[SOLVED] Rgb Splitter

Jul 10, 2019
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I have 4 Corsair LL Series LL140 RGB 140mm Dual Light Loop RGB LED PWM Fan, No Controller and this rgb strip pack Airgoo Computer Magnetic LED Strip - Super Bright 2pcs Magnetic RGB LED Strip Light for ASUS AURA RGB / MSI Mystic Light / ASROCK AURA RGB Motherboard (12V 4-Pin RGB LED headers ONLY). But, I only have two rgb headers on my ASUS ROG Strix Z390-F Gaming Motherboard LGA1151 (Intel 8th and 9th Gen) ATX DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 USB 3.1 Gen2 Gigabit LAN. Oh, and my cpu cooler is rgb Masterair Maker 8. Will rgb splitters fry my mobo or can they work?
 
Solution
Actually, you have TWO quite DIFFERENT lighting systems. Fortunately, you mobo HAS both type of header available so you can power and control each lighting type using the mobo headers and the Aura Sync software utility.

However, the RGB connectors on the RGB lighting cables from each Corsair LL120 fan are not easy to connect to your mobo's suitable header. So you would need an RGB Splitter PLUS some adapters to make those connections for each of the four fans, OR you could get the Corsair hardware to do this, possibly at not much different cost.


So let's get to the details. There are two different and incompatible types of RGB lighting systems widely sold today. One is the plain RGB system that uses a 4-pin connector and 12 VDC...

Paperdoc

Polypheme
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Actually, you have TWO quite DIFFERENT lighting systems. Fortunately, you mobo HAS both type of header available so you can power and control each lighting type using the mobo headers and the Aura Sync software utility.

However, the RGB connectors on the RGB lighting cables from each Corsair LL120 fan are not easy to connect to your mobo's suitable header. So you would need an RGB Splitter PLUS some adapters to make those connections for each of the four fans, OR you could get the Corsair hardware to do this, possibly at not much different cost.


So let's get to the details. There are two different and incompatible types of RGB lighting systems widely sold today. One is the plain RGB system that uses a 4-pin connector and 12 VDC power, and this is what your two Airgoo light strips are. The more complex system is called Addressable RGB or ADDR RGB or ARGB. It uses a 3-pin connector (just like the 4-pin one with one pin missing) and 5 VDC power. Further, the method each system uses to control the colours is quite different. Your Corsair LL120 fans have this type of lighting built into their frames. By the way, an RGB Fan really is two devices in one unit. It has a fan motor with its own standard fan cable that plugs into a mobo fan header. Plus it has LED's mounted in the frame that function the same as a light strip, and these have theri own connector that plugs into a different mobo header or into a third-party controller box.

If you look closely at the illustrations of the Airgoo strips, you will see that, at any one time, the entire length of one strip will be all the same colour, although that can be changed over time. But for the LL120 fans, the lights are several colours like a rainbow at ne time, so much more complex displays can be done with this ARGB system, and the control method is different. Now it happens that your mobo has two of the plain RGB headers (see manual p. 1-22), plus one of the ARGB headers (p. 1-23). Thus you should be able to use both those header types to power and control your two types of devices though the Aura Sync software tool.

For the Airgoo light strips, they come with one connection cord that plugs into one of your mobo's plain RGB headers (p.1-22) and int one of the light strips. Then the other strip just plugs into the end of the first.

For the LL120 fans (four of them) you have a problem with the connectors on their RGB cables. They do not match the ARGB header on your mobo (p. 1-23).
You could get an RGB Splitter that converts your single ARGB header into four or more outputs of the same type, and then get four adapters to convert the connectors on the RGB cables from your LL120 fans to that connector style. I don't know where you get that, but maybe Corsair can advise. The other alternative, though, is to do it Corsair's way, and there MAY be two version of this. For starters, check your four fans. Those fans are available in two-packs that include two boxes - a LED Hub with six output ports for Corsair ARGB devices, and a Lighting Node Pro. That latter box connects to the Hub to send its signals to several RGB devices, and is intended to connect also to a mobo USB2 header. Then you download and install their iCue software tool which uses the USB2 connection to communicate with the Lighting Node Pro box. This system does the power and control part for the ARGB lights in the LL120 fans, completely independent of the mobo's RGB headers. So, check whether you already have those boxes with your four LL120 fans.

Now, that's Corsair's regular way to do this. BUT I suggest you ask their Tech Support people if there is another way. I would hope they can supply a simple cable to connect directly from a mobo ARGB header such as you have to the LED Hub, skipping the Lighting Node Pro completely. Then the mobo's software and header could do the power-and-control functions for the lights in the LL120 fans.
 
Solution