Question How to run an ARGB Triple Fan setup, without a motherboard that supports RGB?

[ReignOfHell]

I recently made a build i made for my sister, and after i had everything installed, I found out that he motherboard I gave her does not have RGB, or RGB rainbow slots to plug the header into (It was an older motherboard from 2012 that i used in my previous build), however I don't use RGB/ARGB so this is outside the scope of my knowledge.

What would I need, and what brand(s) would be the 'budget/high quality' parts I'd need for a Budget entry level gaming PC Build for ARGB Rainbow Lighting? (It's not gonna be used for AAA 2022 ultra settings games)

 

[CountMike]

I recently made a build i made for my sister, and after i had everything installed, I found out that he motherboard I gave her does not have RGB, or RGB rainbow slots to plug the header into (It was an older motherboard from 2012 that i used in my previous build), however I don't use RGB/ARGB so this is outside the scope of my knowledge.

What would I need, and what brand(s) would be the 'budget/high quality' parts I'd need for a Budget entry level gaming PC Build for ARGB Rainbow Lighting? (It's not gonna be used for AAA 2022 ultra settings games)

What is sister's PC configuration right now ?
RGB/ARGB (one or both) is present in most new MBs

 

[Mtop]

You may be able to purchase a controller made by same company that makes the fans.

 

[Karadjgne]

RGB and ARGB/DRGB are opposites in the way they work, but vendors capitalized on the RGB moniker and have taken to calling Everything RGB just to get sales.

RGB is single color variable multiple fans. Uses amperage and a true 4pin to control colors, R, G, B, Ground. All fans in the chain only show 1 variable color depending on the saturation of amperage of the 3 wires to ground.

ARGB/DRGB is digital, each led has its own controller address, so each led gets its own color, regardless of how many leds are in the fan or how many fans are in the chain. That's what allows a single fan to create a Rainbow affect multiple leds at different colors. ARGB uses a 4pin connector, but only has 3 pins, Data, Power, Ground.

RGB cannot do Rainbow, ARGB/DRGB can.

So once you figure out exactly what you have, you can then get a hub that'll connect to a USB header and use software to control the lighting, and the motherboard headers will control the fans themselves since lighting and fan are 2 completely seperate things.

An RGB/ARGB fan is nothing more than a plain fan with a light strip glued on, unlike the Old colored LED fans which were stuck with a single color unchangeable. So lighting control and fan speed control require different systems. Some hubs will do both, but not many as they are pretty large and bulky to contain all the connections and circuits needed.

Some companies like Corsair, still use proprietary connections, or might use 5/6 pin connectors on a single wire, but that's just combining both lighting and fan to 1 wire, and will require hubs/fans to match connections.

Some say/believe RGB/ARGB lighting looks awesome, but not a single person who has wired/cable managed that pc will claim its easy or not a pain in the ..... to get right.

 

[Paperdoc]

From your post it appears you already HAVE installed some fans with lights in their frames. First questions are: how many, and which type? As Karadjgne has explained above, such units really are two devices in one - a fan motor, and lights. Each should have it own separate cable and connector, unless you bought a system with proprietary connections. If there are two cables per fan, one will have the smaller standard female (with holes) connector to plug into mobo fan headers. The other, also female, is wider and may have either 4 holes (plain RGB) or 3 holes (ARGB, looks like 1 hole is blocked off). You need a lighting Controller to provide power and display control for the lights. You MUST match the Controller you buy to the type of lights in those fans.

You have not told us exactly which fans you have. But ASSUMING (a risk) that they have "standard" connectors for their lighting cables AND that you have the ARGB type (3-pin system), I can suggest a couple.

Addressable RGB LED Controller

The Addressable RGB LED Controlleris a compact size Addressable RGB LED controller that allows you to easily customize your ARGB devices without the need for either an ARGB capable motherboard or software. With different lighting modes, you can have full customization and your PC illumination...

www.coolermaster.com

That's from Cooler Master, and it has a few features you will not use. It can be connected to a mobo lighting header so the mobo does all the display control, and it can be used with either type of mobo lighting header, but it powers only ARGB lights. You don't have any such header, so you will not make those connections. It can be connected to case buttons for manual control, but you do not need to do that. The best way to use it is to make the connection to a mobo USB2 header, then install and run their proprietary software tool MasterPlus+. Use that to set up the display patterns. All power for the Controller and the fan lights is provided by a connection to a SATA power output connector from the PSU. NOTE that Cooler Master has several other Controllers NOT suited for your situation.

https://www.razer.com/ca-en/gaming-pc-accessories/razer-chroma-addressable-rgb-controller

That's from Razer and does the same job using their software tool, Synapse. It does not allow connection to mobo lighting headers you don't have, anyway.

 

[ReignOfHell]

Sorry for the delayed response but;
The PC came with the fans, it's a Corsair Carbide Series Spec-DELTA RGB Tempered Glass case. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KGSJRC3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
^This one to be precise. I didn't install the fans myself since they came preinstalled with the Case, like the one in the back.

Uh, I'd ASSUME they're Corsair brand since I'd doubt Corsair would sell something with 3rd party fans on their cases.. but who knows anymore with big companies :/

 

[ReignOfHell]

From your post it appears you already HAVE installed some fans with lights in their frames. First questions are: how many, and which type? As Karadjgne has explained above, such units really are two devices in one - a fan motor, and lights. Each should have it own separate cable and connector, unless you bought a system with proprietary connections. If there are two cables per fan, one will have the smaller standard female (with holes) connector to plug into mobo fan headers. The other, also female, is wider and may have either 4 holes (plain RGB) or 3 holes (ARGB, looks like 1 hole is blocked off). You need a lighting Controller to provide power and display control for the lights. You MUST match the Controller you buy to the type of lights in those fans.

You have not told us exactly which fans you have. But ASSUMING (a risk) that they have "standard" connectors for their lighting cables AND that you have the ARGB type (3-pin system), I can suggest a couple.

Addressable RGB LED Controller

The Addressable RGB LED Controlleris a compact size Addressable RGB LED controller that allows you to easily customize your ARGB devices without the need for either an ARGB capable motherboard or software. With different lighting modes, you can have full customization and your PC illumination...

www.coolermaster.com

That's from Cooler Master, and it has a few features you will not use. It can be connected to a mobo lighting header so the mobo does all the display control, and it can be used with either type of mobo lighting header, but it powers only ARGB lights. You don't have any such header, so you will not make those connections. It can be connected to case buttons for manual control, but you do not need to do that. The best way to use it is to make the connection to a mobo USB2 header, then install and run their proprietary software tool MasterPlus+. Use that to set up the display patterns. All power for the Controller and the fan lights is provided by a connection to a SATA power output connector from the PSU. NOTE that Cooler Master has several other Controllers NOT suited for your situation.

https://www.razer.com/ca-en/gaming-pc-accessories/razer-chroma-addressable-rgb-controller

That's from Razer and does the same job using their software tool, Synapse. It does not allow connection to mobo lighting headers you don't have, anyway.

Yeah I looked those up just now, and while the Razer seems a little pricey, it would definitely do what I'd need it to do. The Cooler Master one would definitely not work as the header those fans are connected to, are 4 pin.

 

[ReignOfHell]

Yeah I looked those up just now, and while the Razer seems a little pricey, it would definitely do what I'd need it to do. The Cooler Master one would definitely not work as the header those fans are connected to, are 4 pin.

Just checked online and those are NOT A/RGB, but is a Fan Curve Header -_-, So I'd need to get her to buy a 3 pin A/RGB header PLUS a controller to use for it. Sheesh, this is a lot of effort for something that (in my previous build) should work straight from the 4pin connector on the board :/

 

[ReignOfHell]

OK, after a little research I'd need to buy something to connect ALL 3 fans to a header, then to a controller (since the MOBO doesn't support RGB).

The Razer controller is DEFINITELY what I'd need for lightning, however I'd need something to combine the fans into an A/RGB Header, then into the controller.

 

[Karadjgne]

The Razer controller is DEFINITELY what I'd need for lightning, however I'd need something to combine the fans into an A/RGB Header, then into the controller.

That razer controller has 6x ports, just plug the ARGB wires into it. Then plug the USB into the motherboard.
The fans should have seperate connections for fan speeds, those plug into motherboard header.

Motherboard controls fan speeds, razer synapse software controls lighting. Bypasses any need for extra stuff like 'I'd need something to combine the fans into an A/RGB Header, then into the controller.'

 

[Paperdoc]

OP, it appears all the confusion is getting to you! Let's step back a moment from details and look more broadly.

These days lighted fans are really two devices in one unit - a fan MOTOR, and some LIGHTS in its frame. Each of these is dealt with separately and requires both a power source and some form of control of its action. By far the most common "standard" arrangement is that each has its own separate cable and unique connector, BUT there are many makers who combine the wiring into one cable with a larger non-standard connector. For those latter types, you pretty much MUST use that maker's equipment because their connectors (and electrical connections) do not match more common equipment.

Fan MOTORS now come in two versions. The older ones have three wires in their cable and three holes in the female connector on the end. That connector is about ¼" wide with two ridges running down one side. It plugs into a mobo 3-pin male header that has a plastic "tongue" sticking up beside the pins that the ridges fit around, so there is only one way to plug in. The three wires are used for Ground, +VDC power supply, and Speed signal. Ground and power are from the mobo; the speed signal is a series or pulses (2 per revolution) generated in the fan and sent back on Pin #3 to the mobo header for counting so you can read the speed. CONTROL of the speed is accomplished by altering the power supply on Pin #2, from 12 VDC for full speed down to about 5 VDC minimum for slowest speed without stalling.

The newer fans have four wires and pins and were designed with some backwards compatibility features to ease their acceptance in the market. The female connector is a bit wider (maybe 3/8") with 4 holes, and the 4th hole is outside the span of the ridges on the side. Of course, the matching mobo header now has 4 pins. The first three wires have almost the same functions, and the new PWM signal is on Pin #4. The design functions differently and hence requires a different set of electrical signals from the mobo header. In it the Voltage supplied on Pin #2 is always 12 VDC (not varying), and the fan has a small chip inside that uses the new PWM signal from Pin #4 to modify the flow of current from that power source through the motor windings to achieve speed control.

So the NAMES we apply to these MOTOR designs are 3-pin Voltage Control Fans (older) and 4-pin PWM fans (newer). Because of design features, both types of fans CAN be plugged into both types of mobo fan headers and they will work with some restrictions. These days (maybe not on your mobo) virtually ALL mobo headers have 4 pins, but within BIOS Setup you can configure the mobo to use them EITHER as an older 3-pin header OR as a newer 4-pin header.

Now we add in the impact of adding LIGHTS into the fan frames, and remember that these lights have their own separate cable in the "standard" designs. The LIGHTS also now come in two dominant forms. The first on the market were called just plain RGB lights, and their cable ends in a female connector with 4 holes in a straight line. This connector is much wider that a fan motor connector. Along the light strip there are LED's of three colours; all of the LED's of one colour (e.g., red) are connected together in one group. The wires carry a common +12 VDC power supply and three separate Ground lines, one for each colour (Red, Green, Blue). The mobo header manipulates these Ground lines to change the brightness of each colour group, thus achieving thousands of colours from time to time, but at any one moment the entire strip is the same colour.

The second type to market was the Addressable RGB system (aka ADDR RGB, or ARGB, or Digital RGB). It uses a similar connector but only THREE wires and pins, so it looks like the connector had 4 holes but one is blocked off. These supply a common Ground and +5 VDC power supply (NOTE the voltage difference) and a Digital Control Line. Along the light strip the LEDs are grouped into Nodes. A Node contains one LED each of 3 colours plus a Control Chip. That Chip listens to the Digital Control Line. That line carries data packets consisting of an address and instructions for what colours to activate. The chips in each Node act only on the instruction packets with their individual address and make their three LEDs do as they are told. So at any one moment every Node along the strip can be a DIFFERENT colour and brightness, and the displays generated can be much more complex, like static or even moving rainbows.

So the NAMES for the LIGHTS now look like the older 4-pin plain RGB using 12 VDC, and the newer 3-pin ARGB using 5 VDC. Cue the confusion! The labels "3-pin" and "4-pin" are applied to BOTH the MOTORS and the LIGHTS, but there is NO relationship between these two devices and their connections systems are separate! Fan motors connect to mobo FAN headers, and the lights connect to separate mobo LIGHTING headers. However, the differences in power supply Voltage and control method in lighting systems mean you can NOT mix the two lighting types in one circuit. You MUST match the lighting type to the mobo header type for them to work.

IF your mobo does NOT have any lighting header (or if it has only the wrong header for your lights) you can buy and install a Controller box of the correct type to provide power AND display control for your lights. This box does NOT need to be connected to any mobo lighting header, but it will need connection to the PSU for power source, and likely to a mobo USB2 header for a communication channel to software running on the mobo. (Some lighting Controllers use only cable-connected or hand-held remote control boxes with buttons for control, and do not use software or a USB2 connection.)

Lighting Controllers contain all they need to provide power and display control to your lights all by themselves. Many of these third-party Controller boxes ALSO allow you to make a connection to a mobo lighting header so that, as an ALTERNATIVE to control by the box, you can have it allow your mobo header to control the displays. But you do NOT have to make that connection and use that option.

Your situation OP, is that there are no lighting headers on your mobo. So you need a Controller for ARGB lights (because that's what you have (or will have) in the fans. The two units I linked to both can do that with NO connection to a mobo lighting header. The Cooler Master unit does allow you to make such a connection to the mobo but it is NOT required. The Razer system does not have that option.

SEPARATELY each fan you have has a MOTOR cable to connect to a mobo CHA_FAN or SYS_FAN header. These do NOT connect to the Lighting Controller at all. Now, there are some systems that combine both a MOTOR hub and a LIGHTING Controller / Hub into one box so you plug both the motor and lighting cables from each fan into that combo box. But that is NOT necessary, and the two Controllers I linked to are NOT of that combo design.