NZXT Hue+ Power and Connections/Compatibility

[CaraDLVN]

I'm going to be very straight up here, I'm a bit of a newbie to PC building.

I have been a PC gamer for a while, but have never had my own custom build. I am finally getting around to it, and one of the things I am really looking forward to isRGB Lighting. I plan to use multiple RGB devices in my build, including Aura Sync, Corsair Link and Logitech Color Sync. These are fairly straight forward as they do not need separate devices/hubs to work but only software that work automatically with the hardware. However one of the biggest RGB aspects of my build is going to be the two NZXT Hue+'s which will control the LED strips in my case, behind my desk and the RGB on the NZXT fans.

My problem is that they are powered through a Molex cable, which my PSU(https://goo.gl/tyDDvS) does not have (I'm pretty sure). I will be using an Asus Strix Z270-E Gaming motherboard (https://goo.gl/MO1WV9) so I believe I have the Usb 2.0 header I also need is there (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Will the NZXT Hue+ work with my current setup? If not do I need to change my PSU or motherboard?I'd like to avoid changing my mobo)

NZXT Hue+ Link: https://www.nzxt.com/products/hue-plus

PS
Here is my full setup:
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/KLQ3BP

I've already checked compatibility myself, but once again I'm a newbie and may be missing something. It would mean the world if any of you would put in some time and double check me.

 

[Aeacus]

I got HUE+ inside my Skylake build (full specs in my sig), and it's true that HUE+ needs molex connector for power and it also has micro USB to USB 2.0 MoBo connector for data.

As far as your PSU goes, your PSU must have 1x fully modular molex cable with 4x molex connectors on it. It is stated so on the EVGA site,
link: http://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=220-G2-0750-XR
Look under "Specs" -> "Four-Pin Peripheral Cable".

About your MoBo. You MoBo has 3x USB 2.0 headers on it. Since HUE+ comes with micro USB to USB 2.0 header connector cable, you can plug it to your MoBo just fine. If you don't use your MoBo USB 2.0 headers for anything else (e.g. case front I/O USB 2.0, smart card reader etc) then you're golden.

But if you have more devices than MoBo's onboard USB 2.0 headers, you can connect your HUE+ in a different way.
For example, my Skylake build. I have 3 devices that need MoBo's onboard USB 2.0 headers. Those are: Corsair 760T front I/O USB 2.0 connectors (two of them), smart card reader (sits in my 5.25" external bay) and HUE+. While my MoBo only has two USB 2.0 headers.
Since each USB 2.0 header supports two USB connectors and HUE+ only needs to have connection to one USB 2.0 connector, i ended up buying micro USB -> USB 2.0 cable that i routed from inside my case to the MoBo back I/O USB 2.0 connector.

Though, i have no idea how you're planing to control both HUE+ controllers via NZXT CAM software. I'm even unsure if the NZXT CAM software is able to detect two HUE+ controllers at the same time.
One HUE+ should be enough for most people though. HUE+ has 2 channels where each channel supports up to 4 LED strips (10 LEDs per 1 strip). That makes total of 8 LED strips per one HUE+ controller.

 

[CaraDLVN]

I got HUE+ inside my Skylake build (full specs in my sig), and it's true that HUE+ needs molex connector for power and it also has micro USB to USB 2.0 MoBo connector for data.

As far as your PSU goes, your PSU must have 1x fully modular molex cable with 4x molex connectors on it. It is stated so on the EVGA site,
link: http://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=220-G2-0750-XR
Look under "Specs" -> "Four-Pin Peripheral Cable".

About your MoBo. You MoBo has 3x USB 2.0 headers on it. Since HUE+ comes with micro USB to USB 2.0 header connector cable, you can plug it to your MoBo just fine. If you don't use your MoBo USB 2.0 headers for anything else (e.g. case front I/O USB 2.0, smart card reader etc) then you're golden.

But if you have more devices than MoBo's onboard USB 2.0 headers, you can connect your HUE+ in a different way.
For example, my Skylake build. I have 3 devices that need MoBo's onboard USB 2.0 headers. Those are: Corsair 760T front I/O USB 2.0 connectors (two of them), smart card reader (sits in my 5.25" external bay) and HUE+. While my MoBo only has two USB 2.0 headers.
Since each USB 2.0 header supports two USB connectors and HUE+ only needs to have connection to one USB 2.0 connector, i ended up buying micro USB -> USB 2.0 cable that i routed from inside my case to the MoBo back I/O USB 2.0 connector.

Though, i have no idea how you're planing to control both HUE+ controllers via NZXT CAM software. I'm even unsure if the NZXT CAM software is able to detect two HUE+ controllers at the same time.
One HUE+ should be enough for most people though. HUE+ has 2 channels where each channel supports up to 4 LED strips (10 LEDs per 1 strip). That makes total of 8 LED strips per one HUE+ controller.

Thank you very much, this is so helpful. I did a little bit more research and will only be using one Hue+. I thought it only supports 4 strips total, but it's 4 strips per channel (you also clarified this.) Do you think it would be helpful to get the NZXT Internal USB 2.0 Hub? I want to be on the safe side as I will be ordering everything at once from across the country (small town problems.)

 

[Aeacus]

You're welcome.

You don't need NZXT internal USB hub though. Your MoBo has 3x internal USB 2.0 headers and you have 3 devices that use them: 1. S340 Elite front I/O USB 2.0 connectors, 2. X52 Kraken, 3. HUE+.

MoBo specs: https://www.asus.com/us/ROG-Republic-Of-Gamers/ROG-STRIX-Z270E-GAMING/specifications/
Look for "Internal I/O Ports" -> "3 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 6 USB 2.0 port(s)".

As far as the rest of your build goes, you don't need to buy thermal paste separately since x52 Kraken comes with pre-applied thermal paste. Buy the extra thermal paste only if you plan to re-mount your CPU cooler.

Since there are a ton of different thermal pastes out there, here's a big review of 39 of them with temp results,
link: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-17.html

My Skylake build uses Arctic MX-4 thermal paste (that is also included in that big review),
pcpp: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/HBXfrH/arctic-cooling-thermal-paste-acmx4

Your SSD is 250GB and it will do for a while. If you need more storage space then i suggest you go for HGST (Hitachi) HDD,
1TB - 4TB pcpp: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/WxMFf7,rTGkcf,TP2kcf,QRLypg/

And here's a reason why i suggest HGST and not Seagate, WD or Toshiba HDDs,
link: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-reliability-stats-q1-2016/

Edit:
You stated that you're planning to use NZXT AER RGB fans while your initial build doesn't include any AER RGB fans.
If you plan on going with AER RGB fans then do note that HUE+ supports up to 5x AER RGB fans per channel. (You'll have 8 LEDs per 1 fan. With 5x fans, total amount of LEDs would be 40, same amount as with 4x LED strips.)

If you plan to use AER RGB fans then you'll need 2 fans. 1x 120mm at rear, 1x 140mm at top,
pcpp: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/w7RFf7,DJyxFT/
Since AER RGB fan is AF fan and not SP fan, it won't do well when mounted on the rad.

Due to the limitations of HUE+ firmware, you can't combine AER RGB fans and LED strips on a single channel. E.g have 2x AER RGB fans (with total of 16 LEDs) and 2x LED stips (with total of 20 LEDs) on single HUE+ channel, despite the total amount of LEDs being below the max 40 LEDs supported per one channel.

NZXT might update the firmware in the future so people can combine AER RGB fans and LED strips to one channel but as far as i know, it's not possible at current date.
Since i'm in the process of obtaining LED strips and i don't have them yet (i only have 2x AER RGB fans), i can't test it out if the combined support for one channel has been added or not.