Question Need help with ARGB fan connections/hubs

[woodnotwoods]

So... I have 6 ARGB fans that have a 4 pin PWM connector and a 4-1 pin ARGB connector (for asus aura). I've also got a CPU air cooler that has one 4 pin PWM connector and one 4-1 pin ARGB connector (also asus aura).

My motherboard only has one ARGB header, two CPU fan headers and three chassis fan headers.

At the moment I've got the front three powered by a molex connector through a splitter that came with the case, and the back three fans & the CPU cooler are all connected to the motherboard. None of the RGB is going because those cables aren't connected to anything.

I've been looking around for a long time but I wondered if anyone could recommend anything they've used to manage something like this. I'm open to any suggestions like either a multitude of cables or two different hubs; one to get the ARGB from 7 inputs to 1 output, and one to manage the fans. Or one hub to do all of this if such a thing exists.

I'm kind of at a loss and I don't want to order things while being unsure if it'll actually work! So any help would be really appreciated! Cheers.

 

[Paperdoc]

Tell us the maker and exact model number(s) for your six case fans. Same for the CPU cooler fan. Then also tell us the maker / model of your mobo. With that info we may be able to look up the current consumption figures of your fans' ARGB lights, and the max load limits of your mobo's ARGB header.

For the fan MOTORS there is really no big problem. Ideally the CPU cooling fan should always be plugged into the CPU_FAN header. That header can power and control that fan according to the CPU's internal temperature sensor AND monitor it for fan failure. Then you have six case ventilation fans and three mobo headers for them. The simple arrangement would be to use SLITTERS to connect two fans each to those three, or perhaps three fans each to two of them. The limit for this is that each such header normally can supply up to 1.0 A max currrent to its total load, and most often the FAN motors consume up to 0.2 A each, so Spliters are often well suited to the task. The alternative is a fan HUB, which is a different device that gets all fan power from the PSU directly, and uses the control signal from ONE mobo fan header to control all the fans identically. BUT this can only work IF you are using 4-pin PWM fans amd the mobo header is set to use that new PWM Mode to control its fan(s). With the info I asked for above, we can check all the details and be very specific about your situation. The mobo SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN header can be set (often is pre-set properly) to use a different temperature sensor on the mobo, not the one inside the CPU chip.

For the ARGB lights there are similar limits on the max current a single mobo ARGB header can supply to all the fans connected to it, and current consumption ratings for the fan lights components. Sometimes it is hard to find all of that info, especially for the ARGB lights in a fan, but the info I asked for will help us. Then we can advise whether an ARGB Splitter cable system is sufficient for your situation, or something more complex.

 

[Karadjgne]

Fans and lighting are 2 totally seperate entities when it comes to ARGB. So how and where you power the fans is of no consequence to its lighting and vice-versa.

I prefer to keep fans in local grouping. So if there's 3x intakes, that's 3 fans on 1x 3way splitter to 1 sys_fan header. 2x exhausts the same, 1x splitter or if 2x top and a rear I might run the rear by itself and splitter the tops. This works well since only 1 fan on any splitter/hub has a tach wire showing rpm, so software will control all 3x intakes as a single entity.

Cpu stands alone, only cpu cooler fan/s go to it. Cpu_pump, cpu_aux etc isn't used except as an absolute last resort as they are also dictated by the cpu temp sensor circuitry.

For 6x ARGB, I'd suggest an ARGB powered hub, that ARGB header most normally is only good for 1-5 fan lights or strips, depending on the amount and length of the leds. A powered hub doesn't use the header power, just the signal wires, so can sync all 6 lights simultaneously without overdrawing the header supply.

 

[woodnotwoods]

Thanks both for your replies.

My motherboard is an ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-E
The case fans are MasterCooler MF120R ARGB (x6)
The air cooler is a MasterCooler MasterAir MA620M

I ended up buying some 1-2 fan splitter cables, where one of the split cables coming out of the header has the PWM pin and one doesn't, which seem to be working okay but may not be connected/managed in the most efficient ways.

My motherboard has two chassis fan headers which are being used by two of the splitter cables, and then the other is on the CPU_OPT header as I can manage this through the BIOS - not sure if it'd be better connected to somewhere else. After using the auto configure in the q-fan control BIOS they seem to have quietened down a little.

My air cooler is connected to the CPU_FAN header.

Currently I have 3 of the ARGB headers connected to a 3-1 splitter then to the ARGB header on the motherboard, so those front 3 fans are working fine with the ARGB and syncing up with the ASUS aura software along with my motherboard and GPU. The lighting on my GPU is occasionally freezing/flickering between colours rather than changing as a gradient but that seems to be a separate issue, relating to the fact that the LightingService process seems to use 13% of my i7-9700k on certain lighting profiles.

I do think an ARGB hub sounds better, especially if I'll be connecting 7 headers to it I don't want it to be throttled back because of trying to use the power from the header. I'm just really struggling to find one that looks like it can fulfill all that, and that's still being made/sold or doesn't look like a cheap eBay version... Do you have any suggestions or is it a case of getting lucky?

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for those details. With them you will be able to get it all working with little effort.

First, fan motors. You have six case fans that need to be powered and controlled by mobo headers, and two CHA_FANn headers available for that. In addition you have a CPU air cooler that can be (IS, actually) plugged into the CPU_FAN header. All of these are 4-pin PWM type fans. You already have purchased a couple of fan Splitters that give you two outputs per input, so not yet enough ways to connect six fans to two headers. Now, the fans are spec'd at max 0.2 A each, so you could easily connect four of them to one CHA_FAN header, using a Splitter like this

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E168824..._re=coboc_fan_splitter-_-82-422-016-_-Product

That's a little board with 4 output headers, and it should be stuck down securely so it does not come loose and make contact with the wrong things. Do NOT connect your actual CPU cooler to the borad header with the "CPU" mark. That is the only output that will send its fan's speed back to the CHA_FAN header you connect this to, but it does NOT need to be the real CPU cooler. Just use this for four of your case fans to one CHA_FAN header.

Then leave the other two connected to the other CHA_FAN header by one of the Splitters you already have.

Now, ARGB lights. You have seven ARGB systems (6 case fans, 1 CPU fan) and one mobo ARGB header. The case fans' ARGB lights are spec'd to use max 0.34A each, and we can assume that value or less for the ARGB lights in the CPU cooler. For all seven, then, the total max current is 2.38A. The mobo header spec on p. 1-23 of it manual says max 3.0 A, so you CAN connect all of those to that one header with a simple Splitter that simply connects all of them in parallel to that header. Such a device is this

https://www.newegg.com/p/1W7-005X-0...Hub&cm_re=ARGB_Hub-_-9SIACJF90M5598-_-Product

It is a little printed circuit board with eleven sets of (4-1) pins on headers, all wired in parallel. It comes with one cable to connect one of those headers to your mobo ARGB header. Then you simply plug the ARGB cables from all seven of your fans into other headers on the little board. The board has a sticky tape on the back to glue it down securely so it does not come loose and make a bad contact. NOTE that ALL of the ARGB connectors should have small indicator arrows on ONE of the holes (the END one of the two adjacent) that marks the +5 VDC line, and you MUST match that hole of each connector to the board pin that has an arrow pointing to it. This keeps all the connections wired correctly.

You will have all six case fans connected to your mobo's two CHA_FAN headers. These headers use the temperature sensor on the mobo (not the one inside your CPU chip) to guide their automatic control of fan speeds. You should check in BIOS Setup that these two both are configured correctly for the PWM fans you have. See manual p. 3-8. For each of those two headers, set PWM Mode at top right, and Standard Profile at bottom centre. Then click at bottom right to return to Main Menu ( p. 3-7), and use the F10 key to reach the Exit menu (p. 3-26). There choose Save Changes and Reset to save your settings and reboot.