you have so we can look up its details.

Thanks for this explanation even though all this is to me quite complicated still.
The motherboard is the "Asus ROG Strix Z490-F Gaming".

I will explain further on what the current situation looks like. The fans both to the case and the CPU cooler radiator along with the cooler itself are all powered. The only problem is really getting the lights working. As mentioned the case fan was already plugged in the hub. Then there is the lights to the cooler and radiator fans. During installation I noticed that there indeed was, and what I assumed to be, light headers from each of the components. These nicely connected to a separate calbe with pins to these (these where 3-pin headers). On the other side of the cable were the to headers that I attached in the original post. I think then that my question becomes: Which of these do I use and were. From the answer you've given I think that connecting the 3-pin header that has one spot missing to the ARGB hub is the right choice. If this is the case I would persume that the only thing that I now need to do is to power the hub. The only problem is that I do not know how to do that. Firstly I do not know if I have missed something but I do not think that there is a cable to the input (in the photo of the hub you might see that there is a 3-pin in the "ARGB Input". Also there is indeed only one type of input). Secondly do I connect this to the motherboard or straight to the power supply (if it is the power supply how?).

This reply might be a little late but I have been busy and not able to venture into PC problem-solving. I give my thanks to any replies that might be helpfull!

 

[Paperdoc]

Yep, you have most of that right. In all cases (lighting cables from fans to the lighting Hub and a cable from the Hub's ARGB Input to a mobo header) you will use the THREE-pin connections. Your photos suggest one small complication. There are two slightly different types of 3-pin ARGB mobo headers in use, one more common that the other. What your "two headers" photo link shows is the female 3-hole connector on the end of a cable I assume is to come from the Hub's ARGB Input port. That is the type that your mobo does NOT have. Your mobo has what's known as a (4-1) header, just exactly like the ones in the output ports of your Hub. So, do you also have another cable (or a 2-headed cable) that can run from the Hub input port to the mobo (4-1) header?

The mobo has two such headers. In the manual they are shown on p. 1-2, as items coded 11 and labelled ADD GEN2_2 - one at top front, and one at bottom to the rear of mid-board.

You do have to connect power to the lighting hub. In the photo look closely at the bottom corner where the ARGB Input port is. Next to it on the bottom END of the Hub is another called SATA Power. You must plug into this a SATA power output connector from the PSU.

 

[Bautafran]

Yep, you have most of that right. In all cases (lighting cables from fans to the lighting Hub and a cable from the Hub's ARGB Input to a mobo header) you will use the THREE-pin connections. Your photos suggest one small complication. There are two slightly different types of 3-pin ARGB mobo headers in use, one more common that the other. What your "two headers" photo link shows is the female 3-hole connector on the end of a cable I assume is to come from the Hub's ARGB Input port. That is the type that your mobo does NOT have. Your mobo has what's known as a (4-1) header, just exactly like the ones in the output ports of your Hub. So, do you also have another cable (or a 2-headed cable) that can run from the Hub input port to the mobo (4-1) header?

The mobo has two such headers. In the manual they are shown on p. 1-2, as items coded 11 and labelled ADD GEN2_2 - one at top front, and one at bottom to the rear of mid-board.

You do have to connect power to the lighting hub. In the photo look closely at the bottom corner where the ARGB Input port is. Next to it on the bottom END of the Hub is another called SATA Power. You must plug into this a SATA power output connector from the PSU.

Can this be connected from "ARGB Input" in the hub to the correct spot on the motherboard? It says "GRB" on the side. Also the "two headers" both come from the CPU cooling system's lighting like this, so I think that I just connect the 3-pin with the missing hole to the ARGB hub. If not the first option I just mentioned can connect the hub to the motherboard will is work if I get a similar one but with 3-pins and one missing.

Or maybe I can connect the 3-pin header from the CPU cooler (that I mentioned might connect to the hub) to the motherboard and then not need to connect from the hub to the motherboard?

Also I just noticed the SATA Power input to and thus excuse my stupidity regarding not seeing that before-hand.

 

[Paperdoc]

Those photos answer the questions. The first cable with two FOUR-pin connectors is NOT what to use - that is for the 4-pin plain RGB type of header. You should use the other (female) part of the two-headed THREE-pin cable to connect from the Hub ARGB Input port to one of your mobo ADD GEN2_2 headers. When you do, I suggest you wrap a bit of electrical tape around the exposed pins of the male connector just to prevent an accidental short to ground some time. (It is there so that you can connect another ARGB device to it, in case you don't have another mobo header.)

 

[Bautafran]

Those photos answer the questions. The first cable with two FOUR-pin connectors is NOT what to use - that is for the 4-pin plain RGB type of header. You should use the other (female) part of the two-headed THREE-pin cable to connect from the Hub ARGB Input port to one of your mobo ADD GEN2_2 headers. When you do, I suggest you wrap a bit of electrical tape around the exposed pins of the male connector just to prevent an accidental short to ground some time. (It is there so that you can connect another ARGB device to it, in case you don't have another mobo header.)

Thank you very much for your help!
I now have a good grasp of the situation and was able to get the ARGB working.

 

[Paperdoc]

You're welcome; glad to hear of your success.